IMO, that's why, for those students who are seeking 'combat handgun' training, there should be NO such thing as "Beginning", "Intermediate", and "Advanced" classes. There's only ONE class, and that's the "You (the student) Gotta Survive" class. Anything else is just marketing and money, and a disservice to the student.
I completely understand where you're coming from, but I think the issue surrounding varying "levels" of courses comes from a lack of time to teach everything in a single sitting and a desire to compartmentalize training. And those aren't bad things.
Sure a person might need to know malf clearance the evening after he just took a "basic" course, but he's just as likely to have needed it the day before class. There is only so much time to go around and it's a good thing when folks are willing to take steps to advance their skill level.
Compartmentalizing your training can be a great thing, as long as it's prioritized and balanced.
When you split a 3 or 5 days class into pieces, you have to have names for them and a logical progression in that series makes sense to most people.
IMO, that's why, for those students who are seeking 'combat handgun' training, there should be NO such thing as "Beginning", "Intermediate", and "Advanced" classes. There's only ONE class, and that's the "You (the student) Gotta Survive" class. Anything else is just marketing and money, and a disservice to the student.
The most logical and 'real' thing, then is for the student to learn from an Instructor who actually HAS 'been there / done that'.
.. Modern pedagogy is a wonderful thing.