One thing for sure is that no matter how many times I hear I took a class years ago, per usual, my reply is when was the last time you made it out to the range to continue your training? Have you included speed and accuracy drills? How about a force-on-force course to test yourself? If folks would at least come to see what they were about, they would see what is needed to “have a chance” under that kind of stress.
To this day, my reasoning for this type of training is the more you are likely to have a higher chance of success surviving the unpredictable behavior of the human element who wants to steal your money or your car to get away from being caught from another crime they have or will be committing. You being in the way is the worse timing for all involved.
Let me put it to you this way, most of us before we got into concealed carry and self-defense thought that being safe and proficient was “good enough” until you either have spoken with other people like me in the training side of things or see some videos that were put out to show you how fast violent behavior can be. It shows you the realistic actions that take place in most cases 2 minutes or less.
I am not saying it is wrong. I am pointing out the fact that if Lt. Dennis Tueller from Salt Lake City’s police department decided to figure out how fast one must be during a critical incident, started with drawing his firearm from his holster and placing two rounds center mass at twenty-one feet in about a second and a half. He didn’t stop there. He wanted to know how fast an attacker could gain on you standing there at that same distance. He found, on average, it was the same time as his two rounds on target, one and a half seconds. With this theory and litmus test, he determined that he and his police department must be quicker than that time, or even sub-seconds, to react to an attacker charging at them. That was 1983.
The problem with the twenty-one-foot drill (the Tueller-drill), the imminent threat can stab or slash the defender before they can defend themselves in a controlled environment. Never mind the need to be alert and ready to deploy your weapon under stress. When you are under the stress of the attacker, your reaction needs to be planned in your head using what we refer to as mental training, where we place our minds in a situation where we need to be able to run, hide, or fight. The mental scenarios can be done anywhere without your firearm.
This article can go on and on about case-by-case shootings at distances and all the details they entailed, but it is not going to be that. At the end of the day, if you are not in a defensive mindset, you are putting yourself up for failure. How much failure? This depends on tons of situations, mental state, physical limitations, etc.
Time is not on your side during a violent encounter with an attacker, and paper does not charge at you while you are standing still in a lane in an indoor range facility. The force-on-force or reality-based training programs give you an edge on this. Finding instructors who teach this is not hard. However, how much experience do they have when it comes to learning from them?
To point out a fairness to the Tueller drill, a statement from the man himself from 2019 pointed out the times from the attacker can be quick as the first stride from an attacker was three feet and by the end of the charge, the attacker was covering over five feet before the attack, making the times to defend much quicker than anticipated.
Flash forward almost 39 years to today from 1983. We know that thirty-five feet on in could be a losing battle with a stronger generation of the criminal element, and being sub-second in our draw and fire is pertinent to survival, and we do not plan or prepare ourselves for this.
The bottom line is, are you prepared to be in a defensive situation ever? Even the most practiced can be on the losing end. This should not stop you from getting training. It is just something you should know, so you don’t lower your expectations.
Having an instructor help you with training lessons you can take to the range is gold, especially if all you ever do is plink at steel or just shoot at a static target 30 feet away while standing still. Movement is a reality in any defensive situation. Watch a boxing match or an MMA event. They are not shouting at each other. They are moving and moving quickly.
I do not think that course you took prepared you for the reality of violence and speed. They go hand in hand. Be prepared, be educated, and always remember there is safety through education. Train with us at Gun Powder and Lead Training.
Watch the video below for more information on Lt. Dennis Teuller and his drill clarified by him.
