Mobility (both vertically and horizontally) plays a major role in law enforcement engagements. While nothing is a guarantee, when we examine trends, movement is usually a deciding factor in ultimate success.
The act of moving must contain 3 attributes: tactical in decision, athletic in motion and safe in environment.
These essential skill sets should not be considered “advanced” or something that they will hone later in their career. While lead at a major LE academy we started introducing aggressive positions and movement on day 3-4 of the firearms block. My point is it can be done safely while meeting state mandated POIs and departmental standards. The end product is someone who is ready to work and not simply qualify.
Here are some common issues with movement:
Students will want to maintain both hands on the gun. From a biomechanics standpoint this will ultimately limit your speed and where you can put the muzzle.
Move, plant and work. While shooting on the move is a useful tool it’s extremely limited in scope. Human behavior under opposition is to plant. Hits on threat are better while stationary versus on the move. Information processing is faster when static… on and on.
Commit. If you’re going to move, then move. The lackadaisical sidestep to the left or right while reloading is antiquated and has been shown to be ineffective. If you’re going to move, then actually move.
Look then stutter step. When attempting stop while under full stride, look at I.E. visually pick up where you want to stop (cover, concealment etc) and start to apply the brakes with a series of small steps. We often see students simply try to immediately stop. This usually results in overshooting cover / concealment or bumping into other students occupying that area.
The deck (gravel, ice, wet grass, potholes, concrete etc), your athleticism, amount of gear, ability to process what’s going on (low light), environment (people around you) all have a say in your speed. We are looking for movement at the speed of control.
Practice makes proficient. If you’re not implementing this into your academy, in-service or personal range time, you need to. Get to training where you can work on technique. Watch videos of elite athletes, top level competitive shooters and go to USPSA matches etc.
