So Strategies, Tactics, & Training.

[Kleanbore]

...through all of that training I have learned that ...the gun is no panacea,

Right!

First, a quick aside: according to Attorney Andrew Branca. FBI stats tell us that some 75% of the criminal confrontations that occur do not rise to the level at which the use of deadly force (and in most jurisdictions, even the threat of deadly force) is lawfully justified. That means that in addition fo carrying a firearm, one would be very well served to carry a less-than-lethal defensive tool, also. In my case, I always have with me a strong walking stick--which, by the way, seems to serve as a deterrent.

Now to the point: self defense involves a whole lot more than using force. It involves avoiding the need if possible, detecting the need timely if necessary, and reacting to the need effectively if it does come to that.

Defensive pistol training is not "learning to shoot". In my first course, put on by the Texas Defensive Shooting Association, I was amazed to learn how quickly one should be able to shoot in a defensive shooting situation. The target does not stand still, the distances are close, and one-shot stops are most common in screen fiction.Students first fired 800-1200 rounds doing nothing but improving their speed on steel plates before doing anything else.

In Pincus' course, the emphasis was on quick reaction to a threat that we had not been expecting, attacking from a direction that we had not been facing. It was not about "going shooting". The need to reach a balance of speed and precision appropriate for the situation was emphasized. A group smaller than the area of the upper chest at a distance of a dozen feet could well mean that the defender was shooting to slowly.

By the way, after that course I never rounded the corner when going to may car around a building, or walked past a corner, in quite the same way again.

Another excellent resource is the The Best Defense TV series. All kinds of situations, based on real events, are portrayed, along with how to try to come out of them alive. Some are real eye-openers. They are not making any new ones, but it would be worth finding a source of re-runs or recordings.

They surely taught me a lot.

 

[Craig_AR]

Another excellent resource is the The Best Defense TV series. All kinds of situations, based on real events, are portrayed, along with how to try to come out of them alive. Some are real eye-openers. They are not making any new ones, but it would be worth finding a source of re-runs or recordings.

Apparently if you can get to The Outdoor Channel Plus you can watch them.
https://www.outdoorchannel.com/show/the-best-defense/1399

 

[Rexster]

I never asked my academy trainers whether they had seen any elephants.

We should keep in mind that one can survive a gunfight by blind luck, in spite of making some serious errors. Thus the wise saying, “Fortuitous outcomes reinforce poor tactics.”

 

[bdickens]

The winner in any fight is the guy who made one less mistake.

 

[Rexster]

The winner in any fight is the guy who made one less mistake.

I will respectfully disagree. There are no rules, enforced by referees/umpires, that guarantee a fair start, or fair play. Either “participant” may make multiple mistakes, and successfully recover/survive, each time, while the other makes one mistake, or, perhaps none.

Consider what I said, in my prior post: “Fortuitous outcomes reinforce bad tactics.” If fortune favors my opponent, he may prevail.

 

[bdickens]

You completely misunderstood what I said. Just being in the fight in the first place means you've made multiple mistakes.

 

[Kleanbore]

Just being in the fight in the first place is a mistake.

For LEOs, that is not always an option.

 

[bdickens]

for LEOs, that is not always an option.

Well, I'm not talking about LEOs, am I?

 

[The Hand Gunner]

Well, I'm not talking about LEOs, am I?

Sometimes it's not even up to us civilians. If someone else wants to do us harm then they will. It's up to us to try and mitigate the situation as much as possible and if, and only if we are left with no choice then we have to be ready and prepared to do what we have to. As a civilian I'm always told to run away and that's a great instinct to have, it's the main reason I took up parkour. Always be able to find your way out of any situation because living to fight another day is the best thing one can do. Discretion is the better part of valor.

 

[Kleanbore]

Well, I'm not talking about LEOs, am I?

You did not restrict your comment.

That matters not. You or I could be car-jacked, mugged, or robbed without having made a "mistake".

 

[bdickens]

Whatever.

Your incessant need to make snide comments designed to display how much more you know than everybody else is becoming quite tiresome.

 

[Kleanbore]

Whatever.

Your incessant need to make snide comments designed to display how much more you know than everybody else is becoming quite tiresome.

What?

Do you disagree with what I said?

 

[JTHunter]

I started training in dojo 40 years ago going from Korean to Chinese to Filipino styles using weapons as well as formal training in handguns and carbines/rifles. At over 60 I practice what I've learned and teach a little to those interested.

Good for you. With my mobility issues, I'm more inclined to be like Harrison Ford in the "Raiders" movie where the guy is waving those 2 swords around and Ford just pulls his revolver and shoots him.