Magpul Dynamics pulled a massive marketing coup when they "showed" how people taking their classes turned into serious operators and looked all sorts of cool.
Other schools have figured out the "we are clueless and want to look really cool" demographic is unfortunately huge, and their marketing is really playing to that. [sigh] People don't seem to realize that 1) small unit tactics, building-clearing, and skills useful to extended firefights shouldn't be even remotely a priority for people who aren't in the military or law enforcement but want to learn to defend themselves, and 2) actual defensive tactics for personal self-defense prioritize things that simply don't look that cool on camera.
Videos of awareness training? Not that exciting. Videos of running away? Not that cool. Videos of making the appropriate choice in time, getting the gun out quickly, and putting multiple shots on target as fast as possible? Can be nifty, but just aren't in the same "cool" league as:
--which, of course, is a class that would have been fun to take, though almost completely useless for self-defense.
(Please don't tell me that you use an AR-15 for home defense, and this class will REALLY teach you how to use it for self-defense---nothing wrong with using an AR for home defense at all, and this class will probably get you better at gun handling. That doesn't mean that it'll prepare you for self-defense, or self-defense tactics, though.)
If it looks cool on camera, it probably isn't a demonstration of self-defense tactics for civilians who are non-LEO. (It might be a demonstration of shooting skills, and that's all good, but that's a different thing.)
Don't get me wrong---classes like that might be FUN to take, and shooting hobbies are a good time. But don't get those confused with classes that help you learn to keep yourself and your loved ones safe.
