Anyone else tired of hearing the word tactical? Unfortunately, I have quite a few perfectly good t-shirts from days passed that have that cringe-worthy, non-sensical term all over them.
In the 10 years I’ve been teaching Krav Maga, I’ve used it on tag lines, websites, t-shirts, etc, etc, etc. It sounds neat, or at least it used to. I’ve also made a big deal out of training “tactical” people. Cops, military, security folks – those types. All self-defense instructors do to some extent. Either the system being taught is used by “Elite” forces around the world, or the instructor has personally trained Delta Force while a member of Seal Team Six operating under cover in the IDF.
Here’s the thing. You become a better instructor by teaching and coaching regular folks. Taking a completely normal person, with a normal job, who has never been in a fight and transforming that person’s ability and mindset in a few hours of a seminar or over a few months in regular classes takes serious skill. Doing this well is something most instructors can’t do.
It really does sounds cool when you tell someone that you trained a Secret Service Agent, or that **insert military unit here** uses your system, but what no one understands is that the police officers who choose to take your training and the guys who are in military units they make movies about, especially, ARE ALREADY FIGHTERS AND KILLERS. You may give them a handful of techniques that they’ve never seen before, but you’re kidding yourself if you think that you’re blowing the minds of guys who are specifically selected to solve problems and do a lot with a little.
Telling folks they’re training in a system that a tier one unit supposedly uses is also complete bullshit. It’s irrelevant because what applies to small unit tactics and may be mission specific doesn’t apply to Bill, the insurance agent. Bill doesn’t carry an M-4 to work and roll with 4-12 of his closest buddies. Bill is pre-diabetic, just started “working out” last year, has a bad shoulder, and showed up to your class because he’s getting bored with machines at the gym and wants to feel like a badass.
If you’re ever lucky enough to train someone who’s very experienced, you find that you’ll get the opportunity to push, and push really hard. Being able to keep the attention of 30 or 40 veteran police officers says something about you as an instructor, but those skills are honed through taking people who can barely walk proficiently and making them powerful, confident, and competent quickly. The only way to do that is to have a deep, fundamental understanding of absolute basics. Of what’s important and what’s a waste of time, and the experience to be able to give minimal instruction to produce maximum performance.
Lift. Fight. Win. 