This is one of the topics we’ll cover in the Screenfighting Workshop on March 24-25. This material will be covered in class 1 on Feb 18 “Weapons 1.” If you want to register, go to the store.
Bad Guys From Above
The Hollywood cliche of the cop turning the corner with the pistol pointed up in the air is disappearing. The “tea-cup” grip is rightfully becoming rare. Not as rare are the bottomless magazines, but many filmmakers are spending more time to make their weapons sequence more closely resemble real life. The Hollywood types are hiring real life consultants to make sure it’s done the way it really would be done.
Real Law Enforcement officers and military don’t point their weapon in the air unless there’s a threat from up there. Why? Because it has been proven (many years ago) that you can bring your weapon on target faster by moving up, not moving down. Your vision isn’t obscured. Your fine motor skills react more efficiently. So a real Law Enforcement type has been trained to hold that pistol down when moving– both hands in the correct grip, ready to bring that weapon up to engage the moment it’s needed. Watch the cop dramas– you’ll see that they’re pointing their handguns down instead of straight in there air. Watch an older one or a movie that doesn’t care, you’ll see the cop holding the gun straight up in the air. Go ahead an laugh at them now. You know better.
Tea-Cupping Anyone?
Another classic amateur mistake is the “Tea Cup” grip. This is where the person grips the pistol with their strong hand and then puts the support hand under the handle palm up. The support hand looks like a saucer for the tea cup that is the gun. People who depend on weapons in their line of business know and have been trained that this grip does not provide the most effective support. And when your life depends on it, you want to have the most effective grip. Yet you see this in the movies and the tv shows. The proper grip is a two handed grip where the strong hand grips the handle, high up, and the support hand overlays it, with both thumbs ended up pointing down range and on the support side of the pistol. The strong hand or firing hand, has the index finger pointed towards the target. The finger does NOT touch the trigger until you are prepared to dispatch a threat.
These are just a couple of the things you’ll learn at the workshop. Hope you can make it!
