09/03/2026
Spartan Fi****ms Training Group, LLC—Home of the Armed Citizen-Guardian™—Your Permit Is Only the Beginning.
We recently introduced our Defensive Capability System™ (DCS)—a framework for developing the capabilities responsible armed citizens need to help prevent, manage, and survive a deadly-force encounter.
Last week, we began exploring the pillars starting with Awareness & Perception. Next, we presented Thinking & Judgment. Then, we turned to the Legal & Ethical Foundation. And then, we focused on communication and de-escalation. Today, we focus on skills and performance.
When prevention fails and an immediate, life-threatening event leaves no meaningful time to deliberate—and communication is no longer relevant—skill and performance become critical. This is where gun handling, marksmanship, practiced responses, and the ability to perform under stress matter most.
Remember the irreducible rule:
Protect innocent life—legally and ethically. Stop the threat, and stop when the threat stops.
In that moment, expectations are not enough. You are unlikely to suddenly perform at a level you have never developed or practiced. Under pressure, you will tend to rely on the skills, habits, and decisions your training has prepared you to execute. In other words, you will fall to the level of your training and not rise to the level of your expectations.
The accompanying infographic captures important information about skills and performance.
Relevant Research
Oudejans, R. R. D. (2008). Reality-based practice under pressure improves handgun shooting performance of police officers. Ergonomics, 51(3), 261–273. https://doi.org/10.1080/00140130701577435
A small police study showing that representative practice under pressure helped prevent performance deterioration.
Nieuwenhuys, A., & Oudejans, R. R. D. (2011). Training with anxiety: Short- and long-term effects on police officers’ shooting behavior under pressure. Cognitive Processing, 12(3), 277–288. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10339-011-0396-x
Those two studies provide evidence supporting the commonly used maxim “You will fall to the level of your training...;" that is, performance under pressure is more likely to be effective when relevant skills have been practiced under stress.
