By Jeremy Patton
When you’ve been in the martial arts industry
as long as I have, you’ve heard all sorts of absurd claims. Here‘s one that gets on my nerves:
“I don’t need martial arts because I study the Art of Smith & Wesson.”
Here’s how I usually reply:
“Do
you have your gun with you now?”
The answer is always “well,
uh…no” followed by an awkward silence.
At first glance,
this “reasoning” appears unworthy of consideration by any thinking person, but I’ve heard it so many times
that I suppose a debunking is in order.
No one carries their gun
24/7. NO ONE. You might sleep with your gun under your pillow but do you hold it while you’re sitting on the toilet?
I doubt that you go on a first date with a pistol strapped to your hip (unless your sweetheart shares your love for hunting).
Your piece isn’t on your person while getting an x-ray.
You
get the idea, but how do you use the Art of Smith & Wesson in places where totting firearms is illegal? Will you draw
your Glock and save the day when a terrorist diverts your flight from it’s scheduled destination? Do you teach your
kids to point their revolver at school to deter bullies? How will you react to hostility in countries where guns are illegal?
Even if your gun is available and you manage to point it in the
right direction in time, there’s no guarantee that you’ll hit your target and no assurance that a wounded assailant
won’t gouge you in the face with his rusty screw driver. What are the odds that you’ll reach your pistol when
you get jumped in the parking lot with your arms full of groceries?
We
certainly shouldn’t underestimate the deadliness of firearms. My advice to students confronted by a gun is to run. Trying
to disarm an attacker should be a last resort and if you make the attempt, it probably won’t go down as depicted in
the movies.
There are no guarantees in any fight. Guns determine
the outcome in some confrontations and in others they don’t. It’s true that martial arts don’t make us invincible,
but neither do firearms.
So next time an ignoramus claims that guns
make martial arts obsolete, ask him why martial arts are taught to military personnel, police, prison guards, bouncers and
bodyguards? Why do millions of parents enroll their children in martial arts classes?
Any intelligent reader can come up with their own examples.
