Home Defense Training: Why, How, and How Much?

Practice to stay sharp.

So, you’ve made some changes to your home defense strategy and you’re feeling good about the improvements. Think you’re done? Think again. Now, it’s time to hone your mental and physical readiness.

We’ve talked a lot about routinely heading out to the shooting range to keep your sharpshooter skills on the mark, and that’s certainly one way to keep your mind and body connected in case of an emergency. You may be handy with a firearm under normal circumstances, but you still need to focus on defensive training, including shooting on the run, using cover, how to clear a jam, pistol drawing, striking the target, and a quick reload.

Benefits of Home Defense Training

Sometimes, though, firearms aren’t the best weapon. That’s why there are other self-defense classes to groom you on how to handle most breaches to your home security. Before we delve into those classes, let’s take a look at the benefits (regardless of the class) of self-defense training. Taking such a class:

Builds confidence
Promotes self-discipline
Develops personal awareness
Improves personal safety

Personal Safety Weapon Classes

Having items, like pepper spray, Tasers, batons and knives may stop a less dominant assailant in their tracks. But if you don’t know how to properly handle these weapons you could end up hurting yourself, innocent bystanders or get yourself in worse trouble than if you were unarmed.

Wondering what home defense training class is best for protecting you and your family?

Honestly, it depends on what your true objectives are for taking the home defense training class. If you’re doing it for any reason other than to learn so you can apply it to your home defense strategy, you’re probably wasting your money. Think about it: self-defense training could change the way you approach your home defense plans. Why compromise an important part of your plan to protect your family? Take the training only if it is applicable to your plans, your abilities, and your situation. Why learn to use Tasers if you don’t have and don’t expect to have one?

There is no magic number for how frequently you should attend. Food for thought: a one-time two-hour class isn’t going to yield the same benefits as a more routine practice. Honing these skills increases your overall home defense strategy by leveraging yourself as a solid weapon. Taking an intruder by surprise and sustaining that surprise may be the difference between life and death.

Reality vs. Mental and Physical Readiness

When you hear a window shatter in the middle of the night or a door creak that shouldn’t, your mental and physical readiness kicks in before your home defense plan comes into play. If you’re not mentally fit or physically ready, even the best plans won’t protect you or your family against an intruder. The idea behind self-defense training is that you’ll learn to recognize signs of when things are about to go wrong, even coming out of deep REM sleep. That ability will determine how you jump into action without making things worse and the success of your overall home defense strategy.