Matthew Stoddard
Instructor # 2490669 | Disciple Defense Group LLC
Certified with the USCCA since 6/14/2021
Certification Renewal Date 6/13/2027
USCCA Certifications
- Concealed Carry & Home Defense
My Biography
Matt grew up and has lived in Minnesota most of his life. His interest in guns and shooting began in 1993 when he started hunting and learning about the outdoors with his dad. This hobby has grown over the years, and he’s been working with guns personally, recreationally, and professionally ever since.
As a recent former member of the NRL22 and NRL22X Leagues, Matt has enjoyed competing in long range precision .22 matches. He’s shot in numerous precision shooting competitions since 2010, including USPSA, IPSC, GPSL, NRL22, NRL22X, and he spent 5 years playing semi-pro paintball.
Matt holds USCCA and NRA Instructor Licenses and has worked in armed security from 2014 through 2021. Currently, Matt also works as a local predator hunter for numerous local landowners and farmers, and he assists a local bear guide during hunting season outside of his full-time job. As a husband, father, and expert in situational awareness, he sees the growing need for firearms safety and skills training. He has advised and trained dozens of students, family members, and numerous friends over the years.
Request a Class
Real estate agents face a high risk of violent encounters in the workplace, more so than many other professions.
What Real Estate Agents will learn through the 55-minute Real Estate Agent Safety & Self-Defense class:
- How to identify job-related activities that put agents at risk of an attack.
- Situational Awareness: Teach students the finer points of tuning into their environment, helping them avoid a potentially violent encounter.
- Commonly used cell phone safety features and apps that can be used to keep agents safe.
- Legal use-of-force: What criteria must be met before an agent can use reasonable or deadly force – and the consequences that might follow.
- Defensive Options: Armed, unarmed and less lethal.
Agents, use this opportunity to become better protected and prepared today!
Developing a personal & home protection plan is a key component of not only preparing for how we should (or might) react if confronted by a violent crime, but also how we might avoid violent crime in the first place. Within this lesson, your instructor explains that developing a protection plan is about much more than becoming proficient with a firearm or writing up a home invasion plan. It’s a plan that must encompass awareness, avoidance, and preparation, so that we’re less likely to find ourselves in a situation where we have no other option than to use our firearm, rather than more likely.
This lesson will also introduce you to a wealth of information on different types of self-defense firearms including handguns, home defense shotguns, and the AR-15 platform, where your instructor provides easy to understand explanations of the common terms used so frequently. The goal of this lesson is to de-mystify what can sometimes feel like a topic reserved for experts.
This lesson will continue with the basics, including a very visual overview of what we call the “building blocks” or the fundamentals for accurate and safe shooting. Within this lesson, your instructor will explain the differences between the skills required for being a good “marksman” at the range, and the skills that might be required to save your life if you are ever the subject of a violent attack.
Your instructor will also cover important legal topics, including the laws governing the legal use of force inside and outside the home. Within this lesson, you’ll get a chance to test what you’ve learned, using several real-world scenarios with you as the actor.
This lesson explains what physical and mental reactions may occur when a human undergoes extreme stress, such as during an incident involving deadly force. It also explains what you should do immediately after using force to defend yourself. Also, when law enforcement arrives, it is crucial that you conduct yourself in the correct manner and prepare yourself for the consequences, even when you are in the right.
Walk into any gun shop, and the variety of gear and gadgets available can be a bit overwhelming. Gun vaults, holsters, lights, lasers—where do you start? Your instructor will also explain each of those pieces of gear, and he’ll discuss the options you should consider when you’re ready to go shopping.
A number of basic and advanced skills designed to take your skill level beyond the building blocks introduced in Course #2, and dramatically elevate your speed, accuracy, and enjoyment at the range.
You will also learn about the main topics pertaining to the carrying of handguns in the state of Minnesota. The overall objective of this course is to educate students on the responsibilities and laws applicable to handgun license holders.
In this class, students will learn how to effectively care for their firearms and themselves on the range. The entirety of the class will be spent on the range learning:
-Advanced care and cleaning, including disassembly and reassembly of their firearm.
-Advanced holster work.
-Shooting while moving all directions.
-Shooting from behind a barricade (using dominant and non-dominant hand).
-Shooting while getting out of a vehicle.
-Application/use of tourniquets.
-Injured reloading and manipulation.
In this class you will receive the required instruction to apply for your Minnesota Permit to Carry. You will also be introduced to basic handgun fundamentals and home defense fundamentals. You will leave with the required documentation to apply for your Minnesota Permit to Carry.