09/06/2026
WHY THE INSTRUCTOR YOU CHOOSE MATTERS
When you decide to take fi****ms, self-defense, trauma, or preparedness training, one of the most important decisions you will make isn't which class you take, it's who you choose to learn from. A certificate tells you someone completed a course. It doesn't necessarily tell you how much practical experience they have applying what they teach.
In almost every profession, there is some version of the same saying: “The schoolhouse gives you the foundation. The real training begins when you start doing the job.”
There is an important distinction between knowing the theory, practicing a skill in a controlled environment, and applying that knowledge when the situation is real. Today, anyone can build a website, start a YouTube channel, earn certifications, and sound knowledgeable. That doesn't automatically make their information wrong, but as a student, you should understand where that knowledge comes from.
HOW DO YOU CHOOSE AN INSTRUCTOR?
Look beyond the advertising. Ask about their training, professional background, and practical experience. Have they actually worked in the environments they're teaching about? Is that experience relevant to what they're teaching today? Look at what former students say about them. Reviews can tell you a great deal about whether an instructor communicates clearly, treats beginners with respect, prioritizes safety, and actually helps students become more confident and capable.
Pay attention to instructors who claim that one class, technique, firearm, or piece of equipment is the answer to everything. Good training should teach you how to think, not simply what to think. Don't confuse confidence with competence. Someone can sound extremely convincing while possessing very little practical experience.
THAT'S WHY VIKING 6 TACTICAL TRAINS DIFFERENTLY
Our programs combine formal training with lessons learned through real-world military, law-enforcement, emergency-response, and instructional experience.
Our personal safety and self-defense training incorporates lessons from situations where instructors have actually had to make decisions about force, not simply discuss hypothetical scenarios in a classroom.
Our home-security and preparedness training incorporates decades of responding to burglaries, investigating incidents, and seeing firsthand what worked, what failed, and what people wished they had done differently.
Our trauma training isn't based solely on watching demonstrations. Our experience includes providing emergency care in real-world environments, including battlefield and roadside incidents, and using equipment such as tourniquets and compression bandages and performing wound packing.
Our defensive pistol and rifle programs combine formal military and law-enforcement instruction with lessons developed through multiple combat deployments and years of operational experience.
But there is another important point: Real-world experience alone doesn't automatically make someone a good instructor either. An instructor must be able to take those experiences, separate what is relevant from what isn't, and translate those lessons into safe, understandable, practical training for ordinary citizens.
That's what we work to do at Viking 6 Tactical.
We're not going to turn you into John Wick or Chuck Norris during a weekend class, and anyone promising something similar should probably raise some questions. What we can do is provide you with a foundation; we can teach you to become more aware, we can help you understand your equipment, we can give you skills to practice, we can help you recognize your limitations, and most importantly, we can help you develop the knowledge and confidence to become better prepared to protect yourself and the people who matter to you.
Before choosing your next instructor, do your homework. Check their background. Look at their experience. Read their reviews. Ask questions. Find out whether they're teaching something they've merely learned, or something they've actually had to understand and apply.
Your training is an investment. Choose carefully who you trust to provide it. For questions about Viking 6 Tactical training, call or text George at 802-349-8080, or see our current programs at Viking 6 Tactical.
VIKING 6 TACTICAL
REAL EXPERIENCE. PRACTICAL TRAINING.
TRAIN WITH PURPOSE.
