In Point Shooting (VHS), the declassified Army training film, there is a sequence on the differences between the proper way to grasp the revolver & the Model 1911 . The trainers emphasize the necessity of proper wrist alignment for accurate fire. This is an absolute must if one holds the weapon in the traditional orientation -- grip perpendicular to the ground.
This is how our trainers and our heroes, from Gene Autrey to Dirty Harry, have conditioned us to hold a handgun. But I remember a training session in which the trainer (a PA State Trooper) held his weapon upside down and hit the 10-ring on the target. His point was that, as long as the sights were aligned, the orientation of the weapon did not matter.
This little fact means that the traditional orientation of the weapon is as unnecessary as it is unnatural. The unnatural way we were taught to hold a handgun makes compensatory wrist realignment a necessity. And in the stress of battle, such learned traits may disintegrate entirely.
Although handgunning is not my forte, I would like to suggest another method of grasping the weapon when engaged in point shooting. I'll describe it in "Point Shooting: Grasping the Weapon, 2".
9 comments:
If you will notice is some of the training videos and pictures of Clint Smith. You will see him align the weapon (mostly revolvers) off of vertical depending on the situation.
This is something I noticed and didn't give much thought. So, I'm looking forward to what you have to say...
I think you bring out a very good point. It's a similar principle with shotgunning. If any of ya'll watch the great Patrick Flanigan shoot, it is pretty easy to see that he is relying on sight alignment, instead of actually aiming.
Great blog! I am rather new to this whole blogging business. I appreciate your Christian take on martial arts. I do not do martial arts, but it would seem to me that the best one for Christians would be Krav Maga, because there is no Asian religion involved, and it's simply...the best!!
Thanks for the compliment. I hope you become a regular visitor to WARSKYL. Feel free to browse at your leisure.
Your comments are always welcome.
I started to suggest that maybe you practice Krav Maga, but I just noticed that you do not do martial arts. It would be interesting to know what brought you to view it so highly.
Ever since watching the Bourne trilogy, I have enjoyed martial arts. As before stated, I do not do martial arts of any sort...but it is not because I don't want to!
I think Christians need to be especially careful about the philosophy behind most martial arts. As stated in my last comment, I really like Krav Maga, mainly because there is no religious philosophy. The second reason I like it is because it is so utilitarian. Krav Maga is not a sport. Krav Maga assumes that you are the underdog, and vastly outnumbered, and it teaches you to take every advantage you possibly can to keep that opponent from harming you.
This being said, I am not violent by nature,I just have violent inclinations toward people who would try to harm me or my family.
May I [respectfully] disagree with your assertion that Krav Maga has "no religious philosophy"? Every system (whether self defense, child training or flower arranging) expresses an inherent philosophy or worldview (including ethics). A system's underlying philosophy may not always be overt, but it's always there.
You might be interested to read about my underlying philosophy in a series of posts about what I think would be the Best Self Defense System:
http://warskyl.blogspot.com/search?q=%22The+Best+Self+Defense+System%22
BTW, disagreeing is okay here. I'm not setting myself up as some kind of expert or guru, or anything like that. When it comes to Christian Martialists, we're all pretty much independent-minded & self-trained. This is just where I share my own experiences & opinions.
Any Christian Martialist sheepdogs following this thread of comments might want to check out Stephen's blog, "To the Last Ditch":
http://tothelastditch.blogspot.com/
There's some good Christian Martialist-type heritage material there. Your mindset will thank you.
Stephen, welcome to the asylum. Medication is on Thursdays.
:-)
And you may be "new" to the blogosphere but that's a good lookin' blog you have right there...
I apologize for not clarifying my earlier comment about "religious philosophy". I completely agree with your reply "Every system expresses an inherent philosophy or worldview". I could not have said it better. What I meant by "religious philosophy", is this: All secular forms of martial arts that I have researched draw their power from a pagan source ("feel the force flow through you"). As Christians, we know that all power comes from God. The reason I like Krav Maga is that one does not have to practice meditation, and other weird stuff.
Can you understand what I am trying to say?
Like I have said earlier, I have never done any form of martial arts, so please correct me if what I have said is not accurate.
Thanks for the compliments, guys.
Yep! Sounds like we're on the same wavelength.
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