“Why I don’t have any time for most other ‘Tactical’ Trainers.”
This was a comment from a post on the forum I made back in April. Firstly, this is most of my original post:
I’ll just throw this one out there as a comment, from something I have said in the past.
In summary, running MVT is not easy. The classes are complex and involve a lot of sweat equity put into building realistic ranges and exercise areas. We run the whole gamut of real tactical training – and as you know, being a student is a minority sport, mainly because people “don’t know what they don’t know.” Nobody is ever going to make money through running MVT, but we do it. Scott and I are usually exhausted after a class, not just from the physical, but mainly due to the need to watch everyone like a hawk and ensuring safety is never compromised.
On the other hand, the gun and tactical industry is about making money. As hilariously quoted to me the other day in Texas, “It’s the American way, selling crap to people dumber than yourself!” So they will make money in any number of ways, usually through you dumbasses buying shit that you don’t need – see the thread by Scott pinned about gear issues at class! What did you do – you went on the INTERNET and bought more shit you didn’t need! Because your were SOLD. The INTERNET is the enemy of all tactical training!
It’s the same with tactical training. People are mainly building a brand which they will monetize. Yes, you can fairly say that MVT is also building a brand – but the main difference is that what we are selling is not really wanted by most, and thus will not be well monetized.
And that gets me to my point, after a somewhat long introduction to set the scene. What gets me about most tactical trainers is that they are going where they see the money. There are people who SHOULD be qualified to teach what MVT teaches, but do not. And that is where they let people down, because they feed into the usual Tacticool bullcrap which I have covered a million times before. They are not telling people that THIS IS WHAT YOU NEED TO DO to be tactically prepared, but instead are going where the money is. Usually through basic handgun and carbine low effort classes.
But on the other hand, maybe they have it right? Just make money. F*ck everyone and their proper training. Because people will not volunteer for it, so why not just offer the basic low effort classes? Hmmmm. Who is right, given what we are seeing of the response of the American people to the loss of the Republic?
This reply came in yesterday, and I thought it was worth posting here:
Well, in response to the OP, I too have found the exact same thing, just in my lane as a tac gear maker. If you make what you know is legit support equipment, for your actual requirements, only a VERY small minority will be interested in it. Max has been instrumental in developing concepts for good, useable LBE over the years, and offering these to the public. Unfortunately, along with his tactical wisdom, most folks have chosen to ignore it. They continue to mimic tier-one door-kickers, both in (so-called) training and support equipment.
While there is some overlap, Max makes a very important point, and that is a lot of the current guys, as good as they are at T.T.P.’s that have been needed for past couple of decades, aren’t really current with the T.T.P.’s that might be required for “green-side ops”, that is, woodland patrol and SUT. And to back this assertion up, I can tell you of at least one unit that is “returning to the bush” to practice “old skool” patrolling procedures, because I have been asked to share how we did it “back in the day” with them. And quite frankly, the T.T.P.’s that you learn at MVT are superior to the way I was taught by the Crotch, both in the accelerated way live fire is introduced, as well as the maneuver techniques themselves.
Which brings me to my contention that the Brits have always been masters of light infantry tactics, and their system of training is in fact, superior to ours. And that is quite a hard bone to swallow for most. If you trace the way Max has been received over here, from the “prepper community”, to the arfcom purse-swingers, not to mention some former active-duty types, you can see all the objections people bring up, from “you don’t need to know this stuff”, to “it’s too dangerous to do it that way”. I think current events and his training record have proven them all to be wrong.
But herein lies the problem. Most folks do not want to know legit light infantry skill sets. It is f*cking difficult by it’s very nature. And I will be the first to admit that it is a young man’s game. Just getting out and selecting sites for training with my buddy has reminded me of this fact. Just doing a day-long recce of 4 grid squares smoked my ass. And I wasn’t worried about someone shooting at me either.
So yeah, to the OP, it’s not so much who is right here, rather, who are the hard men doing the required training, versus those being taught watered-down techniques that everyone can participate in. Which is just a reflection of our current society and culture. With that being said, if you want to make money, you cater to the majority; if you want to teach actual techniques, you stand up MVT. You can make a lot of money, or teach the actual skill sets, but not both. So again as to who’s right, well that would be in the eye of the beholder. I thank Max he chose to join us over here.
What is the elephant in the room? It’s physical preparation. Cardio is King. SUT is cardio.
If you are interested in the forum with its huge amount of informational posts, including the hugely educational post ‘Compilation of Observations on Gear / Classes by Scott‘ which is a must-read before class, then register for the forum, which is free, but you must register to read it.