Student Requirements

You are here: / Student Requirements

Applicant Requirements

  • After submitting your registration fee you will receive a link to a Google drive folder in which to upload the following:
    • An uncut video of you shooting the FBI Shooting Qualification with a score of 90 or higher & a picture of your finished target.
      • We train as we carry—private citizens who carry or teach CCW courses run the drill from concealment, LEOs may operate from duty gear. Reasonable accommodations will be considered.
    • Verification of trauma medical training (Stop The Bleed or equivalent course) completed within last 2 years.
    • A copy of your training resume for the last 5 years—please include:
      • Course dates
      • Course titles
      • Course instructor(s)
      • Course locations
      • Course length
    • Provide verification of your instructor certification from a nationally recognized source (NRA, Rangemaster, USCCA, etc.).
    • A 5-8 minute video where you tell us a little about yourself:
      • Where you are located
      • The types of classes you teach and the frequency of the classes
      • The approximate number of students you teach per month
      • Why you want to be part of the Active Self Protection Instructor program and what you hope to gain from participating
    • A 300-700 word business proposal that you would submit to a local range in an effort to persuade them to host you for your current “flagship” class. You should assume the range to which you are submitting this is not familiar with you, your brand, or your class and write appropriately.
    • Two letters of recommendation from students that have recently trained under you to speak to their improvement through your instruction.

    An interview with ASP staff will be scheduled upon completion of the above requirements.

This course went beyond what I had hoped for. I learned a ton about knowledge transfer to students. I made friends in the best community that I will forever be a part of.

This program is unlike any other instructor training you will ever take. You will learn how people learn and how to tailor your teaching to achieve actual learning. The support you will get is second to none and does not end when the program ends. You will develop colleagues that will become lifetime friends.

Although I have taken a lot of classes over the past few years, there are some that were more challenging and special to me than others. The programs that I tend to value the most are the ones that made me work for them in some way whether that be through proving myself in shooting skills or in academics. This one was truly worth the time and effort.  While we did read books and write papers, this was so much more than learning things to regurgitate on a test. Over the course of six months, I was challenged, mentored and encouraged to become a better instructor, but I think it also helped me become a better person.

When my mentor Chris Bean advised me to sign up for this program, I really didn’t have a clue what I was getting into. A 6 month program instructor certification program operated by an Internet personality? I was skeptical to say the least.
I’m here to tell you I’m happy that I was wrong.
In 6 short months I found out more about who I am, built a new family with the entire cohort, made quite literally one of the best memories of my life, and became the best version of myself on and off the range, thus far.
The amount of growth I’ve experienced from the program is almost beyond words. No matter where you are along your own personal journey, you would be vastly improved from the ASPIC.
How many gun schools teach you how to be a better husband? A better father?
Yeah, you gotta shoot, and teach shooting. Ok. But the ethics, the empathy, the emotional intelligence that you learn is something you can use on and off the range.
I’ve been to more than 500 hours of gun school and this was the only one that made me a better human being. It was worth every penny.

Becoming a firearms instructor is more complicated than it might appear on the surface. As an instructor your ability to create, evaluate and modify written curriculum is paramount to a successful firearms course. You need to decipher the needs/goals of your students and use both presentation and shooting skills to help your students succeed. With the ASPIC program you will spend time with several of the industry’s finest subject matter experts who will help you on the way to becoming the ‘best’ instructor, not a ‘better’ instructor. That coupled with real time feedback from your peer group makes this program above and beyond what you will find in many other instructor courses. Invest in yourself and your future students by becoming an ASPIC graduate.

I knew from the original announcement of the ASPIC program that I wanted to do this, but I was overwhelmed at the workload and the reading, and quite honestly didn’t feel that I was ready yet. But I felt this nudging that it was time. I’m not sure you can ever be ready for this program, but if you are even considering it, follow your heart and do not let the thought of the coursework keep you back from it. This program taught me so much more than to be a great instructor, it taught me more about myself and how to relate and communicate better with my students, my husband and beyond. The time, care and feedback given by Christopher, Kaery, Neil, Stephannie and John truly pushed me and helped me to be a more confident instructor and to not hold myself back. I am constantly now assessing my curriculum against what I learned, and when I was tasked with building a new class, I knew exactly what tools to use to help determine and write the curriculum, which I quite honestly had never done before. I have learned through the experience that being an instructor is not cookie cutter and each instructor brings a different style and flavor of instructing to the cohort, giving me such a diverse network that I can lean on. Proud to stand by my fellow Cohort 5 members and call them my family!

I would tell anyone who is serious about taking their coaching career to the next level to get in this program. It will be well worth your investment.

PreviousNext