First Strike

When we are working concealed carry we discuss the importance of various hand positions prior to and leading up to your drawstroke. To put things into context, you may not have your hands in the ideal position. In fact, you may be starting from a huge disadvantage or liability. The reality is you may not have the time and space to even attempt a draw when you are in such close proximity to the target. Instead, you will need to consider first strike capabilities.

Relax and Breathe

Hand position in the beginning of your training is not as important. There is so much information coming at you we want you to be relaxed. Being relaxed includes your hand placement. Just let them lie at your side as they would if you were relaxed. This helps start building technique from a hand position that offers little interference. What I like about the relaxed position is it is natural and most new students have no problem adopting this position. Since I spend a good amount of my time demonstrating from this position in classes I have to practice the remaining positions on my own time. It is more important for students to observe the specific details of the task or action from a relaxed position that can get wrapped up in advanced considerations.

The Unknowns

At some point we broach the subject of interpersonal conflict. How we manage the unknowns. Much of the strategy has to do with avoidance, but you cannot avoid something if you don’t see it coming so detection is key. From detection we discover we are the subject of a potential criminal act or the precursors to one. If avoidance is no longer on the table then we shift to de-escalation or diffusing the situation. This will occur at close range and be pretty high stress. You have to keep calm, but at the same token be ready for an attack. In preparing for an attack we want to move our hands above our midline to what I call the high line. Keeping them in the high line is one thing, having a reason for them being in them being up is what matters.  Using simple gestures can help disguise their true meaning.

Hold On

The next position has to do with having your hands occupied. You could be holding onto something. We used in the past odd objects, but in today’s world a very common item would be a mobile phone. The question is what do you do with it when you are in the pre-stages of the attack. You have three choices, drop it, fight with it or fight without it. Dropping it if it is a phone is one thing. Dropping something else more precious such as a child makes it more complicated. The other problem is should you be startled by the attack you may not even be able to release the object from your grasp.

There Is Truth In One Hand

Fighting with it means using it as an impact tool or distraction. It takes practice and you need to be committed because you will probably destroy or damage the item. However, it can be a game changer if you can use an otherwise benign object. The next option is to fight without it, but without dropping or discarding. Being able to clear your cover garment with only one hand is an essential skill and it pays off for these situations in spades. It may seem counter intuitive, but it also may be the best course of action. With no deliberation just action.

Tangled On

The last condition is gaining access to your handgun while entangled. You are either in a clinch or something similar. You find the time and space to draw in what will more than likely be contact or near contact shots. The contact position requires a solid understanding of your muzzle direction. When you find yourself entangles you will want to know there is an option. Having these options will go a long way towards staying calm and making good choices. A common mistake is trying to access the gun in an inopportune time. Leading to a negative outcome. Worse case being a gun grab, best case being a fouled drawstroke.

Hand position is important to any type of unarmed combat. You need to practice from these four conditions so you can let the situation dictate.

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The voter base

Take for instance dealing with multiple threats. There is the idea of quickly delivering one round to each target then returning to deliver additional rounds as necessary. While this seems like a good tactic, all it takes is for you to come to face to face with a bad guy who gets a vote. How dare them not stand still or allow you to engage them easily, what gives them the right to move and seek cover when they feel their life is in danger. Apparently these bad guys suck at playing by the rules.

Linear progressions

The reality is if you develop your tactics in a vacuum (flat range training) don’t be surprised when you see something “real” because it looks so different from your training. I read all these comments about how “this is real”. Hello, if you are just now figuring that out then welcome to the party pal. I often wonder how training in other organizations is developed because I have to wonder if they are just now figuring this out what else have they overlooked. Granted a lot of training has restrictions when we work on a flat range. There is safety we must abide by, but the solution to this obstacle is progressions.

Top down development

Folks need to first recognize training built from the top down, from the actually gunfight and work backwards to allow progressions towards the final outcome. What I see lacking in this industry is curriculum development and management, seriously lacking. Just because you have a flashing website or youtube channel does not make for an instructor. An instructor understands linear progressive training along with saturation training methodology and how best to apply them. Not all subjects need extensive progressions, those with a high risk factor or increased complexity need them.

Those pesky details

The key is in establishing standards; standards that are observable, measurable and repeatable. When you work with a subject as complex as multiple threats it has to be progressive. You start with basic drills on the flat range specifically designed to be used in more advanced problem. They are introduced then practiced to a recognizable and repeatable standard. From there, as the student progresses they have a solid base to work from. Optimally they should not advance until they have meet a minimum standard; which would fulfill the saturation training requirement.

Resiliency reigns in chaos

When you work backwards you end up with a better product. The product will be more resilient and what I have learned all these years is it far better to build a resilient student than a flashy one.. It is not easy and requires a lot of work from the instructors, but that is why we get paid the big bucks. Continuing from the flat range, movement would be added from the shooter’s perspective. They now have to perform the drill while exercising some sort of movement. Initially, it would be laterally only, but work towards improving one’s position or seeking to escape/exit. Ultimately culminating in force on force; where drills have similar progressions. You work from simple to complex problems with what I call the human factor. The big challenge here is guiding the student to not only make the right decisions, but to literally see them as they are occurring. This is where the progressions come into their own because there is a degree of familiarity, what we call the “look” they have seen before. Maybe not exact, but close enough they can bridge the gap and be successful; or resilient.

Real life is more complex than a flat range can offer. If all your work was preformed in a training vacuum then it is no surprise you see these current problems so challenging and real.

"I believe every human has a finite number of heartbeats. I don't intend to waste any of mine." Neil Armstrong, Naval aviator, test pilot, astronaut and American hero.

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