I was going to write a blog post on Wu Wei, but a week ago when I was halfway through with it, the breaker box in my house shorted out and mysteriously Word did not save the document. I was going to look a little deeper into the subject than people usually do and talk about some overlooked aspects. Most likely I will eventually go back and start that blog post over. Instead this time, I am going to discuss a subject which I have been asked about many times.
In this blog post, I will not be talking about snipers, active shooters, or people wielding a gun less than 6 feet away from you. This is about having a gun pointed at you from more than 6 feet away, out of distance for the average person to be doing disarms. (Okay, if you are Magic Johnson, go right ahead.) While awareness of your surroundings and others will usually allow you to avoid any type of dangerous self-defense situation, circumstances beyond your control or current level of awareness do sometimes happen.
While it’s important not to walk too close to hedges, or parked cars without looking under them and scanning rooftops for people is also a good precaution, that’s really not what we’re talking about here. If someone is pointing a gun at you from more than 6 feet away and you can’t immediately jump behind a car’s engine block or a brick wall, then most times the best thing you can do in reality is freeze. Sudden movements and loud noises can cause people to jerk or flinch and accidentally pull a trigger. It is generally good to comply with the demands of a person pointing a firearm at you. If compliance happens to bring you closer to them, so much the better.
Unbelievably, crime statistics say that if a gunman does not shoot within the first 3 seconds, the likelihood that they will shoot goes down by over 70%. The problem with statistics is that it’s like gambling; it doesn’t mean you’re out of the woods, but your chances improve again at 10 seconds and at 30 seconds. Basically, the longer you go without getting shot the better off you are, like anybody had to tell you that.
Every second of delay humanizes you to the shooter. In fact, engaging them in conversation is usually not a bad idea unless you just antagonize people.
Now it should go without saying if at all possible, you want to be off the line of fire to the outside of the arm holding the weapon, but that may not be possible. If you are in a narrow alley or hallway without any obstructions that you can get behind then your best weapons are your brain and time.
While most altercations with firearms occur within 20 yards with poor lighting and partial cover, we are going to look at the worst-case scenario where the lighting is good and there is no cover. Let’s also say within 10 yards because at further distances, the average shooter misses 90% of the time. Don’t count on them missing, there are many people out there that are superb marksmen. I am also going to assume that you are not like O-Sensei who was filmed dodging bullets in a live warzone by a newsman.
So first off, don’t scare or startle the person with the gun. I would note at this point that if the reason the person is pointing the gun at you is that they are a jealous mate or worse the jealous spouse of someone else, then I would recommend that you either bend over and kiss your ass goodbye or start singing “Give me three steps Mister” …
The most likely circumstance is that you are being robbed at gunpoint. As you slowly take out your wallet, ask them if you can keep your driver’s license or other ID, not only does this further humanize you, but if they say yes, it will save you a lot of trouble. Most often, muggers will ask you to toss them your wallet because they don’t want you to get really close to them for the same reason that you want to get really close to them. Even if they don’t tell you to throw it underhanded, which they probably will, throw it that way anyhow, but toss it a little high. This works best if it’s a little above their head, but it doesn’t really mater as long as it reaches them at least at about chest height. The reason for this is that when you say toss it over here, most people expect it to fall a little short. Most people under these circumstances will forget that they are holding a gun or a knife for that matter, and will drop it while they attempt to grab the flying object with both hands. If that happens, you immediately get off the line of fire (the gun could go off when it hits the ground) and rush them, hitting them as hard as you can with both fists in different locations or push them really hard. Either way, while they fall down at some distance from you, you bend over and pick up both the gun and your wallet.
Of course, the other option in this circumstance is that you are dealing with the much more dangerous experienced opponent who will let the wallet bounce off them and then reach down and pick it up while looking at you and keeping the gun pointed at you. The best thing to do under these circumstances is to let them keep your wallet. I don’t care how much money you’ve got in that wallet, it’s not worth your life. Even if you had the nuclear launch codes, you can’t do anything about it if you’re dead on the ground.
In short, if you want to keep your head, the first thing you need to do is keep your head.
I know this all sounds simple, but that’s because it really is. Remember, you are not Bruce Lee in a movie. Suddenly tossing three darts out of nowhere into the back of the hand holding the gun is not something you’re going to do and in real life might well backfire (pardon the pun) Reckless and suicidal behavior like trying to charge the gunman while he’s pointing the gun at you is unlikely to end well for you.
Now let’s discuss a best-case scenario. You’re driving your car and some fool jumps out in the middle of the road and points a gun at you and tells you to stop the car. No, really, this is one method that people have used to engage in carjacking. Okay, so in this circumstance you duck down behind the dash so they would have to shoot through the engine block, floor it, and run their sorry ass over. Then while the police are on their way, change your underwear.
I wish I could tell you that there was some magic trick to surviving this situation, but really the only magic trick is to not act really stupid. Of course, sometimes doing something that is completely unexpected can work, but it is very dangerous. One of my students, before they became my student was out for a walk because they were really pissed off and a little bit suicidal and a mugger jumped out pointed a gun at them and delivered the standard soliloquy. She ignored him and kept walking. Apparently, he followed her for a while saying, “Hey, didn’t you hear me? I said this is a stick up.” After a while, he gave up in confusion. I don’t recommend this method, but the truth is that most of the time they just want your money and don’t want a murder hanging over their head.
In my classes I teach specific techniques to use against guns and knives as well as telling my students stories about the various ways that people I know have successfully dealt with muggers. One of my students used the tossed wallet trick mentioned above and showed up in class the next day yelling about how cool it was as a method for getting free knives while waving one over his head. In short, stop, think, use your head, look for an opening and think about that cool new wallet you’re going to get in the next week or so.
In, this kind of situation, your physical prowess is much less important than your ability to think under pressure and not freeze. Remember you can choose not to move but not actually be freezing. If you find yourself freezing, remember to breathe. Actually starting to breathe will unfreeze you. It’s brains not brawn.
In my classes, I tend to assign a lot of reading material, not to teach Kung Fu from the books, but to get my students to learn to think in terms of martial situations.
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