Why you should Train to Fight
Surviving an attack (armed or not) is not something the average person is prepared for. Even if you are in the military, law enforcement or some sort of private security unit that regularly trains to face attackers, it will still be a traumatic experience. For me (and probably you) it is a case of slaving away on a daily basis and finding time to prepare for a worst-case scenario is not easy. This simply means that we are not properly prepared to survive an altercation. Most armed attackers are probably used to ‘working’ in a high stress, violent environment. To give us law-abiding citizens a fighting chance to walk away alive after a violent encounter means we need to train specifically to win the fight.
Most of us spend our money on buying firearms, gear, reloading equipment, components and ammunition, but very little or nothing on training. Yes, I spend a lot of time and ammo on perfecting handgun drills on the range, many aimed at surviving a life-threatening incident, but during the last eight years working for Magnum I have not spent anything on formal training.
A Gun Digest writer points out: “... the development of a mindset, tactics and marksmanship that will save your life is a wiser investment than pistols and gear. This should include proper understanding of the applications of self-defence, developing the proper mindset to act in the face of a threat and the tactics that should be applicable to everyday situations most will encounter. During the training, marksmanship, gun manipulation and safety should be emphasized.”
Most shooters I know talk frequently about the choice of handgun and ammunition for defence carry, but very few discussions centre on what to do when the proverbial hits the fan. It will probably not be the handgun or ammunition that will save your life, but your actions and how you’ve applied what you have learned during the fight. Whether you have a revolver or high-capacity pistol will make little difference if your will to survive, the application of your training, and getting bullets on target under severe stress, is lacking.
The only way to achieve this, even with your 5-shot .38 Special snubbie, is to get the right training. To enable you to walk away from a violent encounter, hopefully unscathed, needs more than normal range sessions or sport shooting. I know many think that combat shooting type sport will enable you to handle most life-threatening situations. I agree that this type of discipline definitely helps to develop certain skills, however, there are some drawback too.
Richard Mann (Gun Digest) says: “Competition shooting and defensive training may seem similar. However, winning a shooting match and a real-world gunfight are not – and never will be – the same thing. Competition puts an emphasis on planning beforehand, not responding to unfolding events.
“It’s easy to get caught up in winning and not improving practical skills. Matches de-emphasize important aspects, such as using cover and concealment. Many shooters hypothesize that competition is a great way to train with the defensive handgun. There’s some truth to this: The speed and accuracy associated with competition shooting is a shared skill with the practical use of a defensive handgun. And, the stress involved in competition can show you how you’ll react under pressure. However, too much competition shooting can create bad habits.
“After I became a cop, I realized the handgun training provided to police officers was seriously lacking. Looking for a solution, I became involved in competition shooting. I won several local and regional matches and even the West Virginia National Guard State Pistol Match. Competition was the vehicle that drove me to the place where I could get hits on targets swiftly. But, as I thought more about it, I realized I was becoming a gamer, as opposed to someone skilled in the practical application of a defensive handgun. I was not making the best – or any – use of cover. I was solving problems before the shooting started, as opposed to working them out as they developed. I was standing out in the open with an empty pistol as I conducted a reload... And, I was approaching situations from the standpoint of how I could get the best score instead of what would offer me the best chance of survival.
“This might not seem all that important, but the problem was that some of my responses were becoming conditioned. In other words, I was training myself to react to the competition arena, as opposed to the survival arena. In a fight, there are no rules, and the winner
is often the person who has the proper mindset and exercises the best tactics,” he says.
To illustrate how competition shooting can condition you to automatically react in a situation: A dedicated and rather good sport shooter, after being involved in a violent shoot-out, starting picking up his empty shells! He was simply following the pattern ingrained in his brain after doing it hundreds of times on the range. Tampering with evidence is the last thing you want to do after a shooting.
Not using adequate cover to shoot from or while doing a reload is another. In an incident involving a taxi driver and police, the ‘bad guy’ took several hits to the chest, yet still managed to get off several shots after being hit. The return fire hit one of the police officers in the chest. I cannot criticize the policeman’s actions as I do not know the exact circumstances under which he performed his thankless and dangerous job. I am merely using this example to encourage you to train in such a way that you learn to use every scrap of cover to your advantage and learn to expose as little as possible of your body.
Make some time on the range to shoot from behind cover. Do this from as many positions as possible, even lying down. Also, make sure that you do not stand in the open to perform magazine changes. This can also be practised at home, just make absolutely sure your firearm is safe or use a BB pistol or revolver. This will familiarise you with your own home and how to use the layout to your advantage.
Carrying a defence weapon means that you have to learn to fight with it, not to win competitions or perform range drills flawlessly. Use the range and your home to train specifically to stay alive during a fight, but better still, go for training at a recognised service provider to get another perspective on your own shortcomings and strengths.