Combat Focus and the draw

[Overload]

When drawing with the Combat Focus metheod, why does the off hand hover over the sternum while the strong hand starts to draw the pistol?  Then, if I understand correctly, it rotates out, handshake-like, and waits for the pistol to come to it forming a two hand grip before being thrust out.

Why not mimic the strong hand and go to the waist, and come together equally in front of the body to form the two hand grip (like a big clap) before thrusting out?  It just seems like rubbing and patting at the same time the other way.

[tombogan03884]

Overload, They discussed this on another thread.

http://www.downrange.tv/forum/index.php?topic=4864.0

[Rob Pincus]

Thanks, Tom, the other thread has some good info.

Overload,

Technically, we don't recommend that you do any specific thing with the off hand during presentation except keep it out of the way of the muzzle. In the real world, relying on any specific placement could create a hesitation or confusion in the execution of the complex motor skill if/when you weren't able to do exactly what you had practiced. This is the same reason we do not teach a specific placement for the hand during one handed shooting (as covered on TBD). If you CAN do something specific with the offhand, put it on the gun!

That said, the placement of the hand in front of the chest is consistent with extending from the ready position OR meeting the gun in the ready position (as would be the case when we draw but are not shooting immediately, which is a fair amount of time in the training world especially). If we train a "big clap", it presumes that the gun is always going to go to an extended position in front of us, which is certainly not a safe assumption. This is related to the RANGE HABIT of alway sticking the gun out to extension every time you draw or after a reload. Not a bright thing to do if you are in a retention shooting situation or not going to shoot and in a crowd situation where you are worried about retention... yet many people think this is good training.

Trying to maintain integrity and come up with rules, techniques and habits that will work in the overwhelming majority of the plausible worst case scenario situations sometimes means NOT having a rule for the parts that are hard to predict!

-RJP

[Michael Janich]

Great response, Rob. I particularly liked "Trying to maintain integrity and come up with rules, techniques and habits that will work in the overwhelming majority of the plausible worst case scenario situations sometimes means NOT having a rule for the parts that are hard to predict!" Too long for a bumper sticker, but wise words.

At the risk of being redundant, I don't like the hand-in-front-of-the-sternum thing because I still don't like getting hit in the head. It is also inconsistent with the startle response and instinctive reactions to life-threatening stress.

Stay safe,

Mike

[Rob Pincus]

Thanks for the input, Mike. People sometimes hate hearing that there is no "easy answer".

It is probably also worth mentioning something that happened on the range on Wednesday:

I had a student who was using The Urinal Position as his "ready position" (gun held in front of crotch, arms extended, gun pointing down). When I explained the High Compressed Ready and the advantages I see in it, he started shooting from that position. A little later, we went to presentation from the holster. We integrate the startle response into our draw, so it starts with the hands coming up towards the line of sight and in front of the body (protectively, simulating the instinctive flinch that occurs in an ambush). After doing this, he then left his weak hand out in front of his chest when he went to grip the pistol and it ended up in a position that pretty much had it being covered by the muzzle 75% of the time after the gun was oriented towards the thread (at the side) and extended out to a shooting position. Obviously, this bad. I think this is one of the reasons you see most CFS students bringing the support hand in. When we train for contact shooting, one of our premises is that you are probably already in contact with the attacker, so the weak hand position is not going to be choreographed, but dictated by the nature of the fight.

-RJP

[Sponsor]

[Hottrockin]

Good banter guys…let’s keep it up!!

You say “potato”, I say “potato”!!

 

[Overload]

Thanks for the replies.  Makes a lot more sense now.