Once you get past the click-bait-y title, this is a pretty thought provoking article. I disagree with most of it. For one thing, the author has a profoundly exaggerated idea of the benefit of training classes. I once had a very good firearms instructor, who shall remain nameless though if he likes I will certainly name him, tell me, “One of the most frustrating things about my job is knowing that the vast majority of my students will never actually practice what I’m teaching them. They may shoot a little better right after the class, but they’ll never practice enough for the techniques to become permanent. As far as making a real improvement in their shooting, they might as well have never taken the class.”
Also the author has an exaggerated opinion of the benefits of simply competing in USPSA/IDPA. Look, I am a HUGE proponent of competition as a tool to build skills that might be used in armed self-defense. But really, simply showing up to matches, even showing up to matches on a regular basis, will not by itself make you a better shooter. The match is how we measure where our skill level was before we got to the match.
Shooting a handgun fast and well requires an extremely high level of dexterity, an extremely high level of absolutely seared into your synapses skill. The only way to get that is with time, dedication and hard work. As the old saying goes, There Ain’t No Such Thing As a Free Lunch. That’s a sad truth, but a sad truth is a truth nonetheless.