Tactical discipline. Guardian mindset. Family focused.
Two people started this school for the same reason: so the people they love are never the ones waiting for help. One owns the standard. One owns the room. This page carries both stories – and marks plainly what neither of them has written yet.
CERTIFIED INSTRUCTORS
ALL EXPERIENCE LEVELS
TOP
REVIEWED
VETERAN
OWNED
Why this exists
Yellow Rose Tactical was founded in 2026 by Matthew “MJ” Johnson, an Army veteran and NRA-certified instructor. MJ saw too many Texas adults carrying firearms without the foundational training, mindset, and legal awareness they needed to protect their families confidently and responsibly.
We train so that the people we love are never the ones waiting for help.
Our mission: to empower individuals through professional tactical training, building confidence, awareness, and the ability to protect what matters most.
WHY “YELLOW ROSE”?
The yellow rose is the state flower of Texas and a long-standing symbol of the Yellow Rose of Texas — loyalty, devotion, and quiet strength. We named our school after it because that’s what good firearms training is: quiet strength. The kind that protects your family not by being loud, but by being prepared.
Our mission & values
VALUE 01
Real World Training
Range drills that simulate how defensive encounters actually happen — moving, thinking, deciding under pressure. No static squared-away range box shooting.
VALUE 02
Expert Instructors
Every Yellow Rose Tactical instructor carries real-world experience — military, law enforcement, or extensive civilian defensive training — plus active instructor certifications in their discipline.
VALUE 03
Women Empowered
We design our women’s self-defense courses to address the unique physical, situational, and legal realities women face — taught by female instructors who understand them firsthand.
The Yellow Rose Method
SKILLS. LAWS. MINDSET. COMMUNITY. IN THAT ORDER.
1
SKILLS
Mechanical competency with the firearm or tool. We won’t let you carry what you can’t run.
2
LAWS
What Texas law actually allows you to do — and what it doesn’t. The legal side of self-defense is where most concealed carriers are most under-trained.
3
MINDSET
Awareness, decision-making under stress, and the willingness to act decisively when your family’s safety is at stake.
4
COMMUNITY
A prepared individual isn’t a lone wolf. We build a network of like-minded adults who train together, share learnings, and stand ready.
The founders
TWO FOUNDERS, TWO STORIES — EQUAL WEIGHT, TOLD SEPARATELY
FOUNDER · OWNER & LEAD INSTRUCTOR · CHIEF TRAINING OFFICER
Matthew “MJ” Johnson
Army veteran · Certified Instructor · Chaplain
Yellow Rose Tactical was founded in 2026 by MJ, an Army veteran and NRA-certified instructor. He saw too many Texas adults carrying firearms without the foundational training, mindset and legal awareness they needed to protect their families confidently and responsibly.
Bringing a unique blend of tactical proficiency and behavioral psychology, MJ’s background spans high-level asset protection and crisis management. As a former U.S. Army Behavioral Health Non-Commissioned Officer (68X), he leverages critical insights into human behavior, threat assessment, and de-escalation to build security strategies and training programs that are both tactically sound and psychologically grounded.
Whether teaching civilian students or operating in high-threat environments, MJ brings the highest standards of Texas professionalism to every mission.
STORY. Words here.
WHAT HE OWNS
✓ Chief Training Officer – standards authority across all chapters
✓ Final sign-off on Ranks 6-7
CERTIFICATIONS
- NRA Pistol Instructor
- NRA CCW Instructor
- NRA Chief Range Safety Officer
- Stop the Bleed Instructgor
- TX DPS Security Officer Level 2, 3 & 4
CO-FOUNDER
Harmony Cartagena
Boss Lady
Introduction here
STORY. Words here.
The Team
| Role | Requirement | Runs |
|---|---|---|
| Chief Training Officer | MJ Johnson. Army veteran, NRA-certified. Owns the standard. | Final sign-off on Ranks 6–7; standards authority across chapters. |
| Level 1 Coach | NRA-certified or equivalent, trained on the Level 1 script, patient by temperament. | Ranks 1–2 |
| Level 2 Instructor | Level 1 Coach plus defensive-training credentials and range-officer qualification. | Ranks 2–3 |
| Level 3 Scenario / Judgment Instructor | Documented defensive training plus force-on-force experience. | Ranks 4–6 |
| Medical Lead | Current trauma-care instructor credential (for example TCCC, Stop the Bleed instructor, or equivalent). | Tactical medical thread and Rank 7. |
| Women’s Track Lead | Level 3 Instructor plus proven women’s instruction experience — unassigned in every source | Women’s track, Ranks 1–3, chairs that sign-off board. |
| Safety Officer | Designated per session, not an instructor duty. | Every live-fire and force-on-force evolution. |
Every Yellow Rose Tactical instructor carries real-world experience – military, law enforcement, or extensive civilian defensive training – plus active instructor certifications in their discipline.
The ten written beliefs
- Self-defense is a universal right. It does not come from a government; it comes from being alive.
- Every human life is equally valuable, regardless of race, religion, politics, or where someone was born. That is enforced at our door, not just written on our wall.
- Nobody should ever be made to feel stupid for asking a basic question.
- Safety is a habit, not a certificate.
- Skills are perishable. Training is a practice, not a purchase.
- The firearm is the last line of defense, never the first answer. Awareness, avoidance, and de-escalation come first.
- Children are taught, not hidden from. Curiosity is safer than ignorance.
- Rank is earned. It is never sold, never rushed, and never awarded on attendance alone.
- We train so that the people we love never have to be the ones waiting for help.
- When someone in this community is in trouble, we show up.
Prepared. Capable. Present.
Safety is a habit, not a certificate.
Skills are perishable — training is a practice, not a purchase.
The firearm is the last line of defense, never the first answer.
When someone in this community is in trouble, we show up.
What we won’t do
We teach anyone who wants to protect the people they love, regardless of race, religion, politics, or where they were born. What we don’t do is train people who are looking for a reason to hurt somebody. If that’s what you’re after, this isn’t your room.
Where the two stories meet
One membership. Two named chapters. No second ladder.
The school is built so nobody is handed a lesser version of it. There is a Guardian Corps and there is a Rose Chapter, and they sit at the same standard on the same seven ranks.
That is the Parity Rule, and it is printed on the membership and Rose Chapter pages in full — not summarized.
And the other half of it, the guardrail: rank is earned.
THE PARITY RULE
“No benefit exists in one chapter that is not available to the other at equal tier.”
“Your subscription buys access…it never buys rank. Rank is earned against a published standard.”
Ready to train?
Whether it’s your first time on a range or your twentieth certification, we’ll meet you where you are.
Seven ranks. A published standard at every level. Come as you are — we’ll take it from there