Unveiling the Limits of Self-Defense Techniques: Lessons from a Failed Gun Snatch

Disarming Technical Failure

Recently, I was reminded of a harsh reality: a technique that I have been teaching for years suddenly stopped working. I've experienced this several times throughout my martial arts career, and each time, I fall for it again: a technique seems to work because my partner doesn't resist enough. While this isn't a big deal in martial arts, where the stakes are not life and death, it becomes a problem in self-defense. Additionally, it's not that the technique doesn't work at all, but there are limitations and risks involved.

The technique in question is the "Gun Snatch." It involves quickly disarming an attacker and then pointing the weapon back at them. In the past, I've taught other techniques, but this one was so simple and seemingly effective that I couldn't ignore it. I've also seen this technique, or a variation of it, work on surveillance camera footage. The trick, however, is that the attacker is distracted or not holding the weapon properly. The reason I discovered the problem with this technique was because I had someone do it to me. Since I do weekly shooting training, I often have a firearm in my hands. I also train extensively on grip and have above-average raw strength. I had my partner do the disarmament technique, and as usual, I instructed them to make it fail, to resist, so that we could learn the limitations of the technique and what steps to take if it fails. When it was my turn, I decided to hold on tight to see if that would work. What happened next surprised me: my partner executed the technique correctly, but the weapon remained pointed at his chest, leaving him no chance. I then tested it with someone else who had more strength, but the result remained the same. With a good and firm grip, the weapon didn't move. Fortunately, there are many other techniques we can use, and there are certainly scenarios where this technique can be useful, but the confidence I had in it before has certainly diminished.

The moral of the story is: Test your techniques yourself when it comes to self-defense and do everything you can to make them fail!