Tim Herron 2 day Practical Performance

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Pro2a
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Tim Herron 2 day Practical Performance

#1

Post by Pro2a »

I very recently attended this class in Prescott and offer up a review and my impressions for your training considerations.
This class was hosted and co-instructed by AJ Zito, who, by all accounts is a fine 1911 builder, and very underrated instructor in his own right.
All of Tim’s information and diverse instructional offerings can be found at http://timherronshooting.com/index.html

First let’s look at the instructor-
The top names say the best instructors are the ones who, among other things, are willing to learn, grow and convey that what they teach is “a way” not “thee way.” Tim is an energetic person who loves to teach and share his knowledge. He has a spirited demeanor, and I found that his attitude makes for an excellently paced day. Let me insert a quote from his website that sums up the sentiment that you will leave his class feeling- “he teaches classes with the sole goal of making sure no student feels left behind, ignored, or treated differently, regardless of their abilities or equipment.” As an aspiring instructor and someone who has taught in an assistant capacity for about 18 months, I can only hope to be as open and helpful as he conveys to his students. Tim is an open book who gives an impression of “turn my pages and absorb my knowledge.”
I first met Tim in the fall of 2021 in Casa Grande at the Tom Givens Instructor Development Course. We were both students, and I apprehensively approached him about some of his YouTube videos. By apprehensively, I mean why would a Grandmaster with multiple championship title wins want to revert back to trying to get someone to get shots on target. Maybe a bit of an underestimation of my abilities, but in that limited time available, I asked him some questions, and he just started flowing about his beliefs and techniques. From there I was hooked and committed to attending his next class available in our region. Luckily that was only five short months away.

Class Curriculum
I was going to post the daily schedule, but that can be found at http://timherronshooting.com/practicalperformance.html

A lightning fast summary of the weekend could be summed up as techniques, drills, and enlightening ideas on day one, that are encompassed together on day two to run a sample USPSA stage on day two.

Not interested in competition shooting? Neither was I.
I attended the class with the intent to improve my own grip, and be able to diagnose deficiencies in students and improve their shooting. Grip diagnostics are a HUGE component of this class. But “that competition stuff will get you killed in the streets?” My newly discovered impression going away from this is that there is a lot of this that cross over between both competition and self defense. The physical- moving fast, fast shots on target, transitioning targets, moving and shooting around barriers. The physiological- the effect of stress on your ability to do the things that you could ordinarily do with no problem. Your body doesn’t understand the difference between simulated stress, and real life stress thrust upon you involuntarily. I’m not here to debate that, but John Hearne has studied this more than you and I, and he has surmised that “Stress is stress. The body doesn’t recognize different forms of stress. It’s just either ramped up or it’s not… A lot of people want to say that competition is a different form of stress. No it isn’t. At a chemical level it’s the exact same thing, which is why it is all valuable. Everything is useful to some degree.”

Applying all the above points to defensive shooting is something that Tim will relate to you (if interested) in a fantastic way. I attended this “competition class” in a concealed carry fashion (AIWB and a covert spare mag.) BTW, I love the Neomag for oriented, concealed pocket carry. In my opinion there’s nothing better on the market today that serves that purpose. Since classes are limited to 12 students, you will receive about 30 minutes of valuable one on one training. To achieve this, Tim takes half the class while AJ works one on one with you on a specific drill.
I could blabber on about my “AHA” moments, but that is specific to me, and not related to the high quality level of instruction you will receive if you take advantage of the opportunity to attend this class.

Needles to say I highly recommend this class, and you will walk away having learned something from someone who genuinely cares that you benefit and enrich your skills.

One last anecdote that blew my mind as to the level of concern and interest in you that Tim will show in your specific situation. Somewhere near the end of day one, my shots at 25 yards had stopped drifting to left as much, and he asked me, “do you see that?, That was my goal for you in this class.” So this “student” last fall, had observed what some other student a few targets away was doing, stuffed it somewhere in the back of his head, just in case I showed up in his class someday.

If I had to sum Tim up in three words, and since this website will censor my filthy truck driving mouth…
Class Fricking Act

5/23/21 EDIT- Forgot to add in two vids, my first USPSA run ever, and the instructor's


Last edited by Pro2a on May 24th, 2021, 12:00 am, edited 1 time in total.


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Re: Tim Herron 2 day Practical Performance

#2

Post by Shootist »

well done AAR

:clap:
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