When it comes to handgun disarms, a lot of people focus so much on the technique but there are so many other factors that go into a successful disarm of a handgun. One of those comes down to the timing of when you actually make your move to disarm an attacker with a handgun.
Now unfortunately in an adrenalized state in that static momentum that you have going here or the static position where most people train from person with gun, I am here. I come up to disarm. Unfortunately when he’s all hyped up, he’s all adrenalized. He’s got the blood flowing. When I go to do that, even the flinchresponse, even the accidental flinchresponse just from a split second if he sees movement, his body can go ahead and fire. If his brain is focused on trigger finger, that conduit is there and he see’s a flinchand he goes for it, he’s going to fire.
There are a couple of times when you're most successful at disarm. It comes into play when you actually disengage the brain from the trigger finger. It's called a break state. It's a psychological break state that disengages this conduit. So, there are two times when this actually happens.
One is when he’s talking and giving me direction because his brain is not focused on the gun itself, it's focused on giving me direction and having me take a specific action. That’s what his brain is focused on. The other time where there is a break state there, is when I am taking that action or when I'm talking to him. When I'm moving, he’s told me to go somewhere. When I'm moving, his brain is focused on me taking the action that he gave me.
The other time is when I'm talking, he’s brain is processing my words and he’s less likely to fire the weapon. His brain isn’t engaged there.
Now one of these two break states is actually not a very good time to launch your attack. The other one is a good one. But when it doesn’t work very well is when he is talking. It is a break state but here is the problem. When there is an adrenalized situation here, there’s an attack going on. If he is talking and giving me direction, what happens is a lot of people give direction with their hands while their talking.
You can see the weapon is moving there. So, if I see the weapon is there but he is giving me direction and I go for it. All of a sudden the weapon isn’t there. This can happen in a split second because he’s doesn’t have to register my flinch. If I go for the disarm and he is moving at the same time talking at the same time, I can miss that weapon. If I miss it, then he’s more likely to go ahead and pull the trigger on me.
So the other time is when I'm making a movement and when I'm talking. So this is the best time to launch your attacks. So he gives me directions, while I'm moving I can talk to him at the same time. I was already expecting me to be moving. So the flinch response isn’t necessarily going to be there. so when I talk to him say when I move over here, my hands and my body are moving but that gives me an opportunity to—in at the same time because he’s less likely to move the handgun while I'm talking and moving.
So he talks, tells me, gives me direction over here. From here, I've got a much better chance at getting in for the disarm.
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