I’ve long been fascinated with the history of defensive firearms training. I like to understand how different shooting techniques started, why they were created, who used them first or most effectively, and how they evolved into something else or were discarded for something better. Of course, understanding things like that is important for what I do as an instructor, but it’s also an intriguing study in its own right.

Historically, most firearms training has been for law enforcement and military applications. These fields are related to, but not identical with, the way ordinary people use defensive firearms. And when it comes to choosing which techniques and skills you need to learn, context matters. Still, there’s a lot we can learn from these sources as long as we remember that the contexts are quite different.

Lots more there to think about and explore, but I’m already off track. I just wanted an excuse to show you this cool old video, a training film from World War II. It’s about 15 minutes long, but if you don’t have that much time, just skip to 3:15 and watch for a half-minute or so. There will be a quiz later.  😉

Ready?

Pop Quiz: After watching for thirty seconds after the 3:15 mark, can you name one important way that firearms training has changed since 1944?