*Author's Note: The purpose of this article is to illustrate the importance of firearms training for martial artists. I wish to urge readers to always seek the least violent solution to every problem, otherwise we are no better than those who attack us. I would also like to acknowledge that there are places where it will not be possible to carry a weapon and therefore, unarmed training is completely vital to all martial artists, regardless of style.

I began my martial arts training, like most with unarmed fighting and like most, had some kind of pride in being able to resolve any situation without the use of firearms. I think one of the biggest things that has changed in my own training is the inclusion of modern weapon. Not weapons the way they are normally associated with martial arts, like the sword or other things you will never have the opportunity to use, Im talking about real modern weapons. Admittedly, I was your typical Martial Arts Guy who didnt believe in them. But ignorance is death, not bliss.

My mind changed quickly when one of my students took me to the range and did two interesting things: the first was that he could draw his pistol from a concealed position and engage multiple targets accurately in less than two seconds; this was obviously a more efficient approach to the multiple attacker scenario. The next is thing he illustrated was his ability to retain the weapon; to date, I have not seen any gun defense video that will teach you how to deal with someone at this level. So, I eventually came to the same conclusion everyone did after Royce Gracie won the ultimate Fighting Championship with Brazilian Jiu-jitsu they just started training Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. The best way to learn how to defeat something is to study it.

But if you know martial arts, why do you need a gun? If you are confident in your driving, why do you need car insurance?

Carrying a gun around seems a little crazy and extreme. So does learning how to break someones arm, punch them in the face and choke them out.

Most people will say to me, Using a gun is a last resort.. If you are a law enforcement officer and dealing with a drunk, it is (this includes professionals like corrections officers, etc ...). But for a civilian, fights that are not life and death (or rape) can be avoided 99% of the time. Not every situation is life and death, only the ones you should engage in. If you train in the martial arts, you should be more aware, more intelligent and lose your ego enough to not have to worry about school yard or bar room fighting. So your only real reason for doing so will be either to protect someone else (break up a fight or stop a drunk friend, which is another article all together) or because your life is threatened. In the event that your life is threatened, you will deploy your skills in the exact opposite order than most martial artists describe, not as a last resort. If you look at the way any military operator works, youll notice that he uses his rifle and doesnt go to the pistol unless the rifle jams, doesnt go to the knife unless the pistol jams and will use hand-to-hand as a very last resort. This is how you should behave in a life and death situation.

The bottom line is that whether you are concerned about learning how to defend yourself against a firearm or simply want to consider yourself a well-rounded martial artist, firearms training is something you should participate in SAFELY and like any martial discipline, under a the supervision of a qualified and experienced instructor.