9 June 02

I received this note with regard to shooting stance from a friend:

"I am not terribly dogmatic about stance (my own or others), but I have to ask: How do you explain the success at NTI of people such as John Holschen, who shoot with an Isosceles stance? (Obviously, of course, John has the experience, training and common sense not to stick his pistol where his eyes haven't gone yet.)"

My reply:

"Thanks for your note. John Holschen is a wonderful tactician, as you noted, and I suspect he would always score highly no matter what stance he used. However, in training, even at the NTI, reality can be duplicated only to a degree. For example, for all the NTI's reality, no one is trying to disarm you as you go through the various scenarios.

I like the Weaver Stance because it is strong against disarm attempts and keeps the weapon close to the shooter's body. By contrast, the Isosceles Stance is not as strong against disarm attempts and is ponderous when one is trying to pivot at close ranges. Both are surely useable, but I favor the former and teach it to my students.

I realize many competitive shooters use the Isosceles Stance, because it is inherently more accurate than any stance which positions the weapon closer to the face. Again however, in IPSC and IDPA competition, no one tries to forcibly disarm shooters. It they did, shooters might not hyper-extend their guns quite so casually."

/John