shoobe01,
I certainly understand your thoughts - and I can tell that you are not being 'argumentive'.
Presented here are some thoughts/ramblings of mine.
Every Marine is taught to "target" shoot. Unfortunately - only some units within the Marine Corps are taught to actually "fight" with a rifle.
Target shooting is so ingrained in our 'shooting society' that it controls much of what is considered 'doctrine'.
For the sake of disscussion though - lets throw out ALL of what we were taught regarding 'shooting'.
Lets look at this problem (fighting or moving and shooting with a long arm) with a 'totally' clean slate.
How do humans move?? Do they move 'bladed'? Do the 'crab' when walking forward? Do they take one big step and then with the trailing foot bring it up just rearward of the forward foot??
No - we move forward, shoulders square, taking as big or as small of steps as the terrain provides.
Our head is erect, our eyes 'level' and our center of gravity is slightly forward.
This provides the BEST options for a human to react to sudden changes. He can move front/back/sideways/oblique - down - up - anywhere QUICKLY.
So - why would some that is carrying a longarm hamstring themselves by 'blading'?? All it does is COMPLICATE movement.
The reason this information is just coming out - is that SHOOTING and MOVING is something that is very NEW to the military training doctrine. It is even LESS evident at "shooting schools". The reason why is 'cardboard' doesn't shoot back!! Cardboard will wait ALL DAY for you to stand there and shoot. Cardboard will not move.
Because cardboard doesn't force us to move - and since almost all ranges will not allow movement - the "errors" of trying to integrate "target shooting methods" with "fighting" methods has been slow in coming.
However - in the Special Operations units of the military and the more progressive SWAT teams in the country - they have been practicing shooting while moving for a couple of decades now.
THAT is where this "new" doctrine comes from. THOUSANDS of hours doing "force on force" (thanks to simunitions/paintball and now airsoft) has shown CONCLUSIVELY that the old method....well.... SUCKS! It gets guys KILLED. It does NOT permit smooth fluid movement. It promotes un-natural movement - it leads to jerky motion - it SUCKS when trying to move while 'bladed'.
So - I applaud you for your initiative in "figuring this out" on your own. Don't let Joe Smoe talk you out of what you intuitively knew would be a "better way". The guys telling you it is 'wrong' are steeped in the 'old school method' of "target shooting".
Get them in a CQB environment with simunitions and they will be believers in NO TIME (*pain* is a powerful motivator!). BTDT!
Don't look at what TR and other "schools" teach - but check out photos of our SpecOps boys have on thier M4s. (Since the odds are you will not be training with them to see how they "do it" - you can see how they "do it" by looking at thier equipment. These guys' LIVES depend on what they carry/use - it is NOT just a 'pay-check' for them. Some intructors/schools haven't "been anywhere or done anything" except go to other schools taught by other guys who havent been anywhere or done anything too. So what they teach may or may not be worth anything.
BTW - here are some photos I have found:
Special Forces in the PI - note both elbows DOWN - leaning slightly forward - NOTE FOREGRIP
Force Recon on board ship - practicing - note both elbows DOWN - leaning forward at bottom of rib cage (not necessarily the waist!) NOTE FOREGRIP
Regular USMC - note the Marine on the left - and the Marine in the center - heads erect, elbows down - they LISTENED and ready to SHOOT WHILE MOVING. However - check out the Marine on the right - CLASSIC target stance - elbow OUT - head dropped over to side - he is ready to SHOOT but not MOVE. He must square his body, lift his head in order to get ready to move. Then he CAN'T shoot while moving!
Hope this helps,
cheers
tire iron