Be safe and tell your kids to be safe

[Mr. Ugly]

Mythbusters did a fun episode of knife vs gun in a close fight.
If memory serves:
If you attack a shooter from 10' away:
If he is ready, you will get there, but get shot.
If he is not ready, you can actually win that fight.

Getting close enough to be able to do anything without getting shot is the hardest part.

The unfortunate reality is that you probably have to settle for not dying, rather than not getting shot. You don’t have to win. You just have to not lose.

People say knife can beat gun if within 21’ and gun still has to be drawn. I could see mythbuster’s 10’ if the person is ready.

Those distances are for untrained people. Some types of kung fu specifically train gap closing ability, so that can give an extra advantage.

 

[Flagg37]

The unfortunate reality is that you probably have to settle for not dying, rather than not getting shot. You don’t have to win. You just have to not lose.

People say knife can beat gun if within 21’ and gun still has to be drawn. I could see mythbuster’s 10’ if the person is ready.

Those distances are for untrained people. Some types of kung fu specifically train gap closing ability, so that can give an extra advantage.

I did some hapkido training but we only went over disarming when within arms reach.

 

[xcaret]

I did some hapkido training but we only went over disarming when within arms reach.

That is my understanding on disarming; one has to be within reach.
Don't know if someone told me, was on TV or plain dreamed it but I think one when approaching to disarm someone and specially if it's a gun, the approach has to be sideways? I think there's a lesser risk of a fatal injury?
Again, has been few decades since I perceived that (or dreamed it)
There was a time when many of us; the vast majority could go out and not worry about the violence of these days but then again, video-games were a thing of Pac-Man eating ghosts or get eaten; maybe shooting at Space Invaders.

 

[Mr. Ugly]

I did some hapkido training but we only went over disarming when within arms reach.

Disarming is a physical skill that might be used in an overall response that also relies on other mental and physical conditioning.

Sometimes people using or defending against weapons fixate on the weapon and don’t make use of any other options.

In the successful knife vs. gun scenarios, the knife guy doesn’t go for a disarm. Instead, he commits to delivering as much damage as possible.

Traditional kung fu trains to control the attacker while delivering damage. You might go for a disarm, but don’t chase after it. If you are struggling for a weapon, you are not delivering damage or gaining an advantage.

In using a weapon, kung fu also trains not to fixate on the weapon when it might be better to kick, strike, or takedown. There is a related kung fu expression in assessing a person’s skill - “single sword, watch hand; double sword, watch footwork”. Meaning that if you see the guy not using his empty hand when using a single weapon, or neglecting his footwork when using double weapons, you know his skill is lacking.

 

[Mr. Ugly]

Disarm vs. control/attack.

It wasn’t a gun, but many years ago when I still lived in the Mission, a guy pulled a knife on me in the street.

There was enough space where he would have to take a step closer to cut me. I didn’t try to take the knife away - probably would have gotten cut.

I just kicked his fingers and the knife flew into the middle of the street. He was surprised and stood there with his mouth open and holding his hand, so I just walked away.