Ancient Arts, Modern Methods
About the author: Mr. Richard Ray is a former police officer, a licensed executive protection specialist in the state of Texas, and the Director of Training for Drenger Group LLC. He has taught defensive tactics, tactical firearms, and executive protection in the United States and South America.
Mr. Ray holds the rank of roku dan in San Sai Ryu karate and has been awarded Kyosei menkyo in San Sai Ryu Kenjutsu, both from Hanshi Philip Scudieri of the Delaware Budokan. Mr. Ray also holds black belt ranks in kenpo and tae kwon do, and he has studied several other martial arts.
He is the owner and chief instructor of Ellis County Martial Arts, Ennis, Texas USA www.ecmartialarts.net
I recently had the honor of training with the instructors of PATHFINDER, LLC., an international organization that is a leader in tactical operational medical support training. A tactical medic may be called upon to support police SWAT, a military unit, an executive protection team or a high-risk personal protection detail overseas. He must not only be highly skilled in medical procedures; he must also fill a role within that team, moving like they move, thinking like they think.
In addition to the possibility of being thrust into highly dangerous team work, a tactical medic or paramedic cannot always carry a firearm. In fact, many times company policy forbids them from carrying a weapon of any kind. My challenge was to create and teach a defensive tactics program which would allow the tactical medic/paramedic to defend himself in close quarters, under stressful situations, using only his natural weapons.
Part of this program involved teaching medics pistol disarming techniques, which could be both effective and proficient, in less than one week. The following is part of the program recently taught by PATHFINDER, LLC in Oneonta, New York, USA.
One of my favorite techniques has always been kotegaeshi, returning wrist techniques. While I have seen variations in different jujutsu and aiki ryu, the principles have remained the same. I chose kotegaeshi as a response to a pistol hold up.
I have seen many schools’ versions of pistol disarming techniques, and most of them are questionable in real life, a few absolutely worthless. In most cases, the technique is taken from a club or knife disarm, and will work with a wooden or plastic pistol. However, the instructor often has no tactical firearms background and fails to take into account an important and dangerous problem – muzzle blast.
When the bullet leaves the barrel of a gun, the burning gases from the cartridge do not follow in a straight path, but rather expand around the crown, or tip of the muzzle. Depending on the caliber of the weapon, the muzzle blast can expand from several inches to over a foot! Even if you avoid the bullet itself, the muzzle blast can cause much damage to your face, skin, eyes, and ears.
I taught pistol disarming techniques in stages to help the students learn more efficiently. The first stage was Move the Target. For a pistol held to the face, this was simply pivoting sharply to the side into a modified “back stance”.
The next stage was to Move the Weapon. In this case, the students would grab the hand that controlled the weapon and push it away and/or up as they did so. Once they had Moved the Target and Moved the Weapon, they were taught to Control the Weapon. In the case of the pistol, I chose kotegaeshi. Kotegaeshi accomplishes three purposes: one, it causes pain and breaks his balance (distracts the attacker from follow up moves), two, it keeps the bullet and the muzzle blast away from the defender, and three, it provides a backstop for the bullet – the attacker himself!
The fourth stage was the Disarm, using the pistol for leverage. Disarming techniques varied depending on the situation, but most included extreme pressure on the wrist, forcing the attacker to either release the pistol or have his wrist broken. In certain circumstances, the attacker’s finger would be broken using leverage from the trigger guard.
After disarming, students were taught to Follow Up by either disengaging, creating safe distance between them and the attacker, or continue the defense by using the pistol as a “punch”. Other follow ups included kicks or knee strikes to the common peroneal nerve, femoral nerve, or the knee itself.
Students practiced this basic formula (Move the Target, Move the Weapon, Control the Hand, Disarm, and Follow Up) from a variety of angles including the side and the rear. By the end of the course, all students showed marked improvement and were grateful for their new skills from an ancient technique – kotegaeshi!
Disclaimer!: You should never, ever, under any circumstances practice gun disarming techniques with a functional firearm. ALWAYS use a practice weapon made of wood or plastic.
All photographs are courtesy of PATHFINDER, LLC, and may not be used or reproduced without express written consent.
For more information on Tactical Operational Medical Support training, please visit www.pathfinder-ops.com .