When dealing with a gun threat, we must always keep a few things in mind. First and foremost, this is not an active shooter scenario, and the gunman is currently ‘threatening’ us as opposed to shooting at us. The gunman likely wants something from us; our wallet, car keys, or even to move us to another location. Regardless of what he wants, we know that he hasn’t decided to pull the trigger to shoot us and that we have an opportunity to defend if we think that is our best option for survival. It is important to understand that we are not necessarily racing against a pull of the trigger, but more the decision of the gunman to escalate his attack from a gun threat to that of an active shooter. (He may decide at any second to become an active shooter so we must proceed with caution and extreme efficiency should we decide to defend against his threat.)

Second, we must take into account our own training and knowledge of the situation. If you are new to training, and haven’t spent a lot of time dealing with weapons defenses, it may be best to comply with the attacker and give them what they want. If the gunman is asking for an item such as your purse, wallet, keys, etc… then there is a good chance that he will just take it and leave you to go home safe. These things can all be replaced.

However if the gunman is attempting to kidnap or assault you, it may be in your best interest to attempt a defense as the likelihood of survival in one of these situations is significantly decreased.



***This is in no way an exact science and every situation is different. Your situational awareness and your gut instincts will help you decide if defending or complying is the better course of action.***

We also must realize that we likely have very little to zero knowledge of this attacker's gun. The weapon may be in perfect working order and it may not even be a real gun at all. If our defense is successful and we disarm the attacker, we cannot assume that the gun will work and that we will be able to use the gun against continued attacks. If I have knowledge of guns, I can attempt to clear the weapon and threaten my attacker to stay back as I assess the situation. (This may or may not work, so we cannot rely on this to happen every time). However it is more likely that we will be able to use the gun as a strong blunt object to attack with, as long as we stay out of the line of fire at all times.

This video discusses the specifics of a gun threat to the side of the body and in front of the arm. Remember, watching a gun defense video online is a good supplement to your training but you must get some hands on experience. Take these tools and practice them in a Krav Maga class near you, and hopefully in my class one day!

Ok, that's all for now. Enjoy the video, be safe… and GO DO SOME KRAV MAGA TODAY!

-AJ @AJDraven - Twitter

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