Month: February 2010

Gun Sparring

/ hsoi / 6 Comments

Insert cartoonish picture here of a 1911 and a Glock engaging in fisticuffs. My graphics skills are weak so you’ll just have to envision it. 🙂

Caleb made a posting on the age old issue about action shooting sports (IDPA in this case) and how while they might not be realistic they’re still useful. Says Caleb:

So to answer the question, no, IDPA is not realistic.  But shooting an IDPA match is a great way to practice certain skills that you may need to save your life someday.  I don’t know about you, but the ability to draw and put accurate hits on target in under 1 second might be pretty useful in a self-defense situation.

The way I see it? I liken participation in action shooting sports to martial arts sparring.

If you want to get good at something, you’ve got to do that something.

Standing still in a lane at the gun range punching holes in paper at a slow and steady pace, well, that will get you good at that. I liken that to doing martial arts forms. Sure it teaches you a lot of mechanics and trains your body for the act, but there’s nothing dynamic about it.

Action shooting games like IPSC and IDPA would be akin to sparring. Yes there are rules. Yes there’s a lot that’s arbitrary. Yes there’s a lot that isn’t like “the street”. Yes you can get a false sense of security. Yes you can develop habits that wouldn’t be good for “the street”. Nevertheless, the boxer still gets in the ring and boxes. The Gracies still roll around on the mat. The MMA guy’s still get in the ring or the cage. I dare say these guys have a better chance of being able to handle themselves “on the street” than your average guy. They’re still developing the necessary skills within the limits of what they can safely do.

In martial arts there tend to be two lines of thought. One is to learn all sorts of wicked deadly techniques. These techniques involve bone and joint breaking, dirty fighting like eye gouging, and the like. While there’s really no question these techniques can be ugly if successfully applied, that’s the catch: can you successfully apply them? How do you know if you can or not if you can’t fully practice those techniques? Sure, you can practice these techniques in a more controlled fashion, but you can never go all out. The other approach is to limit yourself to a subset of techniques that may not be “t3h d3adly” but can be practiced full-on. This is the approach KanĹŤ JigorĹŤ took when he developed Judo, and the Gracie’s took in developing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. They took techniques that can be practiced in a full-on, all-out sparring situation. Yes there still has to be some sort of rules, there are obviously limitations, but here they can actually have resisting opponents and a lot of dynamic practice. Both approaches have their place, their strengths, and their weaknesses.

So if we apply that to firearms training, being able to shoot action competitions gives you some ability to “go all out”. You have to run, you have to gun, you may have to consider things like cover and concealment. You will be put into awkward situations. You will be given problems you must dynamically solve. We can’t go full out, we have to have some sort of control and restrictions, but it’s about as close as you can get to being able to go full-on. The only further step you could take would be Force-on-Force training with things such as Airsoft, paintballs, or Simunitions.

Of course, competition isn’t the only way to get this sort of activity. More advanced level training courses that provide similar sorts of shooting setups, timers, pressure, and decision making. Or it could just be a group of folks that get together to work on these sorts of skills. So it doesn’t have to be strict competition, just as long as the material is there.

In the end there’s no way to truly replicate a gunfight other than being in one, but I suspect most people don’t want to train that way. All we can do is get as close as safely and realistically possible. It’s going to involve rules, it’s going to involve restrictions, but it’s also going to involve the fundamental skills and activities. Boxing may not be a bar brawl, but a skilled boxer that gets in the ring and spars every day has better chances of winning if caught in a bar brawl. Action shooting may not be a gunfight, but it is akin to sparring: a controlled way to develop the fundamental skills associated with the activity. I mean, if I did get caught in a bar brawl, I’d be happy to have George St. Pierre on my side. If I got caught in a gunfight, I’d sure be happy to have Rob Leatham on my side.

Lifetime CHL?

/ hsoi / 3 Comments

Indiana has an option where you can buy a concealed handgun license that’s good for life. Apparently Oklahoma is considering one as well.

I’m torn on the idea, but the more I think about it the more I like it.

The main thing about any license is that it’s administrative crud to have to deal with; it’s mostly fees and paperwork. Of course, to renew you have to take a class, which over time adds up to a lot of money plus a lot of time spent. How truly necessary is it?

The main advantage to renewals for the license holder is you get to learn about what laws changed since the last time you were in class. This can be a good thing. But we don’t always force people to have to take classes to learn about what laws changed in other aspects of our lives. Is it needed here? To renew your drivers license it’s just forms and fees. Couldn’t we have a lifetime drivers license there too? I could see many people happy about never having to visit the DMV again. 🙂  We’re supposed to be responsible adults, we’re supposed to seek out this information on our own. Ignorance of the law is no excuse and all that. Heck, being in this modern era why couldn’t TX DPS (or whatever entity that oversees the licenses) send an email to all CHL holders when a new law booklet is published?

There are perhaps some subtle issues on the pro and con sides of this issue that I haven’t yet considered. But upon a cursory examination, I could see this being a good thing.

Sunday Metal – Judgment Night

/ hsoi

“Judgment Night” was a so-so movie back in 1993. What made the movie stand out was the soundtrack album. If I remember correctly, they took rap groups and heavy metal or alternative bands and paired them together and had each pairing compose an original song for the soundtrack. It turned out some great cuts.

Whatever you think of nĂĽ-metal or latter-day rap-metal, (good) rap and metal actually do have a lot in common and can mix quite well.

Biohazard and Onyx’s duet on “Judgment Night”. One of my favorites from the album.

Faith No More and Boo-Ya-Tribe, with “Another Body Murdered”. Another favorite.

Slayer and Ice-T. A bit weak of a song, but I like the pairing of Ice-T and Slayer. Tom’s “WAR!” cries are signature Tom. When the song picks up at 2:23, it throws back to Slayer’s early punk influences. And when it really kicks in at 3:57, signature Slayer sound.

I remember one night during my college radio show playing “Just Another Victim” by Helmet & House of Pain. A couple of the other station DJ’s that did the rap shows had come into the studio to get something about the time Everlast started rapping. I recall how surprised they were to hear a rap artist on “the metal guy’s” radio show. Take that for whatever it’s worth.

More CHL Tips

/ hsoi / 4 Comments

Bob S. writes a good article for CHL newbies. He passes along some tips he acquired from his own experience.

  1. Buy the firearm you are going to carry before you get your license.
  2. Buy a cheap holster or two.
  3. Carry around the house and yard for a while before venturing out in public.
  4. Practice drawing from your choice of concealment.

You MUST go to his site and read his explanations, especially on point 2. The rest of this won’t make sense if you don’t first read what he wrote. I’d like to expand upon what he wrote and add a few more things.

1. Please do that. Before you get your CHL you should have proficiency with a handgun. In fact, it’d be ideal to take the test with the gun you’re going to carry. However, this is a bit of a mixed situation. Before you get your CHL you’re not carrying a gun anywhere. After you get your CHL you’re going to be carrying a gun all the time (right?). There are issues, such as carrying ergonomics, that are difficult to fully appreciate until you actually carry. Plus, you may have some incorrect notions before you carry. For instance, you may think you need the smallest gun possible, but I know lots of people that carry full-sized 5″ barrel handguns every day with no concealment problems. Or you might start out with a large gun and realize that for your daily carry situations that a large gun just isn’t going to work out. So while yes it’d be ideal to obtain your carry firearm before getting the CHL, it may not work out. One thing to always keep in mind is if the gun you have doesn’t work out, you can always sell it and buy something else. Or keep it and buy something else. The thing to realize is this is your life that you’re working to protect: don’t compromise. If what you have doesn’t work, if after carrying you realize things aren’t quite right, don’t let ego get in the way: change your carry setup.

The above goes in hand with point 2, because you do need to figure out how holsters work and what the right method of carry will be. And if it doesn’t work out, change up. I’ll say that right now I’m going through another refinement of how I carry. Minor tweaks in my holster setting (rising it up one notch) and my clothing. It just takes time to figure these things out and you just have to do it every day. Don’t be afraid to throw something away that isn’t working and seek a better solution. Once you believe you have a solution, don’t skimp on equipment. Again, this is your life on the line, value it accordingly and don’t compromise. Have good equipment that won’t fail you.

On point 3 well… if your experience was anything like mine it took many months for DPS to process the CHL application and return the license. During that time you can and should wear the holstered gun around the house. When you go out, wear the empty holster. Get used to the feeling of it all. Also get used to the feeling that “everyone can see I have a gun, everyone knows I’m carrying”. Actually no, the world around you will be oblivious. In fact something of a de facto tradition is the day you get your CHL to do a “Wally Walk“. The end result of the Wally Walk generally is a let down because… nothing happened, which is precisely the point. The other advantage, like Bob S. says, is by wearing around the house you can start to figure out issues like going to the bathroom, if your wardrobe works, and that you need to squat down and not bend over to pick things up off the floor.

On point 4, the best thing I can say here is to get proper training. But Bob S. and I have had these discussions before. 🙂

One thing that’s great about a CHL is it opens up a wide door of training opportunities. Most firearms schools will teach their intro/basic/beginner courses to anyone, because that’s how it goes. However if you want to get into their higher level courses you must demonstrate good character. A CHL is often the ticket to these higher level classes because it shows you’ve been through a background check and have other factors on your side to say that, compared to most of the public, you are a proven good egg. Take advantage of this fact. Seek and obtain all the training you can, not just in marksmanship but in tactics and mindset. Use of the gun is a last resort, so anything and everything you can do to improve your odds of never having to use it, all the better.

Some additional random things:

  • Don’t skimp on equipment.
  • Buy a good belt. If you’re going to carry via a hip-based method, buy a good proper gun belt. It will better support the weight and stressed placed upon your waist.
  • Don’t be afraid to change things up. Carrying is a lifestyle change, so if you have to change your waredrobe, colors and clothing patterns, how you do things in a day, places you go (or now won’t go)… you cannot be afraid to do that. All a matter of what you find more important.
  • Button-fly jeans don’t work out very well, guys.
  • Speaking of the bathroom, if you just have to pee it’s OK to use the stalls if that provides you with more coverage. On the same token, you can come up with good technique that works that urinals.
  • Of course, when you have to sit down in a public stall, that has other issues and I’ve yet to discover a single workable solution. You have to discover what works for you…. which could also include never being in a position to have to sit down in a stall.
  • You will have lots of fantasies about heroics. It’s natural. Work to channel that energy into productive and realistic ends by seeking out training, especially mental and tactical training. Remember, the only reason you should draw your gun is if you or a loved one’s life is in grave danger.
  • Make it a part of your daily life. Yes, it’s going to be weird and uncomfortable at first. Just keep wearing it all day every day. Make strapping on the gun as mundane as putting on your pants. Eventually it will be weirder to not have the gun on your hip.
  • Once the gun is in the holster, leave it there. Don’t mess with it, don’t draw it, don’t fiddle with it. Just leave it alone.

All I’ve got for now.

Duct Tape Robber

/ hsoi

So you’re a criminal. You want to rob a liquor store. You don’t have a mask. What do you use?

Duct tape.

MacGyver would be so proud. You must click to see the picture; it’s priceles.

Of course, Duct Tape Man was foiled in his attempt because people didn’t put up with his shenanigans.

Notice, though, that when the public is armed and empowered, that criminals don’t stand a chance. I believe that we as martial artists should be the vanguard of an armed populace ready to defend society.

One can debate if it’s our job and duty to defend society, but as Heinlein wrote, “an armed society is a polite society.”

To market to market

/ hsoi

As soon as the local Cabela’s opened I was there, to take advantage of this weekend’s 10% off sale for NRA members.

Yes, so many things I wanted to buy, especially a new firearm. But I promised Wife I wouldn’t and I kept that promise.

In fact, I promised I’d only buy needed things. Things that I need to buy anyways but might as well buy now when I can get it a bit cheaper.

Bought lots more bullets for reloading. Bought a couple dry boxes. A couple more XD magazines. And just various and sundry things that I’d pick up normally. Thinking ahead towards future classes.

In terms of the store supply. Shelves were pretty full and in decent stock. I did notice 9mm bullets for reloading were fairly cleaned out, save for the Berry’s (which was fine with me). Most ammo supplies were pretty good. I was able to pick up a couple boxes of Federal P223S as well, which makes me happy. I’m going to settle on using that factory load and see where it gets me (and get back to figuring out my .223 handload at a later date).

Meantime, I need to get myself to the reloading bench, then to the range.

Teaching knots

/ hsoi / 2 Comments

I’m working on an effort where every day I teach my kids something useful. Doesn’t really matter the topic, just a little something every day.

I only just started a few days ago and so far we covered things like stopping bleeding, RICE, different hammers and how to use them, and today we started on knots. I’ll probably stick with the knot thing for a while, because hey… I like knots. All that Boy Scouts growing up.

I wanted to share an excellent website that teaches knots, called Animated Knots by Grog. Covers all your major knots from things like rescue knots, household knots (including tying a tie), Scouting knots, fishing knots, whipping and coiling, and even fun stuff like the monkey fist. Yes, we’re going to tie one of those eventually.

Earned a new certification

/ hsoi

A couple weeks ago I took a course to become certified as an instructor of the NRA Personal Protection In The Home course.

I passed the test, so I’m certified. Paperwork just has to be processed by HQ.

It’d be nice to obtain certification for their Personal Protection Outside the Home course, but it’s rather a cumbersome course to obtain certification in (number of hours required). It’s mostly a logistical matter, and hopefully they can be worked out.