Gunblade specialization

[Future Esthar]

Headmaster Cid says they need a gunblade specialist on Seed.
So where did Squall learn to use a gunblade?

[Christmas]

From Balamb Garden.

[Mirage]

The training area

[Jibril]

Games have plot holes? Alert the presses

[champagne supernova]

Instructors at Garden have to be SeeD right? That is a bit of a plot hole.

[Rantz]

He read tutorials on the internet!

[qwertysaur]

A ghost possessed him. Every time he farts it is that ghost trying to escape

[Clo]

I taught him.

And now I will teach all of you!

[MJN SEIFER]

Games have plot holes? Alert the presses

It's not a plothole.

To Future Esthar: Squall could have easilly just learnt it - to use a Gunblade you need to first know how to use a sword, which he could have easily learned from BG or anywhere else. After that, all he needs to do is practice his timing with the trigger, and then he's also set. I want a Gunblade.

[Mo-Nercy]

When the party was sent back to Laguna in the 'fight a dragon that's not Kiros, but actually a dragon' dream, he was using a gunblade. Furthermore, I believe he says "Gunblade, huh? I haven't used one of these since training."

So Galbadian soldiers apparently used to get trained on them, or at least had some experience with them. I say used to because from what we can tell during the party's D-District Prison break, the current generation of Galbadian soldiers have no clue about gunblades. To quote one of the guys that is guarding the weapons when Zell breaks out of the cell to find them - "So this is what a gunblade looks like?"

My best guess from all this is that gunblades once were a common weapon, so if Squall and Seifer wanted to learn how to use it, the material to guide them through it existed. It's just that in their generation, the popularity of the weapon had declined, probably to do with their difficulty to use (something I think that was mentioned early in the game, or perhaps in the manual).

[blackmage_nuke]

Books, instruction manuals and a little self practice

Also maybe the last gunblade specialist who taught him died.

[champagne supernova]

I think that sentence could mean quite a few things. It could just mean that there hasn't been a gunblade specialist for a while. Which would obviously fit in with the whole decline in popularity of the weapon.

EDIT: Cid says, "Finally, a gunblade specialist."

[McLovin']

That weapons magazine durrrr.

[Future Esthar]

My point is that he couldn´t have learned it at the Garden.

Cid´s actions seems to imply being a specialist on gunblade it´s not a criteria to become a Seed and therefore he can´t force one to become it.

Balamb Garden specializes on Para-magic,the general battle system and general military considerations.
It don´t teach you how to use a nunchaku or a rifle or a whip,etc...
At least there isn´t evidence on it.
BG studies each students inner ability and equip them acordingly.But they don´t get training on each of those.

Instructors at Garden have to be SeeD right? That is a bit of a plot hole.

Good point.
Who were the first instructors?
Esthar scientists?
Cid himself?
Maybe the first instructors were just to read books from Esthar to learn things.
Or maybe the Shumi´s have already this knowledge.

[Christmas]

Care to elaborate this general battle system that they taught?