History of the "Modern Technique"

[Brownie]

The modern technique of the pistol is founded on the following principles.

The Weaver Stance - The modern shooting stance used with the pistol is the Weaver Stance. The Weaver Stance is sometimes thought of as simply two-handed shooting. It is, however, a specialized form of two-handed shooting which uses isometric tension to provide recoil control and a stable and versatile shooting platform for the pistol. It allows rapid acquisition and target engagement with a powerful sidearm.

The presentation - This is the drawing technique utilized to allow the swift, consistent, and safe presentation of the pistol, which in turn allows the rapid and accurate delivery of hits on the target. It involves smoothness and a precise procedure to accomplish its goal.

The flash sight picture - Sight alignment is simply the proper alignment of the front and rear sights which enable the target to be hit. If the sights are not utilized the chances that a target will be missed increase exponentially as the range increase past touching distance. The flash sight picture provides an almost instantaneous verification of the sight's alignment prior to discharging the pistol.

The surprise break - As with the use of the sights the manipulation of the trigger is also important. The surprise break is simply the application of a smooth squeezing of the trigger but done in a highly compressed time interval. The trigger is not "jerked" or "mashed," it is pressed smoothly but very quickly.

The heavy-duty big-bore semiautomatic pistol - To terminate the threat of a human attacker requires a powerful blow. The science of wound ballistics (some firearms media "experts" to the contrary) shows us that the best way to achieve immediate incapacitation of an adversary to make the biggest diameter and deepest permanent hole as possible. While some suggest that a medium caliber (9mm/.38, both of which are actually .35") with an expanding bullet can be used successfully, expanding bullets often fail to expand leaving you with a smaller than desired or hoped for hole. Thus it is better to start off with a bullet that is closer to the diameter you'd like the small one to expand to, rather than to rely on expansion to save your bacon. "Big bore" is considered to be .40 caliber or greater. The semiautomatic pistol has been shown over the years to be the most efficient way to deliver a powerful blow in a lethal confrontation, especially when confronted with multiple attackers.

"The Pistol. Learn it well; wear it always!" - Jeff Cooper

The excitement and challenge of wide open competition was what led Jack Weaver to develop the Weaver Stance, with the sole purpose of winning Jeff Cooper's "Leatherslap" competition in Big Bear, California. In Cooper's own words, "It began in 1956 at Big Bear when I set up the first Leatherslap. As far as I know, it was the first match of its kind held anywhere in the world. It was unrestricted as to technique, as to weapon, as to caliber, as to holster, as to profession. It was a straight quick-draw match — just draw and hit a target at seven yards."

At that time everyone shot from the hip or one-handed from the shoulder, which is a loosely defined style know as "point shooting." This worked well on television, but in real life competition things are different. According to Jack, sometimes "what started out as serious business soon produced gales of laughter from the spectators as most of the shooters blazed away…" Then "with guns empty and all 12 rounds gone but the 18 inch balloons still standing, they had a problem: load one round and take aim or load six and blaze away again."

By the time the 1959 Leatherslap rolled around Jack had realized that "a pretty quick hit was better than a lightening-fast miss," and decided to bring the pistol up using both hands and actually aim it rather than simply point and shoot. Quoting Cooper again, "Jack walloped us all — and decisively — using a six inch Smith K-38. He was very quick and he did not miss. And, of course, he shot from the Weaver Stance, which was, and is, the way to go."

As the world of practical pistol shooting evolved, more complicated contests were developed and it was discovered that when speed was not quite as important as it was in a "Leatherslap," the Weaver Stance worked even better. In time, everyone began using it.

In 1982, the Weaver Stance received what may be the ultimate endorsement. Jack received a letter from James D. McKenzie, then assistant director of the FBI, which had just completed a year long survey of handgun shooting techniques.

Cont.

[Brownie]

Part 2 of the "History of the Modern Technique"

We'll start with two non-Americans, Captains William Fairbairn and Eric Sykes, both British. In the 1920's, these two guys, both very tough hombres, went to Shanghai, China as police officers. Shanghai, at this time, was one very tough town. Together, Fairbairn and Sykes created a complete close quarter combat system that included firearms skills in order to combat the dangerous individuals that they would have to go up against on a daily basis. The firearms techniques they taught their fellow officers were based on simplicity and ease of training. They were only interested in what worked, and what would save lives. The most notable aspect of their techniques were the fact that they relied on natural physiological responses of human beings under stress. One handed, non-sighted fire, now known as point shooting, was the primary method for close and deadly encounters, as it was fast in engagements and got the job done. Point shooting, using one hand, was simply the fastest, most natural, and easiest-to-teach method of reactive shooting in lethal engagements at close contact distances, the most common type of combat situation in Shanghai during this time.

Well, in the early 1940's, an army colonel named Rex Applegate, familiar with Fairbairn and Syke's techniques and their effectiveness, instituted them as the primary training system for the troops in World War II. For their firearms training, Applegate taught the G.I.'s how to use one-handed point shooting to hit a target at 50 meters very quickly with very little training. This was basically a technique where one pointed, one handed, at the target with the gun, with the shooter focusing on the target over the gun's slide. The weapon was brought up to line of sight, under control and using a straight arm, with the strong foot forward. Many of the guys that went through Applegate's program ended up using these point shooting techniques to win many deadly encounters during the course of the war. This brings us to the late 1950's and into the 1960's.

This is the time of Jeff Cooper(considered to be the father of modern pistolcraft, or the "modern technique"), Bill Jordan, and Chic Gaylord. Jeff Cooper was the most outspoken of the three, and started the Southwest Combat Pistol League (SWCPL) in Big Bear, California in the 1960's. He formed the league with 5 other "masters". These were Jack Weaver, Elden Carl, Thell Reed, John Plahn, and Ray Chapman. Jack Weaver's "Weaver technique" became the predominant technique used by the top shooters, as those that used this technique were winning all the competitions. The Weaver technique employs isometric tension, where the strong hand pushes, while the support hand pulls back to control recoil. While using the Weaver, the shooter is bladed towards the target, and the support elbow is in a downward position below the strong arm. The Weaver technique simply proved to be superior to one handed techniques for long distance shooting on the types of shooting stages that were set up for the competitions of that time.

True to the politics of California, the SWCPL was soon forced to change it's name by the Governor of California at the time, to the Southwest Pistol League (SWPL). The name change was forced on it because the word "combat" was too strong for the politicians. Now, it needs to be understood that the founding members of the SWCPL, and subsequent SWPL were, at that time, considered to be the best shooters in the country. The SWPL became very important in the shooting world, and shaped the entire shooting community in the ensuing years.

In the mid 1970's, Cooper and others from the SWPL established the International Practical Shooting Confederation, a.k.a. IPSC. When it was first formed, IPSC was designed to be a testbed for combat shooting techniques, equipment, and mindset. Here was a place where the Weaver stance and other combat techniques and principles could be tested in the safety of competition. All the equipment used for this competition was defensive type gear. The matches themselves were designed with combat in mind. This would later change, and IPSC would become a pure shooting competition where high-tech competion style gear, including compensators and optical sights, would come to rule.

The Modern Tecchnique has 5 elements according to Cooper himself. The Weaver stance, the presentation, the flash sight picture, the surprise break of the trigger and the use of a big bore handgun.

The Modern Technique is 50 years old this year. When one speaks of this technique, it doesn't necessarily have to mean modern in the true sense of the word. It was born of competition, not combat. It was born through peoples experiences of one handed shooting at distances that were not conducive to one handed shooting, that had been used up until the end of WW2 by Fairbairn/Sykes and Applegate.

It is what it is. History tells us the story of the how and why of the Modern Technique and why it became considered successful over the older one handed shooting disciplines then in vogue based on combat at combative distances.

Not because it was better at staying alive, but because it was better in a competition at certain longer distances not usually encountered in self defense shootings.

The Modern Technique [ the weaver stance ] was adopted by the FBI back in 1982. It then moved through the US Law Enforcement community over decades. The same US LE community who usually takes their lead from the FBI and still does primarily today for better or worse.

There's the history. It is factual and indisputable. What can be debated is whether the LE community or the FBI should have ever adopted it to begin with for the streets.

cont.

[Brownie]

Part 3

MT was found to be better [ more accurate and faster on targets/threats ] at the longer ranges of the leatherslap matches put on by Cooper.

It was the start [ 1956 ] of most two handed shooting with the stance Jack Weaver developed [ which was only a variation on a previous stance ].

As I see it from the history lessons, it's plain that this two handed shooting was deemed a viable platform for the street by the FBI in 1982. Most every state and local dept soon fell in line with their adoption of the Weaver and two handed shooting thought process.

Apparently people forgot about the up close and personal effectiveness of the FAS systems from WW2 days over the years and just used Weaver two hand to solve all problems where a gun was the solution.

Sorta the mindset of one technique for every situation. Of course we all know that that mindset will get you killed and one needs to be more well rounded and have different skills for different resolutions based on the problem thats presented at that time. Law dogs didn't see it that way and over a long time of training in one way, were hesitant to listen to reasonable men with knowledge from the past.

Men like Applegate who, on podium after podium in front of law dogs over the years attempted to get them to look at other ways to resolve self defense scenarios with a firearm. Most of it fell on deaf ears and was lost in the haze of an unwillingness to change that which had been the status quo for generations of law dogs.

We are in different times, change has been slow, but change is in the air. It gathers momentum as we talk about it. Things have a way of coming full circle. Threat focused methodologies will not replace training out there presently, but it will be accepted as an enhancement and is now recognized by a larger segment as something vital to the survival of officers on the streets.

It's a long, hard road to get people to accept that which was proven in the past and to change. It's happening and we need to embrace those willing to change and not just tell them " I told you so"