Handgun retention techniques usually center around protecting your holstered firearm from a suspect’s grab. In this video, I am going to show you a simple technique for retaining your pistol when you already have it in your hand. When you are grappling for control of your weapon, the situation has escalated to a deadly force incident. This technique gives you the ability to quickly apply deadly force to end the attack if you feel it is justified.
In this video, the suspect grabs my right wrist in an attempt to gain control over my pistol. To break the suspect’s leverage, I reinforce my gun with my left hand (while applying pressure to the rear of the slide to keep the weapon in battery) and I push my right elbow towards my attacker’s chest. This motion causes the bones in my forearm to apply pressure to my attacker’s thumb joint. The pressure on the thumb joint causes a sympathetic reaction in my attacker’s elbow, allowing his arm to bend. I then rotate my weapon hand in a tight circle to the outside of my attacker’s wrist, ending up with the magazine well of my gun pressing down on his wrist. It is vitally important not to laser yourself as you rotate your hand, so pay attention to your muzzle as you practice and develop good muzzle discipline. As I continue rotating forward, my attacker must let go of my arm or risk having his wrist broken. Either way, he ends up with my gun pointing at him. I then have the ability to create distance between us while still covering the suspect.
This technique is very simple to learn and apply. It also translates to knife and baton retention, as well as empty hand grabs. I prefer techniques that work in a wide variety of situations, limiting the moves you must mentally sort through before going into action, and this one definately qualifies.
Practice this technique with a training weapon and let me know how you like it.
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Pistol Retention Technique from Spartan Cops on Vimeo.
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Matt,
nice application of a wrist grab technique. Is there any data to suggest that suspects might grab that wrist instead of grabbing the gun? My guess is that when the bad guy comes out of the dark corner he or she will focus on that weapon and grab it and not the wrist. That wrist lock technique is also great for someone who doesn’t decide to punch you in the face with their other hand. Incidentally, punching them in the face when they reach for your wrist would also be a great counter -if they grab my wright wrist, like in the video, I would think that a quick hook to their jaw with my left fist would be a quicker way to get them off of my right wrist.
Dan,
Sorry for the delay in responding to your comment. The reason I decided to show this particular technique is because most of the weapon retention techniques that I have seen being taught to police officers deals with exactly what you mentioned (grabs to the gun, not the wrist). I wanted to share something a little different in this case. There are different scenarios where a suspect might grab your wrist instead of your gun. One of which could include the suspect seeing you reaching for your holstered firearm and they grab your wrist right as you draw the weapon, but during the heat of battle any number of events could occur that present this situation.
A punch to the face is an excellent way to disrupt your opponent’s OODA loop. If you miss or your opponent is so intoxicated that the strike doesn’t have the desired effect, you are prolonging the period of time where you do not have two hands to help control your pistol. To simplify the technique and err on the side of controlling the weapon, I chose to go straight into the technique instead of showing a punch first. I am not discounting the value of an effective strike to the opponent’s face. I just want to emphasize controlling the weapon, as it is more reliable than the strike.
You are right that the opponent can throw a punch while you begin the technique. Through my own experiences fighting suspects on the street, I have learned that when I have been punched squarely in the face during a struggle, I didn’t realize that I had been hit until after the altercation had come to a conclusion. This is because my adrenaline level was high enough that I didn’t feel the strike when it occurred. If I didn’t feel the punch, a suspect that is intoxicated might not react to my strikes.
If the suspect or an officer landed a knock-out punch, obviously that could end the altercation. Unfortunately, it is very difficult to land a fight ending strike for most people. Punching with power is a learned skill that we need to spend time developing. The harder you try to strike, the tighter your arm and shoulder become which actually lessens the force of the blow. Relaxing and throwing a tactically proficient punch or kick requires quite a bit of practice. That being said, most officers’ punches are not going to knock suspects unconscious. Fortunately, this also means that most suspects will not be able to knock an officer out with a punch.
If you perform this particular technique smooth and fast you might be punched, but you will have the option of trading your bullets for your opponent’s punches.
Stay safe,
Matt