|
 The
goal of the gunman?
By Gabe Suarez
To hit the enemy fast and shoot him to the ground before he is able to
hit you. That is all. In the end, all else is totally irrelevant. So,
issues about methods and styles, finite accuracy or scores mean
absolutely nothing if you cannot hit fast before you yourself are hit.
What does it take to do that? First and foremost, regardless of
distances involved, you must get the gun into action, and pointed and
aligned onto the enemy/adversary. This is totally a physical action
relying on such variables as your grip and draw (learned skills), your
hand-eye coordination and the ability to focus on and point at an object
(an instinctual thing).
Second in order, is firing the pistol without disrupting the alignment
you’ve created. This involves trigger control and is also a learned
skill. Certain pistols may be easier to use in this area than others,
but that is another issue altogether.
These two simple steps may be sufficient to get a hit on the adversary.
This depends on the distance between you and him, which in turn either
makes the “target” appear larger or smaller. A larger-appearing target
(closer to you) presents a greater margin for error than a
smaller-appearing target (more distant from you), and therefore is much
easier to hit. The marksmanship problems in real gunfights are not very
difficult at all.
The mechanics of getting the pistol “out and on”, in other words,
drawing and pointing should be the same regardless of distance. I am
opposed to the idea of having different draw strokes and different
firing positions for the various distances. Some shooting disciplines
teach a two-handed position for some distances, and a hip shooting
position for others, etc. In my opinion, this creates more variables
than are needed.
Instead, I favor the concept of having one draw stroke that raises the
pistol out of the holster and gets it close to horizontal at the side of
the ribs, near the pectoral muscle. This point of transition between
“UP” and “OUT” can be a ready position or a firing position depending on
your intent and the proximity of threat. The pistol is then extended as
needed and can be fired at any point along that horizontal extension
toward the target.
Notice that I haven’t mentioned the use of the sights at all. This is no
accidental omission. I’ll risk disapproval from some by saying this, but
at close range gunfight distances (0-15 feet) you may win the fight
without ever even looking at your sights.
I
see far too many students in class take excessively too much time to get
a hit on a relatively close and easy target. The reason? They are
seeking a perfect sight picture. Not much of an issue on a
two-dimensional piece of paper. When that paper is replaced by a moving
attacking human adversary either in a force on force problem, or in an
actual fight, the time frames may not be sufficient to obtain a perfect
sight picture. Thus students must learn through their own training what
is sufficient to hit without getting hit.
Initially, in any type of combat, the visual focus will be on the
adversary. Thus we begin the fight looking at the target/threat. The
trick, and its not much of a trick as it comes very naturally, is to
focus hard (visually and mentally) on the spot you wish to drive the gun
to. Thus where my eyes focus, my mind will focus, and where my mind
focuses, my gun will go. It’s the same physical phenomena (or instinct)
that allows us to toss a Soft Drink can into a waste basket across the
room. It is the same inborn skill that allows you to point something out
to someone with your finger tip. Don’t over think it. It is what it is:
a natural ability to visually acquire something, visually focus on it
and point the hand (or throw something) at it.
As I said earlier, the aligning or pointing of the pistol onto the
target is a physical act comprised of hand eye coordination, grip, and
aided by a directional draw. Let’s not forget the “EYE” part as it’s
crucial. Look hard at the spot you want to hit and drive the gun there.
Let’s keep that crucial point in mind as it is the common thread that
runs through the Modern Technique taught by Jeff Cooper, the Point
Shooting systems of Fairbairn, Sykes and Applegate, as well as the
lesser known system of Quick Kill created by Lucky McDaniels. The pistol
must be aligned with the target via hand eye coordination and grip.
Now if the target is close, as your adversary will normally be very
close in most surprise attacks, you need nothing more than this skill to
hit quickly. You are not relying on the sights to align anything at all.
Good hits can be expected from arm’s length to about 15 feet.
As the target becomes smaller, more difficult to hit, or more distant,
the more visual verification is needed to make sure your gun is in fact
aligned on target. That is what the sights are for. The amount of time
you spend on those sights (verifying and making adjustments based on
what you see) is proportionate to the distance from threat and
difficulty of the shot.
Try this. Set up a Teuller Drill with your training partner and Airsoft
Pistols. The Teuller Drill involves facing an adversary charging at you
from 21 feet with a rubber training knife. The secret to beating the
drill is to move as you draw and shoot. Run it a few times and be honest
with yourself about what you saw when you broke the shot. I’ll bet most
of you will not be seeing the same perfect sight picture you see on a
piece of paper. Some may not be seeing anything at all, yet the hits
will still be on the training partner’s body. Try it!
Good heavens! Am I advocating point shooting? I’m advocating hitting
your adversary using whatever it takes, whatever it’s called and
regardless of where it came from. Avoid labeling your techniques.
Instead do what you need to do to hit and see what you need to see to
make sure.
__________________
Gabe Suarez
Suarez International USA, Inc.
One Source Tactical
info@suarezinternational.com
Office 928-776-4492
|
