IDPA and FOF? strange bedfellows

[cedartop]

Can gun games and self-defense/tactical guys shoot in harmony with one another? Some would say no. SI instructor Alex Nieuwland has his own take on the matter. BTW, I've trained with Alex, he's a scary good pistol shot.
WARRIOR TALK NEWS - When Beating Your Friends Is More Important Than Defeating Your Enemies

 

[singlestacksig]

nice article..
I agree, you are short changing your self if you don't use similar gear for carry as you practice with..

 

[TheJames]

There's hardly a worse habit than "unload and show clear".

 

[patton487]

Very good article. I feel the same way. When I go to a match, I have fun. But the number one concern to me is getting better with my daily carry.

Nothing wrong with building a race gun to compete with your friends. It's just not what I am interested in. I really don't care about points. I probably will never shoot anything but production for that reason.

 

[NIFT]

There is an old saw--and it is true: You will not rise to the occasion; you will default to your level of training.

No training or practice, of course, means you default to nothing.

IDPA (and other similar formats), as the article states, are great but not the be all and end all.
IDPA type shooting, as good as it is, has some serious drawbacks, in my estimation. Most stages, if not all, involve the following:

1. Always shoot. The best way to prevail in any deadly force encounter is to avoid it. Stay away; walk away; run away!
2. Silence. Law enforcement training is good at teachng officers to use very loud command voices. Screaming/shouting at the top of the lungs helps break tunnel vision, overcome auditory exclusion, provides intimidation, and alerts witnesses within earshot.
3. Two shots. This can be dangerous and is a pet peeve. If we always fire just two shots, two shots, two shots, two shots...., two guesses what we will do in a real encounter? Two shots is almost never enough to incapacitate an attacker physiologically.
4. Stand still. Move first; then shoot, not vice versa. I believe, as Suarez puts it, "Explode off the X" is one of the most important things to learn from FoF.
5. Unrealistic distances. Most deadly force encounters are in distances around 10 feet (or closer.) Most shooting competitions are rarely less than 21 feet.

Again, I am in favor of IDPA and similar types of shooting. I think they are great; so, please, my opinions are not dismissing IDPA or any other similar venues. Just remember, in a "real" encounter, we will default to our training. The more realistic our training and practice, the better.

Suarez Force-on-Force class in Fort Wayne (Roanoke) on April 2 and 3:
Suarez International USA, Inc. - Force On Force Gunfighting

Hope to see you there!