PDN 2012 National Training Tour Update: Week 1

All right. This is the end of the first week of the Personal Defense Network Training Tour, 2012. So we've done classes in Georgia. We've done classes in North Carolina We've done some pistol work. We've done some new shooters.

We've done some beginning shooters. We've done advanced pistol handling. We've had some people returning to classes and we've worked at two new ranges. So we're having a good time. Everything is great.

The feedback's been great so far. I'm excited about it. Our other trainers were also getting started this week here in the second week of the tour. So we're going to be hearing from them. We're going to see some pictures from their stuff next week.

Again, as always, thank you to Personal Defense Network for helping us put this whole thing together. Laser light, crossbreed holsters, Daniel Defense and Smith and Wesson M&P tactical clothing. Hey, my name's Ari Clayborne. I decided to take the Combat Focus Shooting after doing some self-reflection, looking on the internet. I've been doing a lot of the sports shooting whether it be the Steel Challenge or IPSC or IDPA but being a active duty military officer, I realized quickly that some of those skills didn't really transcend to personal defense or concealed carry.

So after looking at the Personal Defense Network I decided, hey, this is closer to what I want to get to, a more realistic, more instinctive type of things that I'm going to do and not have to worry about thinking about all the rules and everything else. So after looking it up, decided to do it and I'm glad I came because there's definitely a difference. Hi, my name is Jeanette and I'm taking the Combat Focus Shooting course as part of the Personal Defense Network program. And I came out here with my husband today, a little nervous to try a course like this, knowing that personally I wanted to defend my family with four young children. And knowing that most people who take this course would be doing a 9 mm or something more full-sized.

But I felt the need to bring out my .380 Ruger LCP because that's what I want to feel more comfortable with. So even though I would be wearing the crossbreed inside the holster or inside the waistband holster, I have this instead, today, just to get my skills done and to feel most confident in defending my family. I was most nervous to come to the course knowing that there wouldn't be many females here. And knowing that it would be a very intense course. One way to prepare myself for that was watching many of Rob's defensive shooting DVDs so I could kind of get the head knowledge first.

And that made me feel a lot more confident. I was nervous when I came out this week to do this but what I felt was really helpful to me is that it started at a slow pace, that even though I didn't have any formal training, I could come out and learn the skills the first day. And then as the day went on, the skills became more intense. But to me, that was what I needed, personally. If I'm going to carry on myself with a young family, I need to know a hundred percent certain that my skills are able to perform to defend my family.

So when we started more intense drills, at first I probably would have shied away from that, coming to this course, just because of that. But that was, I think what's really made me most confident. My heart was racing when we'd be more pressured but I'm grateful for that. So that when somebody comes into my home or is going to approach us on the street, I feel like I have already experienced that pressure, that warmness of my chest, my heart beating, that I could react with the skill set that I've been given this weekend.