Handgun to the front

such a defense stated during the after action debrief that the handgun did go off burning his hand, that his clothes caught on fire, but he did not get fatally shot!

Handgun defense against a threat to the front

Once a handgun is presented and the decision was made to perform a defensive maneuver (verbally de-escalating the situation has not worked), the defender should try and position himself in such a manner that the execution of a technique would be “easier.” This may include talking your way to a closer position, raising your hands in front of your body as if complying with a “hands-up” command, but really just positioning your hands at a shorter distance from the handgun.

Note: the human eye is built to detect movement. Big motions will allow the assailant to recognize a defense attempt earlier and possibly react faster than we would like. Keeping your arms close to your body will make detection of movement harder (see picture 1).

Handguns come in many shapes, sizes, and materials. Attempting to perform a defense by redirecting the handgun itself may be a costly gamble. Many techniques call for redirecting at the barrel; this may prove as a fatal error if the barrel is an inch long, or if the barrel has oil residue on it. A natural instinctive reaction of the assailant will most likely be retracting his arm, at which point going for the barrel may meet with nothing but air! I recommend redirecting at the arm which allows for a greater surface area, greater margin of error, and a stronger hold (see picture 2).

Once the handgun has been redirected, controlling the arm, or staying out of the line of fire, is imperative. Transitioning into an arm bar by doing no more than rotating one’s body is instinctive, non-strength-related, and will greatly increase the chances of control and safety to the defender (see picture 3).

I recommend delivering counterstrikes. This may depend on the defender’s position (law-enforcement versus other operators), the department’s use of force policies, and the opportunity at the moment of the fight. Counterstrikes can be kicks to the knee, stomps, strikes to torso, or something similar. A few counterstrikes will provide a good distraction that will facilitate disarm or transition to a restraint and control position. In a realistic fight the defender’s movement into an arm bar should be explosive and violent, causing injury to the arm/elbow, and