When we’re planning for bad self-defense scenarios, most of what we practice is based on the attacker and situation…
“It would be really bad if I faced multiple attackers.”
“It would be really bad if there wasn’t enough light.”
“It would be really bad if my shooting hand was injured.”
“It would be really bad if I had a malfunction.”
So, we practice transitions, light drills, shooting with our support hand, and malfunction drills…even though they’re not that common. I’m not saying it’s bad to practice these…I do…I’m just saying that they’re not all that common.
But do you know what IS common? Both in self-defense situations and ordinary life?
Encountering trip hazards and losing our balance.
Plain, old, boring trip hazards and tipping over.
First off, the trip response causes the hands to grip and oftentimes causes an accidental (or negligent) discharge if the finger is in the trigger guard.
Second, falling becomes the immediate threat in the brain and introduces a delay in taking care of the self-defense threat.
Third, it’s not uncommon to hurt the hand or lose the gun when you fall and try to catch yourself with the hand that’s holding the gun.
So let’s fix it.
Let’s fix it with a couple of drills that will not only be incredibly helpful in self-defense situations, but also in everyday life.
I’ve got to preface this drill by saying that if you have existing balance issues, joint issues, or weight issues, you are going to want to check with your healthcare professional to see how you should modify these drills.
If you do them, make sure you’re somewhere that you can fall safely and that there are no sharp or breakable objects nearby.
Two big points here…
First, if you want to get your hands on a T4E paintball trainer, check out the packages we’ve got that include more than 1,100 rounds of ammo AND training >HERE< It’ll allow you to do better-than-live-fire training at home with backstops that aren’t appropriate for live fire, but still get significant recoil and real-gun action.
Second, while you’re there, if you want counter-assault pistol training that incorporates balance drills into the training, check out the “Serious Defense” package.
Since we’re dealing with balance and improving balance, falling is always a possibility, so take appropriate precautions…start with small steps and with empty hands, consider working with a spotter, and consider starting arm’s length from a wall, leaning towards the wall.
Remember, it’s perfectly OK to take take baby steps. If you’re concerned because of existing balance issues or prior injuries, make sure to work with your medical professional in figuring out how to modify these drills for your particular situation.
Regardless…training your brain to “not fall”, how to recognize that it’s losing balance early, and responding effectively, can literally be a life-saving skill.
And once you’ve got the kickstand down with empty hands, start incorporating it into your drawstroke as a tool for improving resilience and making fragile static-shooting skills carry over to the real-world better.
Questions? Comments? Fire away by commenting below.
Leave A Response