Weapons Retention “Remember the first rule of gunfighting... have a gun." - Jeff Cooper Weapons retention is crucial for anyone carrying a firearm. In law enforcement management circles, this is all too often addressed solely through mandating holsters with multiple levels of retention rather than through effective training in combatives. At its heart, weapons retention is a software issue, not a hardware one. Situational awareness and combatives skill trump kit selection where this is concerned. In the military, until relatively recently, weapons retention hasn’t received enough attention, especially in conventional units. Now though there are realistic training programs such as the jujitsu-based MACP and SOCP system that effectively address weapons retention. In this though, as in so many other aspects of the profession of arms, it simply isn’t enough to rely on the training your department or unit provides. You need to seek out training on your own. Regardless of whether you are a policeman, or a soldier, or an armed citizen, weapons retention needs to be trained, and it needs to be trained realistically and effectively. I’m a proponent of basing weapons retention techniques off of jujitsu. If you look at the classical development of jujitsu, it developed in a weapons based environment and included techniques for retaining your weapons and stripping an opponent of theirs. It has been explored for modern application and remains as effective now as it was in feudal Japan. If you combine this with a study and practice of Filipino martial arts such as kali and arnis you can develop a solid level of applicable skill. The SOCP and MACP programs of Gregg Thompson, the Shivworks training of Paul Sharp and others, the excellent ECQC courses of Craig Douglas, and other training can help provide a framework, but the truth is that skill requires regular practice. Seek out that practice and frame it in ways applicable to your environment and weaponry. Develop a solid foundation of combative skill and it will serve you well. As always, the way is in training. #thewayisintraining #greybeardactual #jujitsu #kali #shivworks #ecqc #socp #weaponsretention (at The Way) https://www.instagram.com/p/CewJAPCLo1R/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=