Who else trains in Martial Arts and do you feel there's crossover?

[NoirFan]

I've been shooting for about a decade and I started training in amateur boxing about three years ago. I have not noticed that my marksmanship has gotten any better, but my movement and dexterity skills have definitely improved. All that jumping rope and footwork drill has really smoothed out my movements when moving with a gun in IDPA style shooting. I no longer get winded when I run from station to station. My endurance is also much, much better; the simple act of holding a long gun at low ready doesn't tire out my arms and core like it used to.

But the most important thing boxing has taught me is the importance of humility and the extreme frailty of the human body. There are no tough guy illusions in the ring; either you're beating someone up or getting beat up (in my case, usually the latter). It made me understand that the potential consequences of getting in a real life fistfight are pretty high. Even if I throw an awesome knockout punch I might get unlucky and sprain my wrist, or break all the little bones in my hand. Or I knock the guy out, he falls and hits his head and I get hit with manslaughter. Fighting in the ring makes me want to deescalate in real life.

 

[LiveLife]

You do not significantly improve long distance running/cycling times simply by running/cycling more. It takes deliberate, calculated and monitored approach to training.

In the same way, you do not significantly improve your shooting speed or accuracy simply by just shooting more. Keep doing the same thing and expecting different outcome is insanity.

When UFC first started, BJJ kicked butt. If you did not incorporate BJJ techniques into your training, your performance against BJJ would not change.

 

[Arizona_Mike]

I've always considered shooting a martial art.

Mike

 

[grampajack]

You do not significantly improve long distance running/cycling times simply by running/cycling more. It takes deliberate, calculated and monitored approach to training.

In the same way, you do not significantly improve your shooting speed or accuracy simply by just shooting more. Keep doing the same thing and expecting different outcome is insanity.

When UFC first started, BJJ kicked butt. If you did not incorporate BJJ techniques into your training, your performance against BJJ would not change.

I don't know about that. The "Forest Gump" approach works pretty well for indigenous peoples all over the world. I've always been of the mind that the best training for anything is doing that thing.

One aspect of all this how are these skills in martial arts going to magically incorporate themselves into your gun handling. If all you're doing is shooting from a static position, then this dexterity and footwork from martial arts isn't going to carry over. You will be in better physical condition, but at the end of the day you still have to practice that thing which you are trying to do.

I would also advise everyone to take a long hard look at Tarran Butler. He can outshoot 99.999999% of the world's population, and it's obvious he doesn't exactly spend much time doing much else in the way of athletic pursuits. You could take a top athlete who can shoot the tits of a hog from a static position, but you put him up against Butler in a run and gun and he's going to trip over his own toes and maybe shoot one off in the process.