ON GETTING OFF THE X (THE LINE OF FIRE)

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Submitted just as received in the e-mail to me from Suarez International

ON GETTING OFF THE X (THE LINE OF FIRE)

A question was posed at Warrior Talk recently: “As you go about introducing getting off the X to the uninitiated, how do you deal with that person who just can’t get it in their head to not point the gun in an unsafe direction? “

We have never had an issue with it. There is a limit to what can be done on a range in a class with 10-20 students. We simply explain the concept, and show them how it is done and build up to it. We also show them that range training is but a small part of what they need to do and that it is by no means the beginning and ending of anything. Anyone who does not do force on force as part of their training is only partially trained.

Additionally, we do not do moving in the basic class. We tell them that this is basic and that there are miles to go beyond that point. A basic class is simply stand and shoot. Basics are basics, and a foundation. I say quite clearly that certain classes are not for beginners. And if I find someone in class who has not been forthright with their ability we ask them to leave. We have only done this three times in the last seven years so I guess the message is clear.

The reasons some instructors don’t embrace the concept of shooting while moving is two-fold. Some guys simply do not understand the entire get-off-the-x methodology. I had one student at a recent FOF class tell me he had just come from a school that purports to teach gunfighting and moving off the line of fire. It was one of the “shoot...then move a couple of steps” type classes. I had him successfully doing a pekiti take off, while drawing from a concealed appendix rig against a drawn gun and winning! He said that what we were doing was far beyond anything he’d seen and that the other training was not gunfighting at all. And this was a fairly high dollar modern technique-based school.

The second point is that many trainers simply can’t do certain things. the trainer with no experience in knife is afraid of knives and his program reflects it. Just look at the majority of gun school answers to the knife attack. They have no concept of knife, fear the knife, and thus their answers are not valid. Look at the guys who don’t do force on force. they are so fixated on marksmanship and groups that their entire program ignores the unequal initiative event and incoming rounds. Then, sadly, there are guys who is so out-of-shape they run out of breath demonstrating a draw! Their entire platform is “I don’t need to be in shape...I carry a Glock or a 1911....or”.

Anyway...fighting is fighting. In the context of the gun, shooting a target is akin to hitting the heavy bag. It is necessary, but there is a vast world to explore beyond that. Trainers who ignore these things from the safety of their comfort zone are soon to be a thing of the past as the art moves forward.

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Gabe Suarez[/b]