Review of Beyond CHL

[PaJ]

Last Saturday, my wife and I took a class called Beyond CHL, taught by Ben Branam. Ben also has a website: http://www.ModernSelfProtection.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.

I'm not sure how, but I ended up on the website, but I did and started listening to Ben's podcasts. I liked his "everyday man" approach to self defense. I'm not a SEAL. I'm never going to be a SEAL, so I don't need SEAL level training or gear (though it would be fun). My wife and I gave the class to each other for Valentines Day. Ben is out of San Antonio, but holds classes in other areas. We took ours at The Impact Zone near Houston.

The class started at 9 and wrapped up shortly after 5. We trained straight through - including through lunch. We started with a safety briefing that went beyond "the 4 rules" then started shooting. We had five people in our class so got to shoot a lot.

We learned to shoot up close, on the move, behind cover and long range. I had no idea I could shoot my weapon so fast and accurately - especially while moving. Ben took lots of time with us one-on-one to show us what we were doing wrong, how we could improve, etc. He also brought in stories from his time in the Marines and Iraq, his job driving an armored truck and other stories from around the country that were in the news. During lunch he talked about legal use of force. He covered the gamut.

I highly recommend Ben, his classes and his podcasts. He's a great teacher and fun to be around. Also, he is no nonsense, straight forward and extremely safety minded (not only during the course but teaches safety in the home too). The podcasts let me know that I liked his style before signing up for the class, which took some of the "I hope it's worth the money" fear out. The class met all of my expectations and more.

My wife and I will definitely be taking more of his classes - even if we have to drive to San Antonio. I felt his price was a great value and the training was top notch.