159 – More the Knowledge, Lesser the Ego

We have lots of new, green gun owners taking responsibility for their own personal and family protection turning to forums and social media to gain knowledge and information. Often in the firearms industry, we see a certain kind of person who feels empowered and has a serious ego attachment to certain ideas and using the correct terminology. In this podcast, we dissect the self-proclaimed experts and terminology police, and talk about what our real priorities should be.  
https://media.blubrry.com/gunfightercast/s/content.blubrry.com/gunfightercast/159-Prioritizing_Knowledge_Over_Ego.mp3
Podcast Host: Daniel Shaw
Co-Host: Varg Freeborn
Transcriptionist and Producer: Leah Ramsden
 

 
Ego in the Firearms Community 
A Closer Look
1:35  DS explains, On one hand we say we need to get more new gun owners fighting for our Second Amendment…Then when they come along we get really mean to them when they call a magazine a clip. Where does this originate from? VF replies,    
"People craft this ability to only talk about things that they’ve learned the standard set of information about. You’ll notice that you won’t hear these people talk outside a few topics. The reason they do that is because they don’t know everything and they don’t want to be called out in the ways they call other people out.
They create this world where they live in just a few topics and they’re willing to spend this unhealthy amount of time talking about these things when they could be learning about these other topics that they avoid. They could actually become proficient in the other topics, but they’d rather spend time calling other people out like they’re the terminology police of the gun community."
Don't be a know-it-all by using terminology to cut others down. Instead, work on continuously improving your range of skills and transfer that knowledge.   
Prioritize the Right Information
5:30 I’ve had people come up to me at the end of class and say “Hey that new guy who’s never really shot a gun before and he came to your handgun class, he called this thing a clip – all day, and you didn’t say anything to him,” DS responds, 
"Well why would I? I’ve got a brand-new shooter; he just got a gun, he’s showing up, he’s getting a concealed carry permit, he wants to learn how to defend his family, I’ve got 2 days that are 8-9 hours each with hi to teach him how to fight, how to defend himself, how to think – I’ve got so much information I’m trying to get across to this guy. I’m trying to change his mindset… I have 0 time to stop and tell him what something is called. When I know he’s talking about a magazine, you know he’s talking about a magazine. Who cares? I’m just glad you’re here. Let’s get some important information out there and not take time talking about the stupid stuff."
7:40 "As a coach or instructor, you understand that a person has a limited amount of information that they can absorb at a time, and a good instructor prioritizes that information individually, based on the rate their moving at in their progression, their development, how they’re absorbing information. You learn these things over a couple of hours... If I start throwing terminology into this, about things that aren’t going to affect his performance right now, whether he calls it a magazine, a clip, or a black banana, I don’t give a shit what he calls it, but if he’s putting it into the gun properly, right now that’s what I need to focus on."
"Find ways of actually prioritizing self growth and as you get that, help bring others up." - Daniel Shaw   
Daniel Shaw on the range during a Handgun Fundamentals course.
Broaden Your Knowledge Base    
DS says "I hate when someone on the internet posts – oh well MY instructor teaches this. First of all, you lost me in that conversation because you said “my instructor.” That means you have one bank of knowledge you’re gaining from and one person is not going to have it all figured out. They’re going to have their own priorities,