Why Practice At Least Once a Month?

I have met CCW (Concealed Carry Weapon) license holders that, after receiving their license, have never gone to the range to practice or taken more advanced gun classes to build their knowledge and use skills. This is unfortunate, because if they, or their loved ones, are ever confronted with a life and death situation, these individuals may not be able to address the threat directly, safely and effectively.

In his book, Empirical Foundations of Psychology, Nicholas Henry Pronko states, that in “learning, work is done by the [individual]; this work leaves after affects called traces……The trace is a modification of the [individual] which is not directly observed but is inferred from the facts of recall.” Therefore, training properly and often will build “traces” in your brain that, while not seen, will be recalled when the necessary stimulus, in our case, a threat, is recognized by the individual.

To accomplish this correctly, training should be conducted in a methodical manner to ensure the steps are executed properly. Learning wrong is worse because the traces created will make it much more difficult to overcome those errors and implant the corrections.

To elaborate further on this point, it must be understood that training produces modification of the brain function. As Nicolas Henry Pronko states, “When a man learns through long practice to aim and shoot a gun accurately, he has not trained the eye or the finger. He has altered the brain processes in such a way that the movements of the finger are more precisely related to the visual stimulation.” In other words, training develops stronger synaptic connections that allow the body to perform better through improved signal flow through the receptors, sensory nerves, motor nerves, and muscles.

In conclusion, there is no substitute for deliberate and methodical training to improve shooting accuracy and reaction time to a threat. With sufficient training you will be able to react “without thinking” as if the body already knows what to do. This is called muscle memory and only comes about through proper training and dedicated tactical proficiency. 

So, remember the old adage, “slow is smooth, smooth is fast.” 

See you at the next advance handgun class!