This is from a discussion I had with my husband Mike.

Hi, my name is Suzi and I am instructor Mike's wife. This topic has been a big one for me so I wanted to share what I learned. Instructor Mike gives the top reasons, in his experience why this is and how he pivots his training style to help women overcome their anxiety.

1. Women learn differently than men

Women commonly use different strategies than men when learning, namely through conversations. (Yes, my wife talks way more than me, do you feel me here guys?) In short, women take directions literally.

In most cases, women weren’t taught their line of sight needed to line up with the front and back sights of the firearm and the target. ‘Watch the front sight,’ for example, taken literally means just that. She’s watching the front sight, and not the target through the front sight. When giving instructions he thinks carefully about how he words these directions, making sure that he is speaking clearly and literally.

2. Guns are not one-size-fits-all

Women tend to have smaller hands and are often handed a gun simply too large for them to comfortably grip. Mike is cognizant of this and offers many options to his students. He has found that women who have the option of using 9mm versus .40 caliber handguns saw drastic improvements because of the decrease in the recoil. Adjustable and interchangeable grips can also make a huge difference. When the firearm is so large that the user is adjusting her grip to reach the trigger, she’s no longer able to provide a backstop for the recoil energy. If pulling the trigger each time is causing physical pain, her focus may shift from remembering what she’s learned, to pulling the trigger as quickly as possible to get the pain over with. As a result, shooting isn’t viewed as an enjoyable experience and it’s not something she’ll be eager to keep doing (especially on her own time). If the gun is too big, the slide often fails to cycle because of that leftover energy from reaching for the trigger. When this happens, other instructors often assume it’s caused by limp-wristing, when that’s not necessarily the case.

3. Male instructors fear getting “hands-on”

Firearms training is tactical in the most literal sense. Sometimes, you need to be physically moving your trainee. Male firearms instructors are often too timid to do this with women because they fear invading a woman’s space and making her uncomfortable

The solution? He talks to them about it. Women can see that you’re also physically moving men’s bodies into position. (If they observe a male attended clinic) It’s a necessary part of the job that can and should be done in a professional manner and without having to jump through hoops or fearing of making them feel uncomfortable or afraid of being sued.

4. Many women just have less interest in shooting

This by no means applies to all women, but some simply don’t find the concept of shooting interesting or comfortable. But if you can get down to the bottom of why it doesn’t pique her interest, it may be a simple fix.

5. Trainers don’t adjust their approach

If you’re a male firearms instructor who is used to teaching other men, who learn like you do, teaching a woman who requires different methods can get challenging. He covers one thing at a time and knows that patience is required. The last thing he wants to do is crush her self-confidence, as this may cause her to decide this is not her jam. Positive reinforcement and enthusiastically repeating what you’ve told her and have her repeat it back to you helps tremendously in her retention and confidence.

He systematically goes over the main concepts and has her repeat them back to him. Things like:

• Breathe

• Adjust your grip

• Get your sights lined up with your eyes and the target

• Breathe

• Press the trigger straight and flat back

• Trigger reset (if you teach trigger reset)

• Breathe

• Bring the sights back into view

He also has found it very helpful to connect with his students after the class via email to reiterate these concepts and points, reinforcing her strengths and encouraging her to continue.

6. Some are intimidated by the overwhelming man-to-woman ratio

Ever wonder why there are “just for women” gyms? He is aware that being surrounded by a bunch of men, especially in a situation where you may already feel inferior, is a less-than-ideal situation.

7. Physical differences in men's and women’s bodies play a big part.

Women generally tend to have less strength in their upper bodies, arms, and hands. The most common things he has been told are “I am nervous the gun is going to fly out of my hands” I am afraid it is going to hurt my hands”. His method for helping his female students overcome this challenge is by communicating to them the steps they need to follow and that he is there to ensure it does not happen until they are comfortable enough for him to stand back and allow them to shine.