The older I get, and having the privilege to be a firefighter, going into very high stress, high adrenaline situations that require rapid decision making, man, I don’t want to Monday morning quarterback the shooter in that case.
The extra shots look bad, and aren’t by the book the right thing to do. But time gets weird in high adrenaline situations. Also, I’ve never had someone point what I thought was a real gun at me (excluding honest mistakes at the range) or worse yet, someone I love. Point a gun with malicious intent at one of my daughters, fast forward 5 minutes, and that scumbags severed head might be on a pike in the front yard.
That’s really a tough decision and it’s hard to say without being there. From the footage, the gun looks real and the criminal is treating the gun as if it’s real. There’s no “orange” muzzle cover indicating it’s a toy or a bb gun. It’s hard to second-guess the shooter’s decision.
For pistol try swapping out the backstrap sizes to see what is most comfortable and gives you the most control.
Look at what you’re shooting at versus looking for the sights. If you’re looking at your target and your mechanics are good, your sight / optic will be there when you present. I had a class where the instructor put electrical tape over the rear and front irons and we had to hit steel at 15 yards with pistols. It was a good learning experience.
Chris is still teaching me how to tell the visual difference between a shotgun and a rifle. I’ve shot both before (and have taken several rifle lessons) but somehow still get confused on occasion.
Anyway, I thought this was a funny example of someone publicly mistaking one for the other.
Forgive me for going off topic but after years of training, I can tell you that even if you carry everyday, you must maintain a level of fitness to shoot and fight . Too often, I see people training on the range who could not survive a shoot and move dynamic gunfight. Be fit to fight and always be ready to fight:
Thank you so much for sharing this! It’s very relevant. Being able to protect yourself – whether it’s with a weapon or your own body – is the whole reason we carry and a good reason for being in shape.
I think state of mind can play a role too.
The woman in the video was in workout-mode, which, I suspect gave her an advantage. Her body and mind were primed for a challenge. That dude messed with the wrong girl at the worst time possible!
QUESTION: If you’re a generally passive or laid back person outside of workout-mode, how can you mentally be ready to defend yourself? Is there a way to flip on that switch?
I am glad the lady fought him off and is physically okay.
I will say though that dude was pretty pathetic. He didn’t even look like he was trying very hard or was on drugs.
She is very lucky though that it was not somebody larger and aggressive. She needs to carry being a small attractive female. I was hoping when she went down towards her phone and belongings she was going to come back up with a gun and waste dude.
Easton BJJ has locations all over Colorado if you ever want to dive into it. My coach’s coach was Amal Easton’s first black belt. We’re only lucky enough to have him in Maine because his wife is from here.
In a martial arts world full of hacks and watered down bjj, they are the real deal.
As far as “turning it on”, a few hundred sparring sessions will fix that.
I do! One thing that’s always stumped me about martial arts is whether they translate to real life situations.
If someone is completely teachable and athletic enough to learn a fighting sport, does that mean they’ll be able to fend off a predator in a real life scenario where there are no rules or referees?
There are no guarantees in a fight, but you can develop an organized response that will dramatically increase your chances of coming out of a physical struggle okay.
In practical terms you become much harder to both put on the ground and much harder to hold down.
Throw in some striking (which they also teach at Easton) and even a small but fit female can become a handful.
I’m not sure how this might translate in a gunfight, but it will definitely make more capable under stress.
It translates many times to allow you the necessary room to draw or obtain your weapon. You always want to create distance from your attacker to get to your weapon and keep that weapon away from their reach.
You aren’t always guaranteed the first move and can be taken by surprise or from behind.
