TFTT Direct Action Group

Awesome courses, awesome instructors, awesome company. TFTT is just full of awesomeness. I got turned onto TFTT through a friend who talked them up as much as I am about to in this review. Five stars does not do its justice. I took tactical pistol with Max and then tactical rifle with Tim up in Sacramento. Came into the course as an amateur shooter and left feeling a tremendous sense of accomplishment with regards to my shooting skills and knowledge. These are hardcore classes with no time wasted. Breaks are no longer than 10 minutes (mostly five) and you have about 15 minutes for lunch. You definitely get what you pay for and even more. Both instructors were top-​of-​the-​line shooters with the ability to effectively teach, identify individual student errors & recommend better techniques, as well as ensure that the range remains safe at all times. Safety is no joke in this course. If you screw up at any point resulting in a negligent discharge, you are out; no second chances. With that said, there is a detailed review of all safety procedures as well as the syllabus for the day. If you are new to shooting like me, don’t let this fact intimidate you. The instructors will tell you and show you exactly what you need to do in order to stay safe and out of trouble.
A couple points I want to stress that other reviewers may have already touched on:
1. Bring multiple magazines. It will make your life easier.
2. Bring plenty of water and snacks to stay hydrated throughout the day.
3. Make sure to get a good night’s rest and arrive an hour early to prep. Don’t arrive 10 minutes prior to the course starting. You need time to prep and get your equipment ready.
4. Wear long clothing and bring kneepads and elbow pads, unless you want bloody knees and elbows.
5. Bring a pen and a notebook. There is some classroom stuff that the instructors go over and they contain a lot of detail. Some courses even have a test at the end of the day. You’ll need your notes to study.
These courses not only improve your shooting ability but test your physical agility as well. You will be taking a knee, going prone, and standing up many times throughout the day. You will be sore and exhausted at the end of the course, mentally and physically.
The instructors in this course all have prior professional experience dealing with everything they teach. If you want to improve your skills and knowledge in every aspect possible, I highly recommend taking TFTT’s courses. I will most definitely be returning to TFTT for as long as Feinstein allows me to.

Max and his cadre are by far the most professional, knowledgable and experienced group around. Whether it’s the basics of marksmanship, vehicle assaults, CQB and everything in between they know their stuff and not only do they teach it well, they are always ready to explain the theory and reasoning behind each TTP and every decision made. I’ve taken a couple course with them already and I will definitely keep coming back for more. Make no mistake though, you better have your shit squared away and be ready to rock when you attend a class. Max utilizes every second up at the range and you definitely get your money’s worth. Come hungry for knowledge and prepared to be challenged because this cadre will definitely get you engaged mentally and physically. Hone your skills and add a few tools to your tool box with TFTT, you won’t regret it one bit.

After being a shooter for 4 years I decided to step it up and take on a class by a group called TFTT «tactical firearms training team» and I will say this is the best training you can get period. These instructors are hard core and to the point many of them have served in special units over seas and have been in a lot of combat missions. I showed up at 0800 to take a tactical pistol class in 100 degree heat and 6200 feet up in burrow canyon shooting range. Results I have a better understanding for combat shooting I know my body’s limits at high speed. These instructors will test you but isn’t that the point? Anybody can be a great shooter in a indoor lane shooting a non moving target at 10 feet. But these classes with make you a better shooter all around. I look forward to taking more classes after I hit the gym a little more and gain some endurance. I would strongly recommend these classes! And thank you TFTT for training me I will return.

Max is the best! Took the Tacticle Pistol 1&2 course and Expert does not say enough… He is the f’ing Guru of tactical shooting. His basics are more advanced than much of the advanced shooting I learned in Marine Corps special ops (Recon) where we served together. He went on to teach as a Special Operations Training Group (SOTG) instructor. Yah, he was that good. That was back in the 80’s… He has improved his skills and tactics continually. The result is an up to date, effective, proven, and safe course of instruction that will improve your ability to handle some of the worst situations in a gun carriers life.
Unlike some old guy instructors who claim to be duty experts but really just rely on their glory days Max knows that there is always room for improvement. For the gun carrying professional there is no better way to get to your best level of performance. Shooting 250 – 300 rounds a day practicing the latest and the greatest will get you there.
Highlights include live fire 360 degree shooting safety mentality, draw, reload, failure drills, movement, and tactics to reduce collateral damage (to name a few).
In his PSD/​VIP Protection Course his incite and advice is 100% on the money. Drawing form his real world experience inside the compounds of some worlds biggest «A listers», supervising and training their security staffs, he give a no BS, «this is how you do it» course for VIP protection. The highlights of the course include live fire from assorted moving formations, from vehicles, on foot with evacuation to vehicles and a final exercise out in the city… Exactly like the real thing. If you want to become a proficient PSD/​VIP protector in 5 days this is the course for you.
Looking forward to the Combat Arts Seminar!

I’ve been to a couple of firearm classes, so I like to think that I’m not a total cream puff. Having read Temujin’s review, I had to take a class with Max Joseph and TFTT to step up my game. Here are a couple of summary points:
1) This is some hardcore $hit. In the class of 19, about half were personal security detail, 3 military and 5 from a local PD SWAT. I do not think they can promise that they’ll make you a better shooter, BUT they will make you one tactical thinkin mofo. Drawing from holster, shooting proficiently and efficiently, turning, kneeling, running, jumping all sorts of crap that you’d see a in a John Woo film. Ok, I lie about jumping.
2) Your feelings may get hurt, especially if you act like an idiot. Follow instructions and be SAFE! Max isn’t there to kiss your ass, he’s ready to kick it and make you hard.
3) It was hotter than hell, but wear pants. Knee pads might be a good idea. Trust me, don’t be an idiot and wear shorts or else you will end up with bloodied knees. Also bring LOTS of fluids on a 90+ degree day. I could have drank about 3 gallons from 8 – 5.
4) Body armor is required at all times. Yes, seriously. They have them for rent though for $ 10.
5) The training curriculum is through and very precise. Listen and practice and you will do well.
Best of luck on the qualifications, like it is said, ‘the easiest day was yesterday!’

It’s been four years since I wrote the foregoing review and next week, it would have been exactly seven years since I attended my first TFTT course.
Since that time, besides being a repeat student at TFTT more times than I can recall, I’ve attended dozens of courses from a half dozen other schools for the purposes of comparison.
The passage of time has given me the following insights as to why I will always consider TFTT the standard by which all other combat oriented training centers are to be judged:
1) The instructors are all at the top of their game and very well versed in any given subject being taught. Plus, each and every one of them are motivated to bring out the best from every single individual under their charge. They hold themselves and their classes to very high and demanding standards and expect the same from their students.
2) The training syllabus is based on skills, tactics, and training methodologies which have been pressure tested and proven in the unforgiving crucible of life-​and-​death contest in just about every zone of armed conflict raging around the globe.
3) The ability of the instructor cadre to impart knowledge
— both during the classroom/​lecture phase (a distinct shortcoming with many schools), as well as the live fire field exercise segments of the course — is of incomparable quality. This is the end result of both an effective teaching methodology as well as comprehensively articulating the context in which the learning objectives are to be applied.
4) And last, but, most definitely, not least, Training Director Joseph is what I would characterize as THE personification of professionalism and personal integrity. Which, in my strident opinion, sets an unparalleled standard for both his staff of instructors, as well as TFTT, as a whole.
One final note for this update. When it comes to combative shooting, tactics, and training, very few people have as extensive a library as the one I possess but the most valuable writings among that collection are the volumes of notes I have taken over the course of nearly a decade of TFTT’s classes.