Shooting While in Contact

Over the last ten years, one of the most annoying things I've seen on the internet, YouTube videos, gun training reels, shorts, Vines from back in the day, Facebook, wherever it is, embodies the idea that when you're close to a potential threat, What you should do is draw your gun, shoot from the hip. And then back up and maybe shoot the guy again in the head or chest, as if the other Person is, well, a rubber dummy in many cases This is exactly what someone's shooting against. The realities of shooting while in contact are something we’ve addressed for a long time Here at Personal Offense Network, in fact, Maybe I can get the editors to show a little cutaway of a much younger me, Probably 1314, fifteen years ago when we first put it on the Personal Events Network website, And it's a video clip that honestly comes from about 20 years ago, from Valhalla Training Center back when we were making DVDs. But in that video, I'm working with a plastic dummy to talk about how you are to bring the Gun out. Uh, when you're going to shoot in contact, Some of the things you need to think about, and I thought, You know what?

Let's revisit this. We've also got some good videos at Personal. Events Network with Craig Douglas, aka Southwark from ShivWorks discussing the same Topic: The integrated defense works on grappling, striking, Controlling someone, controlling some space, Getting back on balance before you bring your defensive gun into this fight, something we've talked about at a very high level for a couple For decades now, and yet we still see some of this—this honestly silliness of rocking the Gun out of a holster and driving back. Now, when I was going through law enforcement Training 30 years ago, we were taught to create distance, and that's still where much of this Comes from. It looks cool in the reels, but really, this is Based on the idea that the best thing you can do is break contact with someone, then draw Your gun and go to a fully extended shooting position, whichever fully extended shooting Position was in vogue at the time.

The reality of entanglement is that you have someone with energy. It's not a piece of paper; it's not a piece of cardboard; it's not just a rubber dummy. It's someone who's trying to hurt you, potentially with a lethal tool or level Of strength or skill that puts you in a position where you're justified to draw your Gun and use it. And you may have only one shot. You may have one chance before that person who's bigger.

Stronger, more skilled than you start Wrestling over your gun, And you might lose that gun. So, what are we talking about? I'm going to have Owen come in here. We're going to talk about what might actually happen, right? So I don’t have any tools on me that are actually dangerous.

I've got a Serp pistol. You don't have any weapons on you. Right? I gave you a quick pat-down there. Something.

He's got a phone in his pocket, That's it. So, I'm not worried about anything really coming out of his mouth waist. Obviously, anytime we're applying any force on Force, especially in an environment that could be live or where there are live weapons around, We want to double, triple-check that. So, we've done that off-camera now. Now, we've done a bit on camera too.

Just to remind you, it's important. What I'm going to do is have Owen go to finger Knife attack mode. So he's going to create a finger knife and he's Just gonna lunge at me in super slow motion. I'm gonna go ahead and just get out of the way. At this point, Owen probably isn’t going to become one Inanimate object, and just let me shoot him, right?

This hand is going to come back. He'll probably lower his center of gravity. Gravity, get into an athletic stance. Maybe he's going to try to throw a punch. With that other hand, or grab my throat as that comes in, Maybe I'm just going to duck out of the way.

I'm going to push against him and transition, so if I can get into a situation where I Control that knife; this is a very simple kind of side control. I've trapped his hand, pushed my hips into him, This is the kind of position that I'm going to. Get in before I would potentially draw my gun and shoot while in contact. Now, you see, I might have a pass-through problem with my hand. I can shoot from a lower angle, drop my hips back into him, And now I can be in a position where, yeah, Of course, he's moving, We're moving, but to keep this on-camera and let you see what's happening, I'm going to have him back away now.

A couple of really important things in this presentation. When I draw the gun, I'm not sweeping it forward into some kind of hip shooting Position. I'm not sweeping the gun forward as if I were Coming up to my eye line in the ’80s with that kind of a presentation. I'm bringing the gun up, turning it 90 degrees, tucking that magazine well tight My body. I've got my thumb against my body, and one The things I'm trying to avoid are pushing the gun forward of my body, where I might touch Him, right?

Let's come back; look at that again. If I were in that same position. I'm pushed forward so I can arch him up. I've got the finger-knife controlled. I protected myself from this grab.

Now, if I were to draw the gun and come here and poke him, What's the normal human reaction to getting poked, especially with something hard or metal? So, he reached for it. He pulled away. If he starts to twist, if he starts to turn, Now, if we're wrestling over this gun. I've got a whole new set of problems.

So by keeping the gun against my body, he might not even know I have it until that shot goes off Off, and I'm able to create some serious wounding, serious negative effects, Some disabling effect on him, then maybe I'll create space. Maybe I'll drive him to the ground. Maybe he'll drop. Maybe he'll run away. I don't know, but I know I don't want to.

Give away the opportunity I have to use this gun as a defensive tool by pushing it out in Front of my body. Now, you're gonna say, but wait, Rob, how convenient you're hip carrying. Normally, you carry an appendix. What about that? Let's take a look.

If I go back to the appendix carry situation. Finger knife attack is going to come in, lunge at me. I'm gonna step aside, push that out of the way. Maybe that punch is going to come soon. I'm covering up now.

I'm gonna get my hips in again, push forward the trap. And this is where you're going to say, "Well, Rob, now he's grabbing you." You can get that elbow out, but how is he not going to know? Well, of course, he's going to know. This is where sinking the hips down and going Forward, maybe even bringing this leg around to keep him from spinning away. If there were a vehicle here, if there were a wall here, I might push him against it, but not now.

Is that clear? I've cleared myself of the attack and I've Cleared my gun. I've got some level of control. And now I can cross into this position, tuck that magazine well, And be here again where I can take that shot And significantly affect his ability to hurt me. Maybe at a downward angle if I'm worried about passing through.

Obviously, the very specific issues of this contact are going to play themselves out in Your situation. What's really important is to come back. But what's really important is that I'm not. Flagging in here and poking at him, giving him the opportunity to reach back and grab the Gun. Now we're again wrestling over our only chance I had to defend myself.

If he's pushing this away, Now we're wrestling over a knife and a gun. This isn't going to help. Right? If I push in here, and he just tucks away. Rolls in; maybe that's what gives him the, the energy, the momentum.

Or the impetus to do something that lets him slip out. Now, what have I got? Now I've got this knife coming right back in My side hurts because I poked him with something hard, metallic. So try to avoid the urge to always drive the gun out. Sometimes you want to keep the gun in, and that really is part of our presentation from the Holster practice.

We come up; we orient. This is where we would stop if contact were imminent, or if we were in contact. Really important things to remember when you’re practicing or thinking about visualizing live Fire or with a Sert pistol: inert training for shooting while in contact.