In his last and unfinished work, The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights, John Steinbeck wrote, “This is the law. The purpose of fighting is to win. There is no possible victory in defense. The sword is more important than the shield, and skill is more important than either. The final weapon is the brain, all else is supplemental.”
When I went to SWAT School, one of the lead instructors said, "We're looking for thinkers who can shoot more than shooters who can think." Thinking, and your ability to rapidly problem solve on the fly, will most likely determine your ability to survive a dangerous situation.
Owning and/or carrying a gun does not make you safe. You are only safe to the degree you know how and when to use the gun. There are thousands of articles, posts, and videos about the 'best gun for self-defense' but not as much about the knowledge and skill required to use the gun in self defense.
Everyone is so focused on hardware; guns, knives, flashlights, holsters, laser sights, and on and on... But it's just hardware. They're all just tools. You need the software to run the hardware... and that's what I hope to accomplish here. What good is the best computer if there's no software for it? This is why I run into so many people who have a concealed weapon permit, but their gun is locked up at home. They don't feel comfortable carrying it because they don't have the software (training, mental preparedness and mindset) to go with their hardware.
In the excellent book, Training at the Speed of Life, Dave Grossman wrote, “Amateurs talk about hardware, or equipment. Professionals talk about software, or training and mental readiness.” Owning a gun doesn't mean you can use it to protect yourself any more than owning a piano makes you a pianist. For some reason, too many gun owners think they are ready. Far too many are not.
The Washington Post reported, "Now a new study from researchers at Mount St. Mary's University sheds some light on why people don't use guns in self-defense very often. As it turns out, knowing when and how to apply lethal force in a potentially life-or-death situation is really difficult.
They recruited 77 volunteers with varying levels of firearm experience and training, and had each of them participate in simulations of three different scenarios using the firearms training simulator at the Prince George's County Police Department in Maryland. The first scenario involved a carjacking, the second an armed robbery in a convenience store, and the third a case of suspected larceny.
They found that, perhaps unsurprisingly, people without firearms training performed poorly in the scenarios. They didn't take cover. They didn't attempt to issue commands to their assailants. Their trigger fingers were either too itchy -- they shot innocent bystanders or unarmed people, or not itchy enough -- they didn't shoot armed assailants until they were already being shot at.
The researchers released some fascinating video comparing how regular citizens and trained police officers performed in the scenarios. In the carjacking scenario, for instance, the police officer draws his gun, takes cover, and issues verbal commands to the would-be carjacker.
The civilian just stands there, holding her gun limply at her side. She doesn't begin to raise it until the assailant has already fired his first shot.
In the armed robbery situation, again the officer ducks for cover and waits until bystanders are out of the way before engaging the assailants.
The study, of course, has its limitations. Seventy seven participants is a very small sample size, for instance. But its conclusion should be fairly uncontroversial: if you want to be able to use a gun in self-defense, you should be trained in how to do so."
A violent attack from another person is the most stressful event any of us can face. Violent attack is the universal fear. Making a correct, split second decision and performing under that pressure is something people cannot do without practice and training.
Shooting paper targets isn't sufficient. You can learn to shoot (how to operate and handle the gun) on paper targets, but you need simulation training to truly prepare for self-defense. Simulation training uses paint bullets so you can train against live adversaries. It produces stress so you learn to perform under high stress situations. In military and law enforcement training it's called force-on-force training or stress inoculation. One of the best training facilities in the nation, offering both shooting and simulation training, is Warrior Creed based in Ogden, Utah.
Don't just have the hardware (your gun). Invest in the software (training) so you know what to do with it. The will to survive is instinctive, but the ability to survive is learned. We don't rise to the occasion, we fall to the level of our preparation and training. You are the weapon, everything else is just a tool. It's not the gun in your hand that will save you, it's what's in your head and in your heart.