One of the greatest dangers and officer or gun owner faces is to have their weapon taken. Weapon retention skills are a must for any person that carries a gun. While there are literally hundreds of retention techniques, we will present one. In this example we focus on several major points. First is to not to get into a tug of war over the weapon. You must first "weld" the gun into your holster. Second is to turn off the line of attack. As the assailant now follows the turn because of a hand locked onto the weapon, begin to turn back into the assailant.
From My Desk Archive - 2010
The Cost of Training
Our training year is up and running. We have had several classes already in 2010 and the next few months will be full to say the least. I have been flattered by several emails and calls essentially asking..."How" do we do it. It comes down to my philosophy regarding training people. I understand that in this business, a vast majority of participants drive their own training. What I mean by that is most people plan their training and personally budget for it. While there are many instances when agencies cover the training, most participants pay for training themselves.
Training Tip of the Month - January, 2010
Getting your weapon into the fight is job one when the flag goes up. In the same breath I will say that properly getting your weapon into the fight is equally as important. The tip this month will deal with drawing your pistol. To keep this section under ten million words we will set the situation as follows. You have already defeated any retention device you have and or cleared a concealment garment. The weapon is hot and ready to come out. You have indexed the weapon and begin to draw.
This is the point where we can make your draw better. Many people begin to roll the weapon forward right after it clears the holster. Avoid this. This is called bowling and does not allow you to bring your muzzle to bear quickly enough.
As you draw your gun, bring it up as high towards your arm pit as you can. We call this a high count three. By bringing the weapon this high it is easier now to drive it into your sight plane and you now lead the barrel towards the target. This positioning also creates a good base to fire from in a close contact situation. Try it and see how it helps you effectively get into the target more quickly!
A New Year
Well a new year is upon us and it provides a moment for reflection and for looking ahead. I use this time to re-sharpen my focus and set my goals for the year, for my company, and for my life. Review the lessons of the year gone by and commit to being better in all things. This is the ultimate challenge we face. Complacency. I have been doing what I do for a very long time. Long enough to know that if I do not continue to train, that my skills will diminish. The skill set that we possess is perishable. We must constantly work to keep our edge.
