Training Tip Tuesday: one answer

The world is full of incalculable variables. Every day delivers a set of novel circumstances that have to be negotiated. One of the mistakes we make in training is to mirror the nature of the problems we face. We attempt to create a specific answer for each problem rather than thinning our options down to a single, effective, and broad response.

A good example of this is our “stance.” Now, I prefer to call this “the way we stand” so as not to put it on too high a pedestal. We spend a lot of time on our feet, you could make the argument that we are experts at it. No real reason to make it a separate skill.

There is also no real reason to change it for every possible employment of a firearm. Imagine that each different placement of your feet was a file that you had to find in order to use. The more files, the longer it would take to get into position. More importantly the effort spent searching for that file would be moving in the wrong direction (away from the problem).

This seems like a very small thing given your (likely) current context. You are probably reading these words in a perfectly controlled, relatively hazard free environment. What happens when we shift your context to something less comfortable and safe? Everything changes. Add significant stress and almost anything we do becomes a much more complex thing. Processing becomes a challenge, a competition for cognitive resources.

This is no time for extravagance. This is no time to use those seemingly insignificant resources to determine the best “way to stand.” We must have one answer because the resources we are expending are not insignificant.

So, what does this mean in terms of training?

It starts with building our process. Think of this as an exercise in sculpting granite. Michelangelo’s “David” emerged because the artist had a chisel, and he removed all that wasn’t efficient to his vision. We have to do that same thing, down to the smallest detail.

But our vision has to be much more simple than the great artist’s. It has to serve our goal in almost every conceivable scenario. One answer. One way. One reliable, durable tool.

Once we have these things defined (grip, presentation, manipulations…) we have to studiously expose them to repetition. This is the mother of skill and the only real way to make the things we do durable. Simplicity helps us in this immeasurably. The fewer complexities in the chain, the greater the likelihood of success.

Then we have to test what we’ve built. We have to evaluate the processes for ways we could improve and determine if we are meeting the outcomes we set out to accomplish.

*Here is a tip within the tip: If we aren’t meeting our goals (outcomes) a fair portion of the time it isn’t something we aren’t doing… it’s something we are doing that is limiting us. Perfection is usually a reduction of our efforts (complexities) rather than an addition.

We need one answer. One reliable, durable answer that meets us when circumstances have changed the world around us. The extravagance of thinking that we can bring to bear without the dramatic effects of stress on our cognition is not a model we should use. It isn’t accurate to our capabilities in those scenarios. Rather, we should simplify aggressively and train studiously.

The fewer answers the better… because the world is full of questions.

Until next time, train smart.

Author Bio

Duane “Buck” Buckner

After spending 25 years in the USCG, Duane “Buck” Buckner is now the U.S. Director of Training for Aimpoint. The Aimpoint Training Division conducts training courses for military and law enforcement agencies up to the Federal level as well as for the prepared civilian. Buck is widely known for his emphasis on brain psychology as it relates to combat and survival.

EXPLORE BUCK'S GEAR