{"id":20528,"date":"2019-10-14T13:29:32","date_gmt":"2019-10-14T20:29:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dryfiretrainingcards.com\/blog\/?p=20528"},"modified":"2022-01-18T11:43:27","modified_gmt":"2022-01-18T19:43:27","slug":"busting-3-myths-of-the-21-foot-rule","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dryfiretrainingcards.com\/blog\/busting-3-myths-of-the-21-foot-rule\/","title":{"rendered":"Busting 3 Myths of the “21 Foot Rule”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Almost everyone has heard about the “21 Foot Rule” and how important it is to practice at 21 feet.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I used to teach it and I’ve probably been taught it in more than a dozen classes I’ve taken.<\/p>\n

Except it’s a myth.<\/p>\n

It has no basis in fact or history.<\/p>\n

And it can actually hurt your ability to effectively handle a threat that’s 21 feet away.<\/p>\n

So, here are 3 myths about the 21 Foot Rule and how to fix them…<\/p>\n

Myth #1: There\u2019s a concept called the \u201c21 Foot Rule\u201d that was created by Officer Dennis Tueller.\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

The \u201c21 Foot Rule\u201d came from a drill that officer Tueller did with the Salt Lake City police department in 1983.\u00a0 According to Officer Tueller, it was never intended to be a rule.<\/em>\u00a0 It was just an illustration that it takes 1.5 seconds for an average officer to draw and hit a target at 21 feet (7 steps is a standard shooting distance) AND it takes an average man with a knife 1.5 seconds to travel 21 feet and stab.\u00a0 This represents a \u201ctie\u201d and a tie is bad in a fight.<\/p>\n

After the good guy shoots the attacker, the attacker has, on average, 5-10 more seconds to keep stabbing before they will be out of the fight.\u00a0 Again, a tie is bad.<\/p>\n

Myth #2:\u00a0 You should train to shoot at 21 feet because of the 21 foot rule.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The original 21 foot test was done at 21 feet because it was already common for officers to train to shoot from 7 yards.<\/p>\n

Unless your attacker is running on a treadmill, they will have closed the distance during the time it takes you to draw and shoot.\u00a0 Then they\u2019re not at 21 feet anymore.\u00a0 They may be within arm\u2019s reach.<\/p>\n

What if there is a car between you and the attacker?\u00a0 A counter?\u00a0 A table?<\/p>\n

Now, is there anything wrong with standing at the line and banging away at a target at 21 feet?<\/p>\n

Of course not\u2026as long as you\u2019re making hits and not reinforcing mediocre performance, 21 feet is one of several great distances to practice at.<\/p>\n

Just don\u2019t think that it\u2019s doing you any good for a situation where you may be facing a threat who starts to charge with a knife from 21 feet away with nothing between you and him.<\/p>\n

Myth #3:\u00a0 21 feet is THE \u201creactionary gap.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

The original point that Tueller was trying to make is that there is a reactionary gap between when something happens that requires you to take action and and when you\u2019ve actually taken beneficial action.<\/p>\n

The \u201c21 foot rule\u201d is based on the idea that 2 guys will be facing off at 21 feet\u2026like in an old-west dual\u2026with one guy sprinting across open ground and the other standing flat footed.\u00a0 It was a way to control variables so that they could get comparable results.<\/p>\n

If you play by those rules,
\nyou will probably lose.<\/em><\/h3>\n

But you can dramatically change your reactionary gap\u2026both in terms of the time it takes you to react and the time it takes an attacker to reach you.<\/p>\n

A counter, table, car, elevation change, or other object between you and your attacker buys you more time.<\/p>\n

Having your hand on the grip of your gun or your gun drawn lets you react quicker.<\/p>\n

Drawing to low-ready lets you react quicker.<\/p>\n

More light lets you react quicker.<\/p>\n

Moving laterally or at a 45 degree angle towards a charging attacker buys you more time.<\/p>\n

Defined \u201cgo\u201d signals\u2026a line in the sand that\u2019s either behavioral or physical\u2026lets you react quicker.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re not used to smoothly drawing and making hits quickly under stress, it\u2019ll probably take you considerably longer than 1.5 seconds to make a first HIT on target.\u00a0 (hint:\u00a0 being able to draw smoothly under stress and making solid hits is a journey.\u00a0 It requires a few “oh crap” moments as a gut-check along the way.)<\/p>\n

So, if drawing and shooting targets at 21 feet in less than 1.5 seconds is useless for handling an attacker armed with a knife at 21 feet, how DO you train to handle the situation?<\/p>\n

The first thing you need to do is nail the shooting fundamentals with guided step-by-step training like 21 Day Alpha Shooter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The next step is to take those fundamentals and begin adding in the factors that exist in a real gunfight that you can\u2019t practice at a traditional range\u2026like:<\/p>\n