The 2-Day Combat Handgun Marksmanship course developed by Daniel Richardson is a superior training experience. This course is the newest offering in the defensive pistol series and packs an abundance of skill building and challenging new drills into a single weekend. Beyond the Day 1 safety briefing and warm up, this is all new material that was not introduced in DP1 and DP2. Many of the drills were humbling, and all forced you beyond your comfort zone and helped diagnose those areas that need work. Drills like “The Gold Standard” and “The Gauntlet” incorporated strong and offhand shooting, movement and shooting from challenging positions and angles. Each of these drills were timed and graded, which introduced competitive stress into the training yet allowed each student to make progress throughout the weekend. The Day 2 material alone is worth the price of the course. Using rubber-training weapons, students were able to work through a series of problems and experience the “OODA Loop”. This was followed with a live-fire drill that reinforced the concepts practiced with the training weapons and forced you to get off the X. Day 2 concludes with comprehensive work in low- and no-light scenarios. You will have to take the course to appreciate how valuable this block of training was. Be prepared, this is 6 -7 hours of range time each day with a high round count. You will be physically and mentally tired by the time you clear your weapon each day!
I specifically want to acknowledge the quality of instruction provided by Daniel Richardson. This is a very well designed course, both in terms of the content and the way it allows for constant evaluation of the student. Many courses will teach you to shoot from a fixed base, this one will force you to think, move and solve problems while you shoot. Daniel is a true student of the gun, and focuses on each student to offer encouragement and suggestions for improvement. He always challenges you to develop, but there is also always a positive takeaway. I have found this combination of feedback to be rare from an instructor, and I highly recommend training with Daniel. He will make you better.