09/25/2026
These are just my own personal thoughts 💭
In medicine, doctors choose specialties.
In law, attorneys develop specific areas of practice.
In construction, even general contractors tend to specialize in particular types of work.
The same is true in countless other professions.
Yet somehow, in the self-defense and training industry, we have people who genuinely believe they can do it all—and teach all of it at an exceptionally high level of proficiency:
H2H. CQC. Knives. Handguns. Ri**es. Sh****ns. Legal issues. Mindset. Medical. De-escalation. Less than lethal options…the list goes on.
Personally, I prefer to train with specialists, and I deliberately narrow the focus of what I teach.
For example, I can—and do—teach an introduction to long-range r***e shooting. But once a student has developed that foundation, I’ll refer them to someone who specializes in long-range precision shooting.
I’ll teach introductory knife skills, but if a student wants to pursue advanced edged-weapons training, I’ll send them to someone whose primary expertise is in that discipline.
And I approach other subjects the same way.
Why?
Because those are not my specialties.
I may be a practitioner, but that doesn’t automatically make me an instructor.
There is nothing wrong with having a broad base of knowledge. In fact, I think a well-rounded instructor should have exposure to many different disciplines.
But exposure, experience, proficiency, and expertise are not the same thing.
Knowing enough about a subject to introduce it responsibly is very different from claiming to be an expert capable of teaching it at the highest levels.
I would rather be very good at a limited number of things, recognize where my expertise ends, and send my students to people who are better qualified in those other disciplines.
To me, that isn’t a weakness.
That’s professionalism.
And ultimately, the student benefits when instructors have enough confidence—and humility—to say:
“This is what I specialize in. For the next level, I know exactly who you should train with.”
As the old saying goes:
“The Jack of all trades, master of none”
I’d rather not be “that guy”…….
