Some of you know who Ben Stoeger is: Multiple time USPSA National Champion, renowned internet troll, and a bit of a dick. He’s been particularly prolific in the last year, releasing a series of four books on handgun shooting. I assume he’s realized print is dead, and decided to go multimedia with the release of “Training to Win,” a 106 minute long DVD/digital download.
I’ll start the review with a bit of a biographical disclaimer. Any review will be somewhat biased, as the reviewer has a certain level of experience and unique background that may or may not color his/her perceptions. With that in mind, here are mine. I’m a recently minted USPSA M-class Single Stack and Production shooter after 3 years of semi-serious participation in the sport. I’ve taken a 2-day class with Mr. Stoeger and find his reputation as a GM-level Richard to be only mildly overstated. Having said that, he’s a helluva instructor. My first M-card (Single Stack) came shortly after taking his class.
On to the video. It’s available as a hard copy DVD for those still living in the 20th century, and as a digital download for modern folks. I opted for the latter. It’s full HD and all that good stuff, but the content is what shines. Co-starring Matt Hopkins of CZ fame, and Chris Kozell as the “average Joe with an open gun, “ Training to Win covers a range of divisions and skill levels. The format consists of the dry fire-live fire loop, with alternating sequences of skill specific dry and live drills, punctuated by the application of the specific skills to actual USPSA stages. As they work through the drills, Ben provides the essence of each drill; that is to say what one should really be looking for when performing them. He also gives some goal times that give the viewer a good sense of what a good time might be as a benchmark. The skills covered go beyond simple classifier “stand n’ shoot” skills, and are focused on improving your match scores, not just your classification.
The video integrates references to Ben’s books and some outtakes from his podcast. Having read the former, I think the video is a complementary piece even without the explicit references to page numbers and whatnot. Taken together, they’re an extremely comprehensive look into the training philosophy of someone with serious practical shooting credentials. (I mean, who the heck wins a national championship with a Beretta???) Many of the drills in the video are also contained in “Skills and Drills” or “Champion Shooting.” The video provides a great resource for the visual leaners, while the books contain a more easily referenced, but somewhat more abstract guide. Put them together and you get a complete package that is damn-near as good as a 1-on-1 class.
Perhaps the most useful thing about video, and the training tools it provides, is that it’s coming from the viewpoint of the non-sponsored, non-independently wealthy shooter. There is an unstated focus on cost effectiveness in the dry fire-live fire loop approach the video advocates. While I don’t want to give away the core bits, there are very useful lessons on how to take lessons learned in live fire feedback and fix problems areas in dry fire.
Even as a semi-jaded (paper) M-class, I got a lot out of the video and even more out of the video/book combo. I expect that Cs, Bs, and As would have an even better return on investment. For the price of some not even fancy pants trigger doodads, I think this video is money well-spent. Get the books as well, and incorporate what’s in them, and you have as close as you can get to a surefire recipe for better match results. Not to mention increased updated/upgraded Membership Card printing cost for HQ.
I've spent more on a bottle of whisky than the cost of the video. At least with the video, I'll have better shooting skills to show for my money.
Check it out at Training to Win with Ben Stoeger DVD
While you're at it, donate a couple bucks to the USPSA Juniors program and help out the next generation of shooting competitors.
Donations
I’ll start the review with a bit of a biographical disclaimer. Any review will be somewhat biased, as the reviewer has a certain level of experience and unique background that may or may not color his/her perceptions. With that in mind, here are mine. I’m a recently minted USPSA M-class Single Stack and Production shooter after 3 years of semi-serious participation in the sport. I’ve taken a 2-day class with Mr. Stoeger and find his reputation as a GM-level Richard to be only mildly overstated. Having said that, he’s a helluva instructor. My first M-card (Single Stack) came shortly after taking his class.
On to the video. It’s available as a hard copy DVD for those still living in the 20th century, and as a digital download for modern folks. I opted for the latter. It’s full HD and all that good stuff, but the content is what shines. Co-starring Matt Hopkins of CZ fame, and Chris Kozell as the “average Joe with an open gun, “ Training to Win covers a range of divisions and skill levels. The format consists of the dry fire-live fire loop, with alternating sequences of skill specific dry and live drills, punctuated by the application of the specific skills to actual USPSA stages. As they work through the drills, Ben provides the essence of each drill; that is to say what one should really be looking for when performing them. He also gives some goal times that give the viewer a good sense of what a good time might be as a benchmark. The skills covered go beyond simple classifier “stand n’ shoot” skills, and are focused on improving your match scores, not just your classification.
The video integrates references to Ben’s books and some outtakes from his podcast. Having read the former, I think the video is a complementary piece even without the explicit references to page numbers and whatnot. Taken together, they’re an extremely comprehensive look into the training philosophy of someone with serious practical shooting credentials. (I mean, who the heck wins a national championship with a Beretta???) Many of the drills in the video are also contained in “Skills and Drills” or “Champion Shooting.” The video provides a great resource for the visual leaners, while the books contain a more easily referenced, but somewhat more abstract guide. Put them together and you get a complete package that is damn-near as good as a 1-on-1 class.
Perhaps the most useful thing about video, and the training tools it provides, is that it’s coming from the viewpoint of the non-sponsored, non-independently wealthy shooter. There is an unstated focus on cost effectiveness in the dry fire-live fire loop approach the video advocates. While I don’t want to give away the core bits, there are very useful lessons on how to take lessons learned in live fire feedback and fix problems areas in dry fire.
Even as a semi-jaded (paper) M-class, I got a lot out of the video and even more out of the video/book combo. I expect that Cs, Bs, and As would have an even better return on investment. For the price of some not even fancy pants trigger doodads, I think this video is money well-spent. Get the books as well, and incorporate what’s in them, and you have as close as you can get to a surefire recipe for better match results. Not to mention increased updated/upgraded Membership Card printing cost for HQ.
I've spent more on a bottle of whisky than the cost of the video. At least with the video, I'll have better shooting skills to show for my money.
Check it out at Training to Win with Ben Stoeger DVD
While you're at it, donate a couple bucks to the USPSA Juniors program and help out the next generation of shooting competitors.
Donations
