Many years ago, when I first got my concealed carry permit, my instructor told me that only one in three of the students were going to take what we were learning in class and apply it to our lives. Only one in three of the twelve students in the class were going to make it a habit to carry a defensive pistol with them wherever and whenever it was possible.
Two things have happened since then. Arizona has enacted constitutional carry and as a result, attendance in entry-level firearms training classes has plummeted, and if anything, I think my teacher may have been an optimist.
Greg Ellifritz is one of the sharpest minds in the firearms training world, and his blog is a must-read for anyone seriously committed to armed self-defense. His experience as a peace officer in Ohio suggests that only ten to twenty percent of people who have a concealed carry permit actually had a pistol with them, and that their firearm was usually stashed in their vehicle rather than carried on their person. The training that those people went through was useless because the one thing they needed to make it effective — their pistol — wasn’t within arm’s reach.
Concealed carry is a martial art: It has its roots in the demands of the common people to protect themselves from crime they see all around them and deciding to do something about it. Those are the exact same roots as karate, kung fu and many other martial arts styles.
However, unlike almost every other martial art out there, concealed carry is a weapons-based system. It requires a firearm in order to be useful. No firearm, no effect on the bad guy.
Time after time, I have attended a class where almost all the students arrived without a loaded, ready-to-use firearm on their person. I understand the need to respect range rules regarding loaded guns, but instructors such as Tom Givens and others not only encourage their students to show up to class ready for a fight, they almost demand it.
Taking a class in order to master the fundamentals of grip, stance, sights and trigger is great, and more people need to do it. People should not only learn these skills, but master them so they can be used on-demand when everything is on the line.
The knowledge you gain in class is only useful if you have a firearm with you when you need to apply those skills. Otherwise, you’re basically a vegetarian learning how to cook a steak: You’re just gaining knowledge you are never going to use.