My blog usually focuses on the topic of self protection and survival. This post detailing a recent experience is a little different. Stick with it, as there will be some survival lessons I hope you will find useful. I first went to Burning Man back in 2013. Since then I’ve attended a total of […]
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Back from Uganda and Rwanda
I recently returned from a 10-day trip to Rwanda and Uganda to track mountain gorillas in their natural habitat. Solo travelers can’t do this trip on their own, they must sign up for a government park ranger-led program and pay for a very expensive permit. The tours in both countries are done in groups of […]
Fifteen Years Ago Today
Written by: Greg Ellifritz Fifteen years ago today I made a trek to the summit of the highest mountain in Africa. While getting to the top of Kilimanjaro didn’t require any technical climbing skills, it did require more fortitude than any endeavor I had previously undertaken. For those who don’t know, Kili is […]
Upcoming Classes- May-June 2023
Here are all the open enrollment classes I am teaching between now and the end of June. On May 14, 2023 I’ll be back in Ohio at Blackwing teaching my Snub Nose Revolver class. Registration details HERE. This is one of only two snub revolver classes I am teaching this year. […]
Email Newsletter Updates
Two years ago, the email service I was using to notify all of you when I had posted a new article became defunct. In looking for a replacement email notification system, we found that most of the programs charged between $300 and $700 a month for a service similar to what we were getting […]
October Classes in North Carolina
In October, I will be teaching three classes at the Apache Solutions facility in Yadkinville, North Carolina. If you would like some more information about Apache Solutions and the trainers they bring in, check out the link below. https://youtu.be/yIykhzlkKi4 The registration links are below. October 13, 2023- Snub Nose […]
Upcoming Classes: April-June 2023
Here are all the open enrollment classes I am teaching between now and the end of June. In mid-April, I will be traveling to Davie, Florida (near Ft. Lauderdale) to teach three different classes. On Friday night (April 14), I’m teaching a three- hour lecture class called Armed Citizen Response to the Terrorist […]
Celebrating 11 Years of Blogging
Last week marked my 11-year blogging anniversary. Eleven full years of blogging about self defense, firearms, and personal safety topics. I started this website on March 18, 2012 and have posted 2416 total articles since then. The average novel is somewhere around 100,000 words. In the last 11 years I’ve written a total […]
Upcoming Classes: March-May 2023
Here are all the open enrollment classes I am teaching between now and the end of May. My next class will be Tactical First Aid and System Collapse Medicine at Blackwing Shooting Center on March 12, 2023 in Delaware, Ohio. Registration details HERE. As of today, there is only one open slot. Register quickly […]
Upcoming 2023 Open Enrollment Classes
I’m working on finalizing my 2023 class schedule and will be teaching my first open enrollment class at the end of the month. Here’s what I have scheduled for February, March, and April. My first class is in the Los Angeles, California area on February 25-26, 2023. It will be my relatively rare Two-Day […]
Back From Mexico
I recently returned from a three-week trip to Mexico. I wasn’t teaching and didn’t have any holiday plans, so I decided to do some relaxing down in one of my favorite places in the world, Playa del Carmen. I spent my 50th birthday, Christmas, and New Years down there. If you want to experience […]
My Best Writing- 2022
Written by: Greg Ellifritz Last week, I posted an article linking to my most popular posts in 2022 In that article, I discussed how my “most popular” articles were not the same as my “best” articles. I liked many of the most popular articles (ranked by page view), but I think other […]
2022 Training Review
Back in the earlier days of my blog, I used to write incredibly detailed posts about all the training and travel I completed each year. I talked about how many students and classes I had taught, rounds I fired, and books I read. You can read my older annual updates HERE I enjoy […]
Top 10 Most Popular Articles of 2022
Seth Godin once made a very powerful statement in a blog post. “My most popular blog posts this year…weren’t my best ones. As usual, the most popular music wasn’t the best recorded this year either. Same for the highest-grossing movies, restaurants and politicians doing fundraising. “Best” is rarely the same as “popular.” Which means […]
Personal Health Update- Cancer
*Fair warning, The following text contains a frank discussion of cancer, death, and sexual function. If any of those topics offends you, move on and avoid reading this piece. If those topics don’t bother you, read on to learn about the challenges I’ve been experiencing during the last few years. – Greg While […]
Best of What I Read- 2022
Written by: Greg Ellifritz Compared to the average American, I read a massive number of books. I try to read around 10 books a month. I accomplish this because I don’t have TV in my house and I carry a book wherever I go. Whenever I have a few spare moments, I spend them […]
Street Encounter Skills and Tactics
Last month, John Murphy of FPF Training invited me to Dallas to take his ‘Street Encounters Skills and Tactics” course. I’ve been friends with John for a long while and he has been hosting me at his Virginia facility for about seven years. I have taken several of his classes at conferences like Rangemaster Tac […]
Open Enrollment Classes Remaining in 2022
I have a variety of open enrollment classes scheduled in Ohio, Indiana, and Arizona during the next couple months. All of them still have some openings, but most of my classes have sold out this year. Act quickly if you’d like to book any of these unique training events. I have just a couple […]
Trainers You Should Know- Citizens Safety Academy
There are more competent firearms instructors teaching quality classes than ever before in human history. None of us has a corner on the market. Just like I’ve trained with dozens of top instructors over the years, my students will also train with other teachers. That’s a good thing. In my view, steering […]
Developing World Problems in the USA
I was once on a snorkeling excursion in Aruba. On the boat, I heard an older couple speaking Spanish with a very distinctive Argentine accent. They were the only Spanish speakers on the boat and seemed a bit confused with the captain’s English snorkeling instructions. I introduced myself in Spanish and translated the captain’s […]