“From the Ground Up” is now available for everyone!

The new year is not even a few hours old, and already the first cracker is here! Granted, not everyone is familiar with Shepherd Development (“Shep Dev”) or their dryfire training plan. But for those of us who breathe and live “practical shooting”, the name has long been familiar.  Likewise, that the same principles that apply to sport also apply to Dryfire: consistency, fixed plans and goals and, ideally, coaching.

The “Shepherd Development” phenomenon

Shepherd Development has established a name for itself in the community because nowadays it is not only important to act as a provider of training content. Rather, it is essential to also act as a pioneer for the further development of standards. Because there are many instructors. But there are only a few instructors that live “improvement” the way Shep Dev does.

The standards in the field of practical shooting have changed and developed again and again over the years. A good example of this is the “ReFactor KILL CARD”, which was still considered a niche topic years ago. Today, it is an integral part of many classes (atleast in the United States) and a synonym for "Speed and Accuracy" when it comes to shooting. With a consistent presence on social media, Shepherd Development has been instrumental in establishing such standards by demonstrating its approach, skills, competencies and continuous self-improvement through transparency. And that almost on a daily basis. The result: “SHEP DEV” is now one of the leading points of reference for anyone who wants to improve their practical shooting skills.

Picture above: As a holder of the “REFactor KILL Card”, who backs up his skills at all times with a timer and direct target analyses, his competence is more than clear. Image: www.shepherddevelopment.com

Every user can directly SEE and UNDERSTAND what skills and competencies are available at “SHEP DEV”. This is a major advantage over other instructors, whose expertise is often legitimized by word of mouth or hearsay. Or because they have done this or that in the past. Not that that's wrong. But scientific evidence is cooler.

And this is also proven live in many courses that you can book from SHEP DEV: There are courses in Switzerland, in the USA and all over the world. But that's not the end of the story: the number of authorities and departments that have adopted his training resources is quite long. Just a few snippets: Austrian Federal Police, North Carolina SWAT, Israel Police, the USMC, US Border Patrol - you can find the complete list of all authorities at https://shepherddevelopment.com/training/ . Oh yes: And of course there are also targets to download. For free.

"From the Ground Up" - THE “Dry” and “Livefire” course par excellence.

And now comes the killer! “From the Ground Up”, a kind of basic course on handgun handling, is now available for free! The course and curriculum is going to be completely available online for anyone to access. The PDFs will be made available for print and download and, in symbiosis with the video material, make up the “From the Ground Up” course.

The course was created around 2020, more or less during (and because of) Corona and closed a big gap, as the shooting ranges were closed in many places and many courses could not be booked. But why this step now? The explanation is quite simple. Even if the curriculum is still highly up-to-date, it is now 4 years old and one or two nuances would perhaps be done differently today, according to “SHEP DEV”. And now it's getting interesting.

Because instead of leaving things as they are, the course will now be available completely online, because:

 "We don't want anyone paying for a course (built in 2020) that hasn't evolved with us over the last 4 years. Our thinking and explanations of these nuanced concepts are deeper and more impactful in our current classes [...] Still, this course will absolutely set you up on the right path with the homework and structure, but always keep in mind that if you or your instructors aren't progressing forward, then something needs to change in your training."

In other words, the course is no longer completely, 1,000% up to date in terms of the “learnings” and experiences that have been made. But instead of deleting it, it is going to be made available to the general public because it is still a high-quality learning tool. It provides excellent “homework” for students and ensures that everyone is set on the right track. This course remains a valuable foundation for anyone wanting to get started with their handgun. Training concepts and methods are constantly evolving to incorporate new knowledge and changing requirements, which is why students and instructors must continually learn and adapt. The following therefore applies: if no progress is visible, it is time to question the training and, if necessary, find new approaches.

Picture above: The “From the Ground Up” course. 29 subsections, each one lined with text and video material, clearly structured. Image: www.shepherddevelopment.com

How can I begin with the plan?

Well, it's quite simple: in addition to hearing protection and shooting glasses, you basically need your handgun, 2 magazines, 250 rounds and a shot timer. 250 rounds? That's right. The training plan not only includes a plan for “dry” training at home, but also a “live fire” segment, in other words a large part of the training takes place in live fire on the range. Ideally, you already own a holster and magazine pouches, as you will also be training to draw from the holster.

All you have to do is register at www.shepherddevelopments.com and BAM! You have access to the online course! Without paying a cent! Doesn't that sound fantastic? We think so. Let's go.

"Shooter ready?"

"Staaaaaandby..."