InSights Training Center

Provided services and credential eligibility as advertised. However, 1 of 2 classes was the kids class. I did not find it as beneficial as anticipated. Not enough conversation to keep children’s interest. They have a very large assortment of classes available.

My son and I have taken several classes at Insights Training. Consistently top-​notch instruction, extremely knowledgable instructors and a real focus on safety. They blend practical skills with knowledge and hands-​on practice.
We highly recommend them!

Last night I took the women’s 3 hour intro to handgun class taught by Kristina and assisted by Tracy. It was very informative but most importantly it was comfortable. I felt instantly at ease in the environment Kristina creates. She was so funny! She had us all laughing and really explained points I thought I previously understood with much more clarity. She never made me feel inferior or intimidated, to the contrary, I left feeling confident and empowered. I will be scheduling myself for more if their women’s classes and I’ll be checking specifically for Kristina as the instructor.

My wife and I took Handgun Safety and Marksmanship, which is the entry-​level course for true beginners. My wife has rifle experience but I had never handled a gun of any kind until this course.
I will admit that I was pretty apprehensive about this course before starting, because (a) as noted, I’d never handled a gun before, (b) I was afraid the course would be nothing but hyper-​aggressive «gun nut» stereotypes, and © the course is 4 hours with a mix of lecture & live-​fire, and I was sure we’d get bored. Despite all that, I left the course feeling much more educated and confident about handguns, how to use them safely, and about gun owners in general.
We had three instructions – Alan, Ben, and Tracy – for a class of eight. The high instructor-​to-​student ratio was helpful and I cannot speak highly enough about the instructors. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but all three of these guys made both my wife and I feel safe, and taught us a lot WITHOUT making us feel stupid. It would have been really easy for guys with their backgrounds to make a guy like me feel weak or inadequate, and instead they made us feel confident in our progress (without BSing us into thinking thinking one 4-​hour class means we’re experts).
I don’t have any basis for comparison, but for me the class material was very helpful. The pacing and content of the beginning lecture worked well. The live-​fire exercises were thoughtfully constructed and came with a lot of firm-​but-​friendly feedback. We went through one box of 9 mm on the range. On my first shot, I was nervous and unsure of myself; by my last shots, I felt confident that I understood how to handle the weapon, what to expect from it, and the beginnings of how I could get it to shoot where I want.
We will likely sign up for the next class in the series, and I’ll be recommending the introductory course to friends, regardless of how they feel about firearms.

I took the Unarmed Self Defense class based on a male friend’s hearty recommendation. I dithered for a while, as the price, while fair, isn’t low. In retrospect, the class was absolutely worth it.
Before the class, I thought I’d be able to cope well enough with a violent situation, and that I knew how to handle my body. Not only did I learn that I had been dangerously wrong; I also got a firm grip on how to react under pressure, how to throw a punch, and what to aim for on the opponent’s body (not where I thought at all!).
This is an amazing class taught by guys with more than their share of actual fighting experience. Everything I learned was completely new and useful, and I feel much better about my ability to stay safe. My two favorite parts: 1. At the end of the class, the instructors put on padded suits and come at you, so you get to practice the tactics you’ve been learning all weekend. 2. The main instructor, Greg, gave a fantastically good talk on communication, how it impacts all aspects of our lives, and how to change our communication patterns for the better.

Ive always wanted to know the proper technique to use a pepper spray and so when a living social coupon came up, I jumped at it. Initially I had a very hard time scheduling. I had tried for 6 months, weekdays, weekends, daytime, evening… I had to resort to leaving a bad review in Unilocal to get them to respond to me. They finally did and they were very apologetic and promptly scheduled me. The day before my class, I had to call and reschedule as I had to leave out-​of-​town the very next morning on work. I was charged $ 20 for the day before rescheduling. I was upset about it, but I was the one rescheduling (even though it was because of circumstances beyond my control).
The facility is very clean, well lit, but a little on the noisy side (it’s an active range).
The best words to describe the class itself — educational, impressive and very well organized. Of the 3 hours, the first half was theory on the spray itself, the next half was practice. I will definitely take classes by these guys again, because they definitely know they’re stuff. The class itself definitely deserves 5 stars.
Overall, I highly recommend their pepper spray class.

Both me and my wife thought that the General Defensive Handgun class was absolutely phenomenal. It was an all-​weekend class that included time both in the classroom and on the range. It was a great mix of practical learning and hands-​on practice. Great class overall and I believe did a good job in focusing on core fundamentals which can then be built upon with practice. The skills I learned will make me more effective as a person who has a Concealed Pistol License.
The class exceeded both of our expectations. Every single one of the instructors were just awesome. I was really impressed with the breadth and experience of the instructors, some of them being former military and/​or law enforcement. Tracy, Derek, Benjamin, and Josh were so active in helping all of us take things to a new level. They were also really engaging, really funny, fun to learn from, and in many ways inspiring. The whole time they made the environment feel safe and a great learning environment. Me and my wife want to take the whole class curriculum that you offer. :-) I’m sure we’ll find ourselves in another class before too long.
Also worth noting that we took the class at the West Coast Armory range which I’m a member of. The classes took place in their training bay which is set up to allow for more flexibility than their normal bays.

I took the handgun class there. It was excellent. Very informative for a single day class. Totally worth it.

I’ve been to their rifle class and pistol class.
Cost:
* Expensive? They were like $ 350 a couple years back, and now $ 400 (early 2012). I did get get 2 full days of instruction and guidance by 3 people. It came down to $ 200 a day, and I think it’s a fair trade considering the quality of the class and location near Seattle. Of course the amount ammo you need to bring may cost a lot.
Instruction:
* My General Defensive Handgun class was instructed by Kevin, Derick, and Ray. Positive attitudes, sense of humor, and attentive instruction made the class great. They gave technical critique & tips to each student, and I did get better.
* The more recent General Defensive Rifle class was instructed by the founder himself Greg Hamilton. Wow, an amazing class. Greg exuberated passion for teaching and shared tons of knowledge. Probably the Mr. Miyagi of firearms instruction.
* All instruction was in a professional manner, no «macho man pissy attitude.»
Gear:
* Some guys come decked out for the zombie apocalypse with armor carriers and camouflage.
* There were a variety of students’ rifles with cool optics and other accessories. The class is a great place to get opinions on gear.
* In my first rifle class, some poor guy’s rifle was a single shooter because of jamming. If you have time, it’s always best to confirm proper function of a new purchase before class.
* In both classes there were some rush periods to reload magazines. Best to have a bunch (more than minimum) of mags.
* I do highly recommend bringing electronic ear protection. Hearing lectures in the range has been difficult sometimes with traditional ear pro.
Location:
* The West Coast Armory location is great. There’s a microwave and fridge in the class room.
* Plenty of food options nearby: KFC, McD’s, Top Gun (Chinese restaurant) has dim sum.
* Currently in 2012 there are no other instruction options, of this level, within the Seattle area. I have been considering the Firearms Academy of Seattle, but it’s is a pretty far drive.
Highly Recommended.
Also highly recommend bringing a cooler of snacks and drinks.

I’ve taken a variety of classes at Insights over the past decade, ranging from a Pepper Spray class that I attended with my daughter, to knife, pistol and rifle classes. As another reviewer said, we’re lucky to have a world class facility like this in our area.
The instructors are deeply knowledgeable, accomplished, helpful and engaging. The material is well-​presented.
It’s also worth noting here that aside from the purely technical aspects of these defensive classes, they are also presented within an ethical and legal context which helps participants prepare to parse tense situations quickly and fluidly, with the confidence that they will not fight their way out of one danger only to encounter legal perils due to over or under-​reaction.
Top marks all around.

I have trained with insights since 1996 or so. I am not affiliated with them in any other way except as a student. I have never recieved so much as a discount on a class from them. You can tell from my other reviews that I tell it like it is, so here it goes: I live on the east coast so all my reviews are based on their east coast clases. I have taken classes mostly with Greg Hamilton and John Holschen, and Mike Warsocki. The insights staff are beyond professional. Each class is well-​organized, well-​designed, and well-​executed. These days, many people teach tactics, combatives, and shooting, but very few have the ability to get their knowledge into your head. Whether it is a defensive knife course, unarmed, or firearms related course; insights has been above and beyond all other instructors I have taken classes with. Nobody, and I mean NOBODY can help you become more self aware, get to where you can make more informed tactical decisions, and develop the weapons skills needed to win a fight. Even more importantly, they teach mindset like nobody else does. You will learn to anticipate, respond, and deal with the aftermath of any encounter. In the end, it is all up to you, but insights training instructors will help you get you to where you need to be. Very highly recommended.

I have taken several classes with InSights over the last 5 years, including the Pepper Spray Seminar, Basic Handgun Safety and Responsibility, Unarmed Self Defense, Co-​Ed Shooting League, and the Concealed Carry Firearms Permit Class for Utah. I have yet to have a bad experience with them! Their classes and instructors are well organized, professional, knowledgeable, informative, experienced, inspiring, empowering, and life changing.

I’ve taken both the general defensive handgun and general defensive rifle courses at Insights and was very pleased. I think a lot of us gun owners spend a lot of time focusing on getting new gear and firearms and often times we neglect channeling some of our time and energy into actually becoming proficient in the weapons we choose to carry. I know a fair amount of people who have a nice «collection» of firearms, yet they don’t spend any money on training and thus aren’t particularly adept at any one of their weapons systems.
I was basically one of those guys who would casually go to the range once a month, fire off a few hundred rounds of 9 mm without really doing anything constructive, and then believe what I did was actually useful. After taking the Insights classes, I became aware of how little I knew. I had never carried a spare magazine for my handgun before the class, and thus I never practiced doing speed reloads, tactical reloads, or clearing double feeds when I would go to the range. After taking the Insights class and being properly instructed in these techniques I now practice them regularly. Additionally I think the portions of the class that dealt with what to do in the «aftermath» of having to defend yourself with a gun were EXTREMELY useful.
I would definitely recommend Insights to any firearms owner, or anyone who is looking into purchasing a gun for the first time.

We are lucky in our area to have a world class training company right in our own neighborhood. Others travel long distances to come to the northwest and train with Insights, I’ve met them in the classes.
I’ve taken three courses taught by Insights at this point. They are so well respected that two of the courses were even taught at the Issaquah Police Department range. Such access for a private company is amazing.
The instructors were flexible and knowledgeable enough to give appropriate training to myself as well as the SWAT team member to my right. The way the course is set up, you get the basics but then also have an opportunity to take it farther if you are ready to. These courses are designed to take you from low familiarity to high familiarity in a very short period of time.
Finally, the courses tend to attract a higher end participant. I don’t care much for taking weapons courses with yahoos and even the newbies in the room had respect for the content.
I very much recommend Insights.

In 2011, I took the General Defensive Handgun course, a 2 day course for people who are comfortable handling their own handgun. I was very comfortable with target practice at the range, but this class took me to the next level. I highly recommend it to anyone using their gun for defense whether or not you plan to carry.
The course has some classwork and lots of time training. I found everything in the course to be practical and very useful. They start from the basics… stance, grip, sight alignment, and trigger press then keep building with drawing (and returning your weapon) from a holster, then drawing from concealment, etc. continuously adding on top of it with drills to train your mind and muscles on what to do when you have a malfunction, how to tactical reload, and speed reload. I found the drills very useful and I now use them regularly in my training. My favorite part was training on what to do in a real life situation. I had never practiced that before and going through it made me much more confident in my actions.
Be prepared to go through lots of ammo and practice loading your magazines quickly, extra magazines are the best way to go. I had 4 and that seemed like a good number for the course. This course is intense and they take safety very seriously. Go into the class with your mind open to learning. If you think you know everything, you won’t get as much out of this class.

Among the many courses at InSights, I took the Basic Handgun Safety and Responsibility course.
To address Sue’s 1-​star review — there is truth to it. They are not a very communicative program. Before my class, I emailed them twice with a question (if I could bring my own handgun to the class) and I never received a reply. (You can, by the way).
THAT SAID: if your experience was like mine, you will not be disappointed with the course you take.
After taking the course (I opted for the three-​day, 3-​hour hour a day course over the span of three Tuesdays), I can’t imagine how anyone could own a handgun without taking a course like this — it just feels irresponsible not understanding the four fundamental rules of firearms (which they drill into you very effectively), elements of marksmanship (they teach the «integrated act of firing»), how firearms work, how to take care of them, the legality of owning and using a firearm (which is incredibly important), and more.
Insights uses a classroom and a separate range at the West Coast Armory range in Bellevue. It never feels like you’re competing for space with people at the range — you’re pretty well separated from everyone else. I appreciated that. I was there to learn.
The instructors of the course while I was there, Jamin and Tracy, were fantastic. Jamin was the primary instructor and Tracy observed and was hands-​on during the shooting sessions (about an hour in each of the three classes). They were both excellent. The knowledge of the instructors honestly made the class as good as it was — without those guys, it could have easily been a waste of $ 190. And they’re friendly and very unassuming — not hardline ex-​marines or something — just seems like intelligent, normal guys. They were awesome.
To conclude — it was a great class and a great school. I will definitely return, actually; I’ll be taking General Defensive Handgun course next.

Life Changing.
One class with InSights will change your life. That was my experience anyway. I’ve taken many courses with them over the years, but the first one was the biggest step on the journey.
In a nutshell, Insights teaches self defense in-​totale. They will teach you the mindset, the habits, the techniques and the tools (it is a complete system where each course builds-​on and reinforces the others). In many ways, they will teach you how to teach yourself (by thinking and doing from the correct perspective). They have classes for every level (adults) in various locations around the country. They are based in Seattle, WA. If they don’t have a course near you, I wholeheartedly recommend flying to Seattle (Bellevue) or wherever they are teaching and taking a weekend course. It could be the best investment you ever made in yourself (or your loved ones). Here is the starting point for most folks (directly from the Insights website):
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«Unarmed Self Defense
In this two-​day course you will learn the self defense system taught to U.S. Army Special Forces (Green Berets). This is a coherent system of techniques selected for their simplicity, effectiveness, and ease of learning. At the end of this course you will be able to stun and disable an attacker of greater size and strength than yourself and escape to safety.
This course is a excellent choice for both those that are unwilling or cannot carry a firearm and for those that need to augment their firearms skills. If you carry a gun, learn how to not have to use it!
Topics include: Physical and psychological stress reactions; incident avoidance and prevention; legal considerations; combat mindset; natural body weapons; striking principles; vital target selection; control of space, time, and distance; defense against punches and kicks; defenses against holds, grabs, arm bars and bear hugs.
Also included are ground fighting and defense against multiple attackers. Students will progress from doing techniques „in the air“ against striking bags, to doing them against a fully padded attacker.
This simple system will give you fight stopping techniques that will work regardless of your size, strength or physical condition.
PREREQUISITES
None»
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I’ve taken lots of self defense and martial arts classes over the years, but InSights courses are world class. No hype and no «art» to the martial aspects, it is *real* self defense. Real combat, real scenarios, and real world situational training for the mind and body. The teachers are real world warriors (just check out their Instructor bios), not just weekend competition winners (though they do plenty of that too).
For the women reading this, you won’t find any «good olé boys» attitude or any «princess» coddling because you are female. You will be treated as an fully capable person and challenged to learn and progress towards your potential as an individual.
For the men reading this, you will be treated with dignity regardless of your experience with fighting or self defense. I have seen men come through Insights classes who have been bullied all their lives and are just plain scared and I have seen men come in like they already know everything and «should be teaching this stuff». They *all* leave with a new perspective, attitude and a set of real-​world usable skills.
From very low self esteem folks, to boisterous know-​it-​alls and all us average folks in between. You will be challenged to learn, grow and progress towards a safer and more secure life for yourself and those you value.
Obviously, the InSights system is not just about techniques you can use (though there are plenty of those). It is a different way of thinking, about yourself, your values and the world around you. Don’t let my flowery words fool you though. There is no bullspit with these folks. They will work your body and mind hard! If you really want to learn how to escape-​from or fight-​off that rapist, terrorist, madman, etc, you need to be prepared physically. That doesn’t mean you have to be extra strong, it means you need to know what to do and when to do it.
I have been an InSights student for years and I recommend them whenever I get a chance.
You can find more on their website
And, if you are feeling generous, mention my review when you sign up and they will give me a discount on my next class. :-)