Post 4 – Why Target-Focused Shooting?
Post 4 – Why Target-Focused Shooting?
Last updated: 5/2/14
The following information comes from a handout Ian Kinder developed for students of Live Safe Academy, LLC. Please enjoy and share.
First, what is TFS?
Target-Focused Shooting, also called “point shooting” or “threat focused shooting”, is when you aim your gun while looking directly at the threat, not looking at the gun sites, laser red dot or through optics. This is important because your brain will reflexively focus your eyes on the problem that your brain is trying to solve, because your brain needs that information to solve the problem, and because your eyes are normally your primary source of information.
“Target-Focused Shooting is primarily a close-quarters combat shooting method designed for use in high-speed, close-distance, spontaneous attacks that are initiated by an assailant. Target-Focused Shooting (a method of “aiming” a firearm without focusing on the sights) is used for center of mass shooting when the Sympathetic Nervous System activates due to our perception of imminent danger of serious bodily harm or death. This system has proven to work in hostile environments where our mind, vision and body has been affected by the stresses of live combat.” – Lou Chiodo of GUNFIGHTERS, Ltd.
Now the why:
1.) Time
The average length of most gunfights is 2.5 to 3 seconds. The average response time to a spontaneous threat is 1.5 seconds. Indexing handgun sites under stress by a minimally trained individual usually requires more time than available.
2.) Reaction Gap
Most assaults are initiated by the assailant, which reduces the window of time for an effective response. Awareness of a handgun threat usually results from seeing a gun being drawn, seeing the gun already pointed at you, being shot or being shot at, all of which intensifies stress and threat focus.
3.) Survival Stress
During the fight or flight response, fine and complex motor skills degrade while threat focus and gross motor skills are enhanced.
4.) Distance
Most gunfights start from contact range to 5’. It may not be possible, safe or practical to extend your gun to eye level to index your sights.
5.) Light
Most gunfights take place in low light, reducing the potential to index your sights.
6.) Cover or Concealment
Sighted fire is most practical from a static, barricaded position or from concealment. Most gunfights take place without the use of cover and during rapid movement.
7.) Threat Focus
When confronted with a spontaneous threat, most people will focus on that threat to the exclusion of everything else. Most individuals will not have the presence of mind or desire to shift their focus away from the problem they are trying to solve.
8.) Advantage
Threat focus is necessary for threat awareness, which is necessary for good judgment.
“The mission of our firearms training is to prepare a student to use firearms in a fight against an adversary in what usually begins as a spontaneous attack initiated by the adversary. Our firearms program is not about shooting. It is about fighting. When the concept of fighting is taken out of firearms training, we have forgotten the purpose of our training.” – Lou Chiodo of GUNFIGHTERS, Ltd.
