Register Now for the Primary & Secondary Training Summit

With the 2020 Primary & Secondary Training Summit fast approaching on September 5-7 in Logan, Utah, we reached out to Primary & Secondary’s Matt Landfair to get an update on the status of the event, who can attend, what to expect, and why he feels an event like this is a unique opportunity to improve your skills.

If interested, for more information on the event, click here.

Q: Matt, the last time we talked, you gave a rough overview of the Primary & Secondary Training Summit, but a lot has happened in the months since we did that interview. Can you give us an update on the status of the event?

Matt Landfair, Primary & Secondary – Since our initial announcement, COVID derailed my initial plans for the Primary & Secondary Training Summit. I figured that with everything going on with COVID, I would cut down on advertising and talking about it, just so people could focus on things that might be of a more pressing priority in their lives. I don’t know what anyone’s conditions are other than my own. I didn’t want to be saying, “hey everybody, travel to Utah, spend money on travel, lodging, ammo, and  training instead of taking care of yourself and your family.”

Q: There’s a lot of folks who might be interested in getting out there and attending. Can you walk us through what you’re expecting and how the planning is going?

Matt Landfair, Primary & Secondary – Right now, we have a tentative schedule. Pretty much all of the instructors have responded and indicated that they are good-to-go. We have planned out and forecasted the classes that will be taught, and the lectures that will be held. We’ve figured out what ranges they will be at, and which classrooms they will be in. We’ve also figured out what the round counts will be for specific blocks. The COVID speed bump did not help with logistics. 

Now that we’ve done that, now I can provide that information when people ask me things like “Hey, what’s Chuck Pressburg going to be teaching?” I can now say that he is going to be teaching ‘No-Fail Pistol.’

What’s Blowers going to be teaching? He’s going to be teaching ‘Diagnostic Pistol’ …how to figure out how to maximize your training in your practice.

Mark Smith is going to teach a block at the Primary & Secondary Training Summit that allows for either pistol or rifle depending on what attendees want, and the idea is to learn how to shoot sooner and not faster. It’s about determining priorities versus rushing things. He’s also going to be delving into aspects of shot calling. Both of these concepts don’t necessarily need to be pistol or rifle. They can be weapon agonistic.

Q: Can you talk about the value of an event like the Primary & Secondary Training Summit? It’s rare to get this many experts in once place…

Matt Landfair, Primary & Secondary – I think one of the most significant values is simply being able to customize your experience based on what your needs are. We have some very experienced people coming out to teach weapon handling and shooting skills. We also have some very knowledgeable and experienced people teaching other important concepts…for example, someone like Varg Freeborn will be teaching ‘Violence of Mind and Criminal Mindset.’

Darryl Bolke will discuss ‘Training Habits of Highly Successful Gunfighters.’

We also have many armorer’s courses that will help Primary & Secondary Training Summit attendees determine what is best for them or what to look for when you are in the market. There are also segments on how to best care and maintain weapons …there’s just all sorts of very informative blocks available for attendees to pick and choose, depending on what applies to them and their needs.

Because of this, I’ve tried to set the schedule up where there is not a lot of overlap. Basically, the first and second-day schedules are very similar. You won’t be able to take everything, as that’s just physically impossible.

As far as round counts, we’re under 1,500 rounds total, if you were to take all the shooting classes. That’s in between pistol and rifle. 

What Primary & Secondary Training Summit attendees can expect is four-hour blocks of intense focus and training. They are going to be running from the start. This is not a “crawl-walk-run”…it’s walking at a swift pace into a run. We’re not going to waste time with things like “this is a trigger, this is a magazine.” Nope. Hopefully, people attending will already know how to shoot a gun.

Q: Can you talk about who the Primary & Secondary Training Summit is for?

Matt Landfair, Primary & Secondary – I want to stress that it is wide open to the public. The event is intended for anyone who wants to excel, learn, and advance their skills with firearms. It is not restricted to military or law enforcement only. It is open to the public. Initially, I thought I could get some free spots for law enforcement once this got going. Unfortunately, the amount of students we have so far has not allowed for that. 

It’s a bit sad…as the whole goal was to spread good information and promote good instructors, where people could get an incredible sampling of all these different instructors. The goal was that people can see their teaching styles, the information they share. Then attendees can determine that ‘hey, this might be someone I want to host at my home agency or wherever.’

Q: In a lot of ways, the Primary & Secondary Training Summit comes an opportune time. I’m hearing from lots of readers who are inquiring about training for the first time…

Matt Landfair, Primary & Secondary – In the last several months, gun sales have just gone through the roof. There are a lot of people who have purchased firearms, and they may not have an idea of what the first step is. I’ve been there.  

At one point in my life, I owned guns, but I had yet to have any professional training. I thought I was a pretty decent shot, I went through the police academy, got some good training scars, but it wasn’t until I took professional training that I had a better idea of the expectations of what performance should actually be.

Until I reached that point, I realize now that I had a firearm simply as a talisman that I hoped would ward off evil. My skillset was nowhere near where it needed to be. This training weekend is a great place for someone to start that adventure in training. It’s a great place to figure out which instructors you are going to like more. What instructors have a method and a style that resonates with you? This is such an excellent opportunity to learn that.  

“Understand what “Performance” Actually Is…”

The Primary & Secondary Training Summit is an excellent opportunity to see these great professional instructors in action, but it’s also incredibly helpful to understand what “performance” actually is. Until you attend a class, all you have is speculation in your mind as to what that looks like. I know that before I participated in a class, I was way off. I had no idea what “proficiency with a firearm” actually was until I took professional training.

Many people have an idea in their mind of what their deadly force situation is going to be. In talking to people, this scenario often sounds like a movie. They’re going to kill the bad guy and get the girl, and they win. Life does not work like that.  

We must be familiar with ourselves, our abilities, and our tools to overcome hazards or obstacles that get in our way. The better we know ourselves, our tools, and our capabilities, the better prepared we are. Training is such a great way for us to see what our deficiencies are and focus our efforts to make up for those, and try to improve.

Pretty much everything I’ve done with Primary & Secondary has been dedicated to putting out the best possible information for people who want it and those who need it. I would not call this training event a culmination, but it’s a good example of what our network can do when we get together. The goal is simply to help people who want to excel and want to go beyond their comfort zone with their overall performance with firearms.

###

Primary & Secondary Training Summit Instructor roster (possible changes may occur):

Chad Albrecht – lecture: AR diagnostics/upkeep/microarmorer

Bill Blowers – range: shield (LE if enough interest), diagnostic pistol and tracking progress

Darryl Bolke – lecture: Training Habits of Highly Successful Gunfighters

Varg Freeborn – lecture: criminal mindset/violence of mind

Jim Fuller – lecture: AK history, diagnostics, outfitting

Chuck Haggard – lecture: controlling unknown contacts, range: contact distance shooting and options/low light techniques

Scott Jedlinski – range: efficent edc rds, competition

Matt Little – range: close range carbine, competition, incorporating live fire into effective training

Mike Mihalski – lecture: AR15 standardized quality (selecting duty/defensive weapons)

Chuck Pressburg –lecture: loadout considerations/shooting around friendlies and unknowns/nvg, range: no fail pistol, shooting under nvg

Jared Reston –lecture: starting and ending the fight, range: active shooter response

Dr. Gary Roberts – lecture: understanding terminal ballistics/choosing defensive/duty ammo

Mark Smith – Range: Weapon mechanics/LPVO