Shooting procedures within a person’s training have a significant gradient of difficulty. For this reasonit is necessary to realize that for a beginner it is not good to skip or omit any of the methodical sequences. This is true for an advanced shooter as well.

It must be understood that all stages of marksmanship training are important and without mastering them it is impossible to succeed in a self-defense situation. You must be able to use all the basic principles of shooting on the spot, on the move and at a dynamic speed. Remember that shooting does not consist only of aiming at a target.

You need to master three separate areas of shooting for effective defense:

1. aimed shooting,

2. reflex shooting (from the waist, shooting by feel),

3. shooting without aiming - rapidshooting (shooting by pointing).

If you have not drilled and experienced all these essential principles or techniques so that you can execute them without pause while shooting, your gun defense may fail.

It has been my experience that people who are preparing to defend themselves slip from practical defensive shooting to a different shooting style. Sporting, situational, defensive, military or other professional shooting styles incorporate different principles though they comprise similar procedures.

Based on my experience, I divide marksmanship training into five important degrees. Each degree must be mastered before moving to the next degree.

     Aimed shooting                                                  Shooting without aiming - rapidshooting

Kindergarten (shooting from one position in one direction and safety)

It is necessary for the shooter to master basic safe handling of agun han and shooting at a single target in one direction. This degree also includes cleaning and maintaining the weapon, the action of drawing the weapon from its holster and troubleshooting mis-shots. One must also not forget the legal principles of storing a weapon and securing it against misuse by others.

Primary school (shooting from the ground in different directions at stationary targets)

The second degree involves shooting at various distances. It is either precise or fast dynamic shooting in multiple directions. To this must be added the shooter's ability to handle the weapon with certain speeds (change clips, switch to two-handed shooting and use both one’s strong and weak hand). All of the aforementioned basic principles and drills are performed from one spot. The shooter must also be capable of identifying uninvolved persons in the line of fire. This means thatwhen a shooter is moving in space, they must stand firmly in place when firing in order to properly execute an armed defense. The mark or target remains motionless in one place.

Reflex shooting

High school (shooting in motion in multiple directions upon stationary targets, or shooting from a spot on moving targets)

The shooter carries out defensive shooting in all directions (in the range of 360 degrees) and excellently handles the weapon whilereloading, loading, removing misfires or drawing. They must be able to sense their surroundings, move safely within them and use varied cover. If necessary, they can coordinate with other shooters. The essential difference from the previous two grades is that the shooting is carried out under maximum rapid motion that the shooter is able to exert. They are in motion and the target remains stationary. Or even vice versa, the targets are moving in different directions and speeds while the shooter is standing in one place.

College (shooting in motion in multiple directions upon moving targets in different directions)

The fourth degree is shooting in full 360 degrees, taking into account uninvolved persons located in the shooting range. The shooter is capable of high-level coordination and communication with other shooters. This means that a shooter must assess the situation while only firing at threatening targets. If there are other shooters to assist in a person’s defense, they can effectively coordinate as a group that is defending itself against an aggressive attack. Shooting is done on the move and at moving targets.

Practical school (shooting and fighting against a motivated, thinking attacker or attackers)

This is essentially the stage where all the other levels are merged together and additional attributes are added to the shooting itself. Close combat, personal protection, various tactical or professional procedures, proper movement, spatial awareness, psychological and medical training must be mastered. All of these combine to form combat
self-defense readiness in continuous and long-duration situations that have been simulated in a controlled environment. Self-defense is used againsta person simulating an attack and realistically reacting to the shooter with force, motion, and skill and disposition with the aim to hit the defender.

This is also an area of methodology. How you learn different shooting skills and how you achieve confidence at a given level, the manner of your training, its direction and targeting of the need toincrease yourproficiency determines how quickly and efficiently you reachyour desired level. Initially it depends on the shooting instructor. Only at the end will it be in your hands because it is up to you how you develop your skills.

At the same time, you have to realize the purpose of the direction of your individual training within the level of defensive shooting.

The first level (kindergarten) is mainly focused on skills at the shooting range. It comprises 20% theory and 80% basic gun handling and subsequent shooting practice.

The second level (primary school) is also about skills at the range and contains 30% theory and 70% shooting or gun handling practice.

The third level (high school) is 50% about practicing other skills such as physical training, close combat and medical training. The remaining 50% is dedicated to shooting at the range, while using physical and close combat skills.

The fourth level (college) is 70% concerned with tactical skills, analysis of options and simulations. Only 30% is devoted to shooting at the range, being physically ready, shooting under different lighting conditions and other specific situations such as being injured or dealing with other primary objectives (protection or defense of others).

The fifth level (practical school) is 80% about simulations and psychological training using all the possibilities and different variations in the scenarios. About 20% of it is focused on shooting at the range.

Your training and preparation should be directed towards different types of simulations. Only these will teach you to use what you most need in a real self defense. Through simulation you learn the required reactions. Without this practice you would not know how to do anything properly. Only by practicing through simulations will you learn how to properly adjust your psyche, to react intuitively, and to move and be accurate while shooting.

You also must learn to read body language, use safe precautionary procedures and how to move in different spaces and situations. Basically, practicing complete prevention so that you are capable of noticing what is going on around you and reacting to it fluidly.

Please realize that there are no special or secret techniques to handle and withstand an attack on yourself. There are only well-learned principles and your skills. And not only in the field of shooting. You use these principles and skills when necessary to survive. You adapt them to what is currently happening around you.

It's the only thing that's going to give you a chance to survive...

By going through all these stages via gradual, meaningful and methodical training you will ensure that you will make the right reactions. You will be able to appropriately use any self-defense means and weapon. The sequence of individual steps or levels of training should be maintained. If you are in self-defense training with a weapon to deal with real situations, each of your training sessions should be aimed at fulfilling the principles of defense.

Otherwise, you may slide into a type of police or other professional shooting that while appearing to help you deal with self-defense situations, may just make it harder for you to do so. That is because it focuses on different procedures and advances different evaluation criteria such as the timeliness or accuracy of a hit. These are not as important or effective in protecting yourself in a real self-defense situation.

In a later chapterI will present a mathematically-divided explanation of the possibilities of successful self-defense. If you train with shooting drills that assume that an attack will happen exactly as you imagine it and you will spot it in advance, you are only preparing for 25% of the situations that may occur. This is because you are not training for the possibility that you will not be able to have notice of the attack and will not be able to act in advance. I think that is a big mistake.

The five areas mentioned above are the basis for resolving a self-defense situation that interacts with and determines your growth.

You need to realize that these levels are in a closed circle that repeatedly goes round and round and increases your level in each area. Your abilities will gradually grow.

That is why I call it a growth spiral.

What is it?

It's both very simple and motivating. You start your training for gun defense at the range with the basics, gaining primary skills for efficiency, accuracy,and safe gun handling.

After you make progress it is a good idea to start carrying a gun daily. By doing this, you are both practicing and determiningwhat holster or other accessories work best for you. You will understand any limitations and start to consider making your own improvements in carrying the gun so that it best suits you.

During this process you will also begin to undertake basic precautions like observation and safety awareness of your surroundings, the people and activities around you in your daily life. You will also understand that this is not everything and you will need to work on your physical fitness as well. Fitness and strength training must be added to your program.

But it doesn't stop there. If you want to use a gun for selfdefense, you will understand that you cannot do so without basic self-defense movement skills. The beginning of defense against a close assault is always moving, ducking, and fighting using your body to distract the opponent. Only then follows the draw. This area needs to be well-addressed in training.

Once you have reached a certain level in marksmanship, carrying a weapon, contact combat and physical endurance, you can advance to the next level. This is practical application of these skills in a controlled environment of simulated attacks or assaults. In this wayany deficiencies that need to be corrected will be shown. For example, you may find that you have not practiced one-handed shooting that you will need for close-quarters defense. Also, you may not be fast enough to dodge a knife attack. Alternatively, you may find that if someone knocks you down, you won't have enough strength to get out from under them because you have not practiced the appropriate self-defense skills. You will quickly understand what you need to improve and then you can start to address your deficiencies.

Then you rerun simulations with various other situations, which helps you to identify any other weaknesses. You may need to go back and retrain in an area that you need to practice or improve. It is an iterative process. That's why I call it a growth spiral that never ends.

As you get better at shooting, you must also improve in all other areas at the same time. Without them, you will never grow or be able to cope with increasingly difficult defensive situations. It is important to remember that this is the ideal case. You must motivate and educate yourself. Nothing prepares you better for different defensive situations than simulations that make sense, are uncomplicated and can be set up simply. These simulations motivate you to get better because what you mess up now can be fixed in the future.

You should understand from the beginning that if you are to train yourself and grow in defensive shooting in a meaningful way you must look at it holistically, across the board. However, if you leave out any one area of your training, you are not fully prepared to engage in defensive shooting in its entirety. A big belly and panting when walking has never given anyone an advantage when defending against an aggressive offense - not even if you are carrying two guns and lots of ammo.

The training procedure I describe has one more advantage. It is that during your training you will only be dealing with essential procedures and not some based on assumptions. Simulations will show you clearly and accurately the area where it is really necessary to train.

For example, if you are training for car defense,you will understand if it is better to stay in the car than to get out of it after a few simulated unforeseen attacks  Based on your own experience, you will be able to answer the question of whether the car defense procedure you are learning and practicing is the right one. At the same time, you must realize that defensive shooting as such belongs to the third level of shooting skills. If you have not mastered the first and second levels well you should not venture into the third level.

Because errors will manifest themselves very quickly during simulation you will likely need to go back to a lower level and retrain. Otherwise, you are just wasting ammunition if you are not able to hit the target and evaluate your shooting. You are asking for trouble related to safe gun handling. At best, you are firing a lot of random shots in an unhelpful direction orat the wrong time. The safety of such actions is absolutely zero and this is the biggest and most common mistake.

Why does physical training makesense?

It needs to be said right from the start that defensive shooting skills are closely tied to your physical abilities. You must be able to handle fast and dynamic movement. You must be able to withstand the weight and strength of an attacker.

You don't have to sweat for hours in the gym or on the treadmill. You need to master the basic elements of physics. Short distance sprints with change of direction should be a staple. Also, 20 to 30 pushups without a break or 20 squats with a lunge. You need to master the squat, crawl, forward and backward roll. These are the minimum requirements.

If you don't master the movement actions but have learned everything else, YES shooting, you will pay the price for your lack of physical fitness. In a surprise attack, you will not be able to use your body strength to maintain the necessary distance from the attacker while you draw or quickly position yourself behind safe cover.

Why does self-defense play a major role?

An integral part of defensive shooting is hand-to-hand combat or self-defense. You can also call it martial arts. Whatever it is called, the meaning is the same.

The goal is to eliminate an attacker's initial assault, to divert their weapon in another direction, or to otherwise stop it. The important thing to remember here is that you just need to master the basics; you don't need to become an expert. At the same time, you need to train in the skill set that is right for you. You should not choose a martial arts or fighting style based on what you like. You must be guided by your personal characteristics. Are you tall, thin and have little muscle mass? Different movement principles will suit you rather than ones for those who are short and stocky.

I recommend skipping martial arts taught as a sport as too much depends on the coach. My advice is to learn more aggressive fighting styles such as boxing, MMA, Wing Chun or Systemu.

Imagine that you were attacked by a much bigger attacker. Imagine that you were not able to remain standing and the sturdy attacker is lying on you with his full weight. How will you defend yourself? How do you get to your gun? The basics of self-defense or fight while standing or on the ground are necessary.

Aggressive, as in fast, simple and effective

If you want to master defensive shooting, you need to know how to defend yourself against a bare-handed attack using a short and dynamic move, punch or kick. The weapon must become just an accessory that you use to make your defense successful. The actual drawing and use of the weapon are a continuation of your movement in defense or in fighting the attacker under maximum control of safe handling. The weapon, while essential, is not dominant and should in no way be seen as the sole means of protection.

What should one focus on in practice shooting at the range?

The basic skills in defense shooting are developing your body speed, shooting only on the move and shooting one-handed with equal skill in both your strong and weak hand. Shooting is done from the waist with reflex shooting or so-called flying shooting. Wrestling and subsequent use of the weapon is practiced in pairs, including shooting from behind obstacles and clearing - such as searching a housing unit. Various post-wrestling activities inside a car or defending yourself during an attack while sitting in a car must be learned before subsequent use of a weapon.

A very significant difference between training and a real situation is one’s psyche. It is necessary to train your reactions to unexpected stimuli. What you can practice in pairs at a shooting range or somewhere in a gym is only half of the necessary skills and these certainly will not be enough. It is like taking driving lessons and then getting behind the wheel on your own, without an instructor, and taking your first drive around town.

Only subsequent regular practice gave you the reactions, foresight, intuition and skill you could not have learned otherwise.

The same is true with defensive shooting. To get it under your skin, you have to practice.

Even if it's funny to some, I recommend you start playing airsoft.

For some, airsoft combat is playing as soldiers or as a pastime for small children, but for others it is an excellent way to practice reactions, movement and non-standard situations. These require you to think quickly, make decisions, and then react with the use of a weapon. It's an excellent way of putting what you know into practice.

This should be a practice fight against an equally motivated, armed and thinking opponent. This kind of training will have the greatest practical effect for you.

Of course, it is necessary to think about the details because some little things connected with airsoft gun design are not realistic and sensible compared with shooting live ammunition with a real gun.

At the same time, be aware that airsoft has precise rules that are notacceptable in a real-life situation. For example, in the event of an airsoft hit, acknowledgingit and ceasing further activity is required. In reality, you must continue to defend yourself at all costs despite any injury.

Therefore, whatever you do as a supplement to defensive shooting, never underestimate practice combat.