Why do some people look behind them....

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spanishjames said:
He also did that move where he pulled the gun close to his body before looking both ways.
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If someone were to blindside you, or try to tackle or grapple with you, it's far easier to retain your gun if its close to your body. I do this all the time. Why? Because its a good idea and it'll help keep me alive. Who cares of if I look silly? Take a defensive handgun class. You'll learn all that stuff and more. It's worth more than the amount of ammo you could buy with the entry fee.
 
I don't doubt all those moves have merit, and can save your life. And I knew right away why the guy was doing them. It's just different than what I'm used to seeing at the range.

Remember:
Trained shooters are different=
Different is bad=
Trained shooters are bad.

Just kidding! Smiley face, Smiley face.
 
I've never been in a gunfight. Hope I never am. But I have been in exactly one real shipboard emergency in the the service when I was a young Buck. An electrical fire in a machinery room.

You know what we did? We did everything exactly like we did in the umpteen hundred drills we had done for months before. Nobody "thought" about anything. It just happened, and everything worked out in just a few minutes. Could have been worse, but it wasn't. Stupid, repetative, boring training worked. I have first hand proof.

Do I train enough? No. And I have all the excuses. But I know that training works.
 
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Thanks for the responses! Sorry to those who took offense and I see that there are a few. I now realize why it looks so dumb to me after reading someone's response...... its not that he looks behind him it's that move that he pulls the gun close to him and turtles his head so deep into his shoulders that throws me off.
 
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Not sure about the turtling but bringing the gun in makes sense. If you're not on a target and not looking where your gun is pointing, best to keep it in tight where you can control it better. By control I mean physical possession not control under fire.
 
It's not really turtling the head, it's keeping the shoulders up. In a proper isosceles stance, your shoulders are up. When you bring the gun in, you want to keep your shoulders up just in case you need to bring your gun back out to a firing position. It saves one movement of your body

Having said that, a lot of people use extremely exaggerated stances, and that adds to the potential silliness of what they are doing. My favorite exaggerated stance is the hunch back Isosceles stance. Yes, your knees should be bent. Yes, you should be leaning slightly over. But there's no need to bend your knees at an extreme angle, stick your butt out, and lean over at an aggressive angle. The advantage to it is you're a smaller target, but it's way harder to move around like that.
 
Ayoob and Pincus have also discussed at length the postures and involuntary movements one assumes when stressed/frightened. The "turtle" hunched look is the one a person assumes in those circumstances. Drop a trash can on the floor behind your Mom and see what she does first. :eek:.

The reasoning is to work from that posture because like it or not that's the one you will be in when the dance starts.
 
I have noticed that a whole lot of people do this as part of the "dance moves" and do not even really notice anything, just going through the moves. Same with the flip flop chamber check thing that is all the rage. People are just going through the motions like its a dance move and are not really looking at anything.
 
It pays to be aware of your surroundings. The more treacherous they are, the more you had better be aware of them.

That said, I have witnessed exactly what Fire Forged just mentioned- stand in one place, swivel head exactly the same each time and look ahead w/o seeing anything. Stationary dance moves.

In a scrap, the only way I'm standing still is to fire a precise shot or two- or after I am behind cover.

God bless the Sanitation Department- they provide both fixed (dumpsters) and moving (trash trucks) armor, essentially free of charge.
 
One of the nice things about the revolver is that there is no need to look behind you. The recoil shield is a perfect rear view mirror!

Bob Wright
 
...............if that the case it makes no sense when they have no rounds left in their gun. I don't know why they do it but it sure looks dumb..... I don't see everyone do it, just some. take a look at this guy doing if you don't what I'm talking about... skip to about 1:10
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LOL, checking your six for danger, under certain circumstances is a wise practice whether your gun (which should be in the process of being reloaded) is empty or not. Or even if you don't have a gun.

Just my thoughts on the matter.:cool:
 
Ever walk down a dark path at night and hear an odd noise? Even though the noise came from the right, you didnt need to be "trained" to look up, down, 360 around for danger. Its an instinctual response which is where the word "jumpy" came from. I think "fear response" can protect me better than trying to make myself perform certain moves that may or may not be needed at the time.

What used to be... bang-bang then move, has now become bang-bang, flip, turn, look, feel, look again, spin...then move. I will stick with the plain ole bang bang then move and always from a low ready. Thats just me.
 
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I agree with FireForged..... I think its non sense and people are just trying to look tacticool. That turtling posture is just over doing it and yeah you might flinch when you get spooked but you won't stay turtled up the entire time...... you won't know how your body will react until you are put into a stressful situation. If you think training will takeover then why not practice firing at targets behind you instead of just looking back.....
 
If you think training will takeover then why not practice firing at targets behind you instead of just looking back.....
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You obviously have very little training if you've never heard of the "El Presidente".

It's a standard training exercise in every basic combat handgun course I've ever seen.

It's a standard part of the IDPA Classifier (Stage 2 String 3).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Combat_pistol_shooting#El_Presidente

El Presidente

One combat pistol drill is the El Presidente drill, developed by Jeff Cooper in the 1970s and published in the January/February 1979 issue of American Handgunner magazine. This is used as a benchmark to gauge a shooter's skills, as it tests the draw and reload, and requires good transitions and follow-through.

The shooter starts with six rounds in a holstered handgun, and a spare magazine or speedloader with another six rounds

The shooter begins facing directly away from the targets, often with hands clasped in front or over the head.

Upon the starting signal, the shooter turns and draws, fires two shots at each target, reloads, then fires two more shots at each target.
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45_auto said:
You obviously have very little training if you've never heard of the "El Presidente".

It's a standard training exercise in every basic combat handgun course I've ever seen.

It's a standard part of the IDPA Classifier (Stage 2 String 3).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Combat_pistol_shooting#El_Presidente
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I have heard of el presidente and that is irrelevant to what is being discussed... in el presidente you are actually firing which is actually helping me make my point. In these other "drills" they are just looking behind them both ways and not doing anything. If anything they are just teaching themselves to be complacent without having a threat behind them. Lets just say I have training and leave it at that.....
 
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