I am often amused or frustrated by the skills and training that most GunGeeks practice on a regular basis...

Well, I have bad news: you probably will not have a chance to try out that tactical reload or your rappelling technique in a real gunfight. Odds are that it will be up close, violent, and not last very long. You will be taken by surprise and coming from behind. Chances are good you will end up on the ground! Have you planned for that at all?

Proper "ground fighting" is a whole new skill set, and not addressed by this article. Wrestlers, martial artists and cage fighters would be experts on ground fighting. But what about the ability to draw your weapon and shoot from the ground? Should we practice our gun skills from the ground, so that the first time isn't during an emergency? Absolutely!

Shooting from the ground isn't rocket science. Most shooting fundamentals remain the same for effective accuracy: grip, sight alignment and trigger manipulation are what controls shot placement. But the classic stance is obviously out the window, so how to train? You have two obvious priorities when on your back: fend off the attack, and get back on your feet as soon as possible.

There is a well established technique for shooting from your back, and you are likely familiar with it. The technique provides for defense, counter-attack, and even shooting support.

There is much to like about this position: protection of your groin, gun, and hands. Your feet can kick at the attacker to move him back, and you obviously have a traditional hold and sight picture. You can also see that with a strong side holster, the handgun is easily drawn from this position. The main drawback to this position is the danger of shooting your own legs or feet while fighting.

The opponent is likely to try and get to your sides and head. Assuming he is on his feet, he will be able to quickly move to your head, so you must keep your legs between you and the attacker when using this technique...

...by shuffling your feet and tracking the attacker by pivoting on your back. You are essentially a gun turret, and this is a firing position for using deadly force.

Here is a video example.

But what if the attacker is too fast, and you cannot shuffle quickly enough to track him? And what if there are several attackers? In those cases there is a faster way to track and shoot the attackers:

Your shoulders and head are now the turret, and your body remains in place. You can easily cover 360 degrees with gunfire:

But your goal is still to get to your feet as quickly as possible. Any time you are on the ground and under attack, you are in grave danger -- fight the attackers away and get up!

However, you still need the ability to fight or cover attackers as you get up, so practice your recover technique: can you effectively operate the gun while getting up? The enemy may see this as a last chance to counter-attack.

Practice getting up from several ground positions while covering a threat.

You may be injured and unable to get up. You can still fight and protect yourself from the ground by rolling into prone to put your soft side to the ground, make yourself a smaller target, and make more accurate shots.

There is no way around it: fighting from your back is ugly, and you need to get off the ground ASAP. But just planning to not be on the ground is not good enough. Most GunGeeks need a dose of humility and realize that the attacker usually starts with the upper hand, so that means you are coming from behind. The most common come from behind scenario is being on the ground, so YOU should train for it.  (3 Jun 2009)

copyright 2009 by the author, all rights reserved