Having been involved with technical rescue for almost 15 years, I have had my fair share of exposure to a variety of training styles. No one style is perfect for all people, settings or learning styles. I feel you need to become exposed to a variety of styles, find the one(s) that you mesh with best and get something out of, before you settle for something less than you had hope and become frustrated.

Some people can read a book or see a technique one time and can readily employ that skill on demand. Others require extensive book and/or hands on practice. However, once learned both individuals are comfortable with the skill.

Some instructors seek to show you what you don’t know, by having you first jump into a scenario, have you fail, tear you down and then have you evaluate your performance. They will point out your weaknesses, go over additional techniques and then have you repeat a similar scenario to employ what you have hopefully learned.

Some instruction styles will first seek to fill/stuff you with information and then have you carry out multiple scenarios of an ever-increasing complexity, forcing/encouraging you to employ techniques of greater complexity, until you get it “right”.

One of the best instruction styles I have had the opportunity to be exposed was from an instructor that first gave you the blackboard theory behind why and how we do certain techniques. Then it was hands on - having your body and mind coordinate with each other and then finally scenarios of increasing complexity to hone your skills, both personal and team based. Pete