In the film Seven Samurai, there is a scene where the viewer meets one of the seven warriors, a fantastic swordsman. The protagonist is engaged in a duel with wooden swords with an un-named adversary to see who is faster and more capable with the katana. The duel unfolds, no-one is hurt and both parties declare themselves the winner. However, to the those viewing, it is clear that one party is notably faster and more capable. The aggrieved antagonist demands a rematch using live blades. The result is predictable. The protagonist walks away and the hot head dies. One of the combatants had perfected their draw stroke. The other, only thought they did.
Having a smooth, efficient, and ultimately fast, draw stroke can be a critical skill for the defensive shooter. The statistics tell us that for most defensive situations, the armed citizen will likely have their gun out, in hand, ready to defend themselves. However, there is the rare occasion where a rapid draw stroke is essential. And there is no reason to not train for this possibility. Practicing the draw stroke costs very little in money, the shooter having to invest mostly time. But, practicing incorrectly can produce results such as seen in the aforementioned movie. And since we cannot see our body in movement, having a coach in this exercise can be very beneficial.
It is for these reasons that California Tactical Academy offers a 4-hour class on refining the presentation from the holster. Many indoor ranges limit or flat-out forbid drawing from the holster. On the CTA ranges, we can practice and refine our draw stroke safely and in a variety of ways.
Understand that a 4-hour class will not give you a perfect draw stroke. Perfection being a never ending ideal. However, this class will give you a presentation you are satisfied with. But the true value will be learning what the proper draw stroke feels like, how to practice it, and how to build the neural pathways that create unconscious competency that will “automatically” put the gun in your hand at the moment you decide you need it.
In our 4-hour class we will work on the draw stroke from a variety of scenarios including with garments, seated, and while moving off the “X”. All things we usually cannot practice at an indoor, or public shooting range.
Whether you choose to join our class, or seek instruction elsewhere, we strongly encourage the armed individual to practice and refine the draw stroke. Hopefully you will never need the skill outside the shooting range. But if you do need to draw your gun, we want you to be safe, competent, and successful in your endeavors.
We’ll see you at the range.
