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Should Firearm understanding be an important aspect of Martial Arts education?

Hi. I have a background in various aspects of martial arts within the past decade. I have had the joy and pleasure of experiencing Wing Chun, Jkd, boxing (more of a ring sport) Filipino Kali based arts, etc. My Cousin is actually a high ranking Gold Sash in the Wing Chun art and he is good at what he does. He also has significant training in Kali. However having said that, I do feel he is a bit over-confident and arrogant in his abilities. He acts as if every single situation can be solved by what he knows in Wing Chun. He has been shown certain things like knife disarms + even pistol disarms (they use the fake blue rubber guns) and now he thinks he is practically invincible. He goes to night clubs over-confident, flips people off when they piss him off on the road, and is generally very confrontational. I have asked him whether or not he has ever considered firearms training and/or at least being open minded to it. His general reply is that he can disarm a person in a few seconds and he has nothing to worry about. I will tell you that he has never EVER fired let alone handled a firearm in his life though. A blue rubber training gun is fine and dandy to learn for disarms BUT. Self Defence situations have a lot of variables and nothing is guaranteed. One thing I know that is not guaranteed is the fact that your attackers will not always give you the chance to "disarm" their weapons. A gun was invented for mid to long projectile based range. A person doesn't have to even have to be close to you. He could simply just be a couple of feet away from you. Within the last few years, I have also had the chance to be enlightened through CQB simulations training + going to the Shooting Ranges and being educated on safety/handling/basic firing, etc. With the CQB simulations training (The instructors are active Law Enforcement Officers + Ex Army) I have learned that regardless of how much a great fighter you are.. without awareness and avoidance, the chances of being a victim on the streets increase if you have a very sh*tty attitude. When I talk about awareness, I am talking about enhanced observation of corners, possible archs of fire, hiding places that an attacker could be lurking, etc. Without knowing about these things, a potential victim can be unaware and walk into such situations.. when they could have been avoided in the first place. When you learn by hard earned trial & error through training, you start to understand that you are not as an invincible "warrior" you originally thought yourself to be. And this eventually leads to the concept of avoidance. Once you are aware of potential dangers in various environments, you will find yourself doing your best to avoid certain locations, people and situations as best as you can. You would better understand that pride is not really worth it when a couple of scrawny "thug" natured guys mess with you. You understand that even though they are scrawny and probably never studied a martial art in their life before; they could easily equalize the situation against you with either a firearm or a knife. Why would they risk duking it out with a muscular and well built person like you when they could just jump you from the shadows?? Going back to firearm disarms training though.. how can you truly understand the psychological effects of what happens when a gun goes off when you have never fired or seen a real gun being used before? I feel very fortunate that I have had the opportunity to fire a real firearm at the shooting range before. It has opened up my eyes to how when a trigger is pulled, the muzzle flash shows and the intense loudness & velocity of a bullet can effectively "freeze" an un-experienced person on the streets (martial arts or no martial arts) and thus reducing their chances of surviving the encounter. Remember that hesitation has no place in a self defence situation. Mere seconds can determine the difference between life and death. You hesitate in unknown terrain and circumstances. I have also grown to understand the devestating effects a bullet can have on a person if and when hit by it. The power and velocity is not something to joke around with. Firearms should always be treated with care and respect. I really hope more martial artist out there keep and open mind and embrace firearms training as an important tool for self defence training. It is highly unlikely for one to be able to stop a bullet but, it is very possible to be aware of such life threatening situations and avoid being there as much as possible. What better way to do this than to actually understand how a firearm works and to undestand the potential dangers it can pose by learning about its functions first hand? Any Martial Artist on here also have experience with firearms training? What are your takes on this? For all those reading, please don't be like my Cousin. Do understand that no mat Please don't be like my Cousin. No matter how good of a trained fighter you are, at the end of the day you are no more invincible than the next man. Take care. You guys have all good points and opinions. I would like to add also that if one is to learn firearm "disarms".. might as well learn how a firearm functions and even shoot one at the range as well. Whats the purpose of even learning how to "disarm" a tool or weapon without even knowing how it operates or the what it can do?? Its like practicing how to tread water or swim on dry land without ever stepping into a pool of water. Sure you can get all the techniques and moves down but.. without getting wet how will you truly understand the potential dangers the deep end can pose if you don't know what you are doing?

Public Comments

1. I completely agree. I have taken different styles for that exact reason. I was raised around guns. One of the rules I have learned and live by, is if you pull the gun out, you pull the trigger. Some who knows anything about handguns and isn't a moronic thug isn't going to show you the gun... if they pull the gun out... they are going to pull the trigger. Your cousin would have no chance... worse yet, what if the attacker is behind him? Confucius says - "Real knowledge is to know the extent of ones ignorance."
2. Your cousin sounds like a trouble maker... if all martial artist with his attitude about martial arts knew a gun would make them a bigger bully. There would be a lot more shooting deaths due to this enlightenment. I do agree that a gun is the ultimate martial arts weapon that is accessible to everyday civilians. But the gun usually only provides one outcome in it's use.... death. ___ For most traditional martial artist, learning morality through the martial arts is just as important of the art itself. Apparently your cousin was sick the day they learned about morality of their art.
3. I agree with a lot of your statements. I disagree with fire arms training having anything to do with traditional Martial arts training. I do believe in firearms training. I own several guns and have a carry concealed permit. I also disagree with most self defense courses. You cannot learn to "defend" yourself in a couple of 2 or 3 hour seminars. Doesn't matter if it includes firearms or not. I also have to point out, even if you have an automatic rifle, if someone has a gun pointed at you and yours isn't at the ready, it won't do a bit of good. Like anything else overconfidence can come from carrying a gun also. I too have always been taught that if you point a gun at something you shoot it, otherwise you don't need to point the gun. Your cousin needs to pay more attention in class, It sounds very much like he is missing a large portion of what Martial Arts are about. Being cocky, and verbally abusive is not it. Self defense starts with awareness and rarely involves fighting, that is the LAST resort. Any one can theoretically be beaten by anyone else on any given day. We as humans are imperfect by nature, we make mistakes, even if we don't admit them. If this wasn't true we wouldn't have the term upset in sports. I have always had a firm belief that whoever has a gun pointed at you is "SIR".
4. i dont think you need fire arm training but common sense, which brings me to my next point, i have learned a number of knife and gun disarms, the knife dis arms i do teach but not the gun disarms. for the simple reason i dont see it being practical. if a persons solo intent is to kill you he is not going to walk up with a gun in range for you to take it out of his hand, he will pull the trigger from a safe distance, like 5 to 10 feet away. now if there intent is to mug you is what little money you have in your wallet worth you accident getting shot while taking his gun. as for knifes its a little more practical to some extent , but the same principals apply with being mugged, its just not worth it. and if the person intent is going to kill you he is not going to stop with one little stabbing motion or slashing motion. but then again most people dont have common sense, they think that youtube video of krav maga disarming rifles, hand guns and knifes will actually play out in real life for them just like in the video,
5. okay i didn't read all of it due to the fact im in school tommorow. but here is what i will answer 99% of disarms don't work & as others have stated it just isn't worth running the risk of being stabbed over 50-250 odd euro in your wallet. my proof that disarms don't work? how many knife fighting styles (escrima kali etc) do you see teaching disarms? if so they are generally one of the more advanced techniques, you rarely ever see disarms in sparring fights etc. the only guarentee you have for knife attacks is the typical lunge, that one is the most predictable to spot & well if he is lunging from that distance your best option is to run. as for the rest of them, anybody can swing a blade wildly at your body & do serious harm, no matter what level of skill you have. stick by the general rule ''don't get into that position in the first place'' there are 2 facts in a knife fight 1) your going to get cut 2) your going to get killed if you hang around as for gun disarms, they're pointless as somebody said no idiot approaches you with a gun & puts it right up to you, it looks all fine & dandy in films etc but is unrealistic. the opening scene of ''saving private ryan'' is considered one of the most realistic battle scenes ever portrayed (survivors said the only thing missing in that scene was the smell of sulpher & corpses ie it visually was spot on) how many close approaches between enemy soldiers were in that film? all i can say is your cousin will only learn by one day picking on the wrong guy & getting bet up.
6. only in close combat you have a chance against a gun! so not really! but i do wing chun myself and i know what you are trying ask ! i still think avoiding a bullet is your best option!
7. Gun disarms is a rather pathetic attempt by some martial artists to show the world that his art is effective for any situation. While it is of course possible under some conditions, and looks cool in demos in front of the uninitiated, it is not something you want to rely on in 'real life' situations. Hey, ever offered to play the role of an attacker for your cousin with a BB gun?