Editorial

Instructor Tips | Giving Credit and Citing Sources

Up to now we’ve primarily focused on managing students, materials, and safety. Today we are taking a different focus, a more philosophical and abstract aspect of instruction. Our topic is giving credit and citing our sources. This is a topic that is very important to me, and something I strive to do in my teaching and writing.

If you’ve ever been a student of mine you’ve probably heard me give credit to my instructors and mentors when it comes to certain techniques or sayings. For those who have read previous entries in this series, you know that I mention a lot of people here as well. Today we’ll look at why I do this, and why you should too.

The Importance of Giving Credit and Citing Sources

Why should we be giving people credit and citing our sources? For starters, it’s the right thing to do. It takes just a few seconds to let people know where we’ve picked something up, and it doesn’t detract from the learning environment. We don’t have to regale our students with war stories or set the scene for each reference, but a quick “I learned this from” will do the job in a pinch. For those wanting more context and background, we as instructors can use break time to give details, or provide a resource list to students after class.

Respect

Credit and citation shows respect for those we learn from. While we may come to some conclusions fully on our own, it’s a stretch to say that we’ve never adopted a term or technique for someone else, or at least been inspired by another person. We should be honoring those mentors not just with our time and money, but with respect and a place in our rolodex of resources as well. If it’s good enough to use, it’s good enough to provide the source.

When crediting others it’s also important that we do our best to use proper terminology. Our forebears named things a certain way for a reason, and this common language allows us to communicate more effectively. It’s not up to us to decide to rename a drill or technique to suit our preference or style; whether it’s The Test from Larry Vickers and Ken Hackathorn, or the Managing Unknown Contacts as popularized by the Shivworks Collective. Use the correct verbiage to the best of your ability, and ask for clarification when memory fails. Just like when speaking to a person, using the correct name is the least we can do to show respect.

Preserving History, Lineage, and Establishing Precedent

Focusing on the context of firearms training and the Second Amendment, our rights are constantly under attack. Often detractors will try to proclaim that certain pieces of equipment, tactics and techniques, and other aspects of our world are new and novel. That these things aren’t protected because they’re “not what the Founders intended”, whether that holds any water or not. By crediting our predecessors and properly citing sources we are able to establish a precedent to show that these claims are untrue. This helps preserve our rights for generations to come.

A portion of Tom’s lecture showing how far back some seemingly new techniques actually go

Additionally, it’s important to preserve history and to show lineage. This allows us to better learn from the past to forge a more effective future; whether that be avoiding old pitfalls or using new technology to adapt things to the modern era. We can show the logical growth of technology and technique over time, and better appreciate the shoulders we stand on today.

Guide Others to Valuable Resources

Unfortunately, there are those who walk among us who wish to hold a monopoly on training. Those who actively discourage their students from seeking out other instructors, or who intentionally hold students back to drive returning business. Those people should be shunned, cast out from our ranks and forgotten to time. For the rest of us, we should be encouraging our peers and students to diversify their knowledge and experiences.

Steve explaining the process of building a proper high-ready position

We can help guide our students to other valuable resources to help them grow and develop. Our mentors can become their mentors, providing them experience and knowledge that we have benefited from. Maybe another instructor can frame a concept, or give a new explanation that will allow the student to overcome barriers we were unable to conquer. Even simple scheduling differences, or the excitement of something new may open doors and cause them to reinvest in their training. Every time you cite a source, that is another avenue for them to pursue knowledge.

Don’t be a roadblock to other’s learning opportunities. You are not the final stop in their journey. Give them the same opportunities you had, and more.

Build Trust, Community

Those of us who study and train are unfortunately a very small minority of gun owners across the world. This should be a tight knit community, but it’s more like a series of tribes with minimal overlap or cross pollination between them. By giving credit to others we learn from, we help grow our community and build trust across its members. Our students trust us, and when we cite sources, that helps those students to trust others who would otherwise be strangers.

If we want our way of life to continue, it’s critical that we grow the community surrounding it. Connect people, expose them to common interests and values, and nurture our relationships.

Closing Thoughts on Instructor Tips | Giving Credit and Citing Sources

In short, give credit where credit is due! None of us are islands in the training world, nor are we all knowing seers. We must credit those who came before us, and provide sources to those who come afterwards. It’s our responsibility to carry the torch, and to preserve our history.

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Every bit helps bring more work like this to you, and contributes to shortened timelines or more in-depth work on my part. You’ll also have more direct access to me, offering suggestions for future projects, looking behind the scenes, and getting early access to some content. You can find my Patreon >>HERE<<

Daniel Reedy

Daniel holds instructor certifications from Rangemaster, Agile Training & Consulting, and the NRA. He has received training from Craig Douglas, Tom Givens, and Steve Fisher among others. He also has experience competing in USPSA, CAS, 3 Gun, and Steel Challenge. In his free time Daniel enjoys petting puppies and reading the Constitution. His work is also published by Athlon Outdoors, AmmoLand, Recoil Concealment, Air Force Times, and other publications.