Testimonials

by Joel Rosenberg
1-Feb-2004

People Saying Nice Things About Me

I've been looking through some of my emails from former students, and putting my well-known modesty—

*What modesty?*

Shush.

*Okay, but, sheesh...*

—aside.

Trouble is, while there's quite a few of these, none of the nice people who have said nice things about the class have specifically said that I could put their names on the website.

And, without permission, I won't. It's not just that I could be sued, although maybe I could. When you take carry permit training, that's a private matter, and you're entitled to your privacy unless you willingly give it up, and I'm not going to pressure somebody who's already sent me a nice not to do that.

And I really don't like unattributed testimonials.

So I'll put in one, with the name and contact information filed off. If you've sent me a nice note, or if you want to do it, that's fine; I like hearing when the class worked for folks, even if I can't brag about it on the website.

But if you want me to put it here, please do explicitly give me permission to use your name, and preferably your email address, so that folks who know you can ask you what you thought of the class.

With that, the one and only unattributed testimonial that'll ever appear on this page:

Dear Joel:

Thanks so much for fitting us into the class at the last minute last [deleted]. It was great. [My wife] was, as you could tell, very nervous about taking a carry class, but there was none of the "macho [deleted]" she was worried about from you, or from any of the other folks in the class.

I was very, very impressed with your skills in presenting the material, and how very thorough it was. I can't imagine that most other instructors go into such detail, or, if they do, make it so interesting and persuasive. (While I've always thought of myself as a "semiauto guy", you've sold me on the notion of a snubby in a pocket holster. Could you send me the name of that holster maker you recommended? I was listening to hard to write it down.)

I really appreciated the way you did the shooting qualification one-on-one, and so did [my wife]. The fact that she outscored me didn't bother me at all, although I think maybe she's enjoying it too much. :) This point-shooting stuff really works!

When we got home, we each read the book right away. (She finished first.) Utterly terrific.

Again, thank you so much, and please do let me know if it's okay if I recommend your class to friends.

Well, yes, it's actually more than okay. Thanks for the kind words.

And, yes, point shooting really works, if the gun points well for you. I'd love to take credit for that insight, but I can't; modern point shooting traces its ancestry at least back to Colonel Rex Applegate during the WWII era. Locally, the late Julio Santiago and Darrell Mulroy were the big exponents of it, and I think both a lot of civilians and police departments would be better off if they'd listened more to them.

We do take some time in discussing it, and there's a reason for that—without the detailed explanation of what the other alternative— the Weaver stance and aimed fire from it—involves, it just sounds too easy.

It isn't easy; it's deliberately simple, and there's sound psychological and physiological reasons for keeping what you do when under the very serious stress of a life-threatening encounter as simple as possible.

As to the, err, macho nonsense, I think it's in part that I've been lucky. People who want to quickly get their ticket punched and go out looking for trouble may exist, but as far as I can tell, not one of them has, yet, taken my class.

The other thing is that before we ever talk about the mechanics of a lethal confrontation, we spend an awful lot of time on how very bad for you even the most justified, successful confrontation would be. Much better to avoid the whole thing in the first place.

Dear Joel --

I'm so glad I took the class with you. As we discussed, I'd already taken a class with [deleted], but the Sheriff wouldn't accept his certificate, as he wasn't certified.

Very, very, very annoying.

But it worked out ok, and after taking your class, I guess the sheriff had a point. [deleted]'s class took only three hours, and just barely covered only some of the things that you went into in depth. [My wife] and I really appreciated all the detail you went into, not just on the legal stuff, but on the practical matters.

I had been intending to carry my 1911, but what you said about keeping things simple really struck home with me, as well as the practical matter of how "these things don't get any lighter as the day goes on." I went out and bought one of those pocket holsters that you recommend, and then a S&W 642, and a Gun Safe gunbox for it, and now, putting my pistol in my pocket when I get ready to go out is just like making sure I have my wallet.

I haven't had to take it out "for serious," of course, and I pray that I never do.

Do you mind if I send some friends to your web site?

—Dave Olson, Minneapolis

First of all, many thanks. And thanks for letting me use your name.

As to certificates being turned down, yuck. That only happens with instructors who aren't either certified by the NRA or AACFI, or validated by the BCA. I've got all three merit badges—and a few others—of course, but any one of them would do.

In terms of how good my class is when compared to others, I can't say. It's not just that it would be unseemly for me to make negative comparisons, but I've only sat through a few classes taught by other instructors, and there's literally hundreds of people teaching Minnesota carry permit classes; I don't know enough to compare.

Besides, I can't be objective. About the only thing I can say on the matter is that I do the very best class that I can, each and every time, and am constantly polishing it and honing it to make it even better.

Again, thanks for the kind words.

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