Once upon a time, when there was some semblance of sanity and decency, even among criminals, the prudent thing to do when threatened with a gun was to fully cooperate with the attacker. By doing nothing, your odds were 80 to 90% in favor of surviving. However, the same strategy today is far more likely to get you killed. How often do we watch the news to see a convenience store clerk hand over the cash and get shot anyway? Today your odds of survival are far greater if you fight, provided that you know what you’re doing. When you see how simpleand eff ective some of these techniques are, you will agree that the worst thing to do if there’s a gun in your face is nothing!

Before attempting any gun techniques, it is vitally important that you fully understand a few basic principles. Th e best way to illustrate these principles is to take you through some techniques. Pay attention to the principles, because this is what will save your life. It’s impossible to memorize a technique for every conceivable attack, but knowledge of these principles will enable you to create your defense on the fl y. So remember, learn the techniques, but master the principles.

The first thing that you need is some knowledge of guns. Ignorance of the weapon that you are defending against can easily get you killed! There are two basic types of hand guns: revolvers and automatic cocking pistols (ACPs). ACPs are commonly called “automatics” or “semi-automatics.”

Revolvers are simple. There is a revolving bullet magazine from which bullets are fed into the chamber. Actually, the revolving magazine functions as a series of rotating chambers. When the trigger is pulled, the hammer cocks back and snaps forward, striking the bullet casing in the chamber, causing the gun powder explosion that fi res the bullet. The magazine then revolves to place the next bullet in position to be fired. Th e important thing to remember is that a revolver can be grabbed with little risk of injury. The 2 parts of the gun that can hurt you are the hammer and, of course, the bullet being fi red from the barrel of the gun.

ACPs on the other hand, are far more complicated, and are more likely to injure you if you grab them. ACPs use a spring-fed magazine clip to feed the bullets into the chamber. When the gun is fi red, the slide on the top of the gun barrel slides backward, forcing the hot shell casing to spit out of the ejection port, and a new bullet gets loaded into the chamber.

If you are holding this gun when it fi res, you will be hurt. If you are forced into a situation where you have no other choice, make sure that you grab it fi rmly, and complete your technique, working through the pain.

Th e next thing to be aware of is knowledge of your attacker. When he flashes that gun, he will be almost as focused on the gun as you are. The gun represents his power and control over you. If he perceives any threat to that power, he may panic and pull the trigger. This brings us to our first major principle in a gun defense; the principle of non-aggression. When threatened with a gun, you must appear submissive, and you must avoid sudden, jerky movements.

The above article is copyrighted by the author. All rights reserved.