In some of the on going discussion and commentary over at Joe’s blog I found a few more things I would like to address.

The Tueller drill is not obsolete, it is just that generally the drill is not set up to reflect reality. I would also say that many of the recomended theories and techniques aren’t very effective in practice.

Basically there is a target at 21 feet and an ‘attacker’ at 21 feet (perpendicular to the defender/target axis). On the buzzer the defender draws an shoot the target, while the attacker runs to tag the defender. The only thing special about 21 feet is that it takes the average defender about 1.5 seconds to get a shot on target from the holster and that the average person can move about 14 feet per second from a standing start.

One of the other issues with the basic drill is that an advancing target becomes easier to hit as it gets closer, and leaving the target at 21 feet doesn’t simulate this behavior.

So the Tueller drill models simultaneous, mutually assured, destruction. The defender gets stabbed and the attacker gets shot. It happens at roughly the same time and it is an open debate as to who will be incapciated first (my money is on the guy with the knife slicing up the guy with the gun.) This is not a “win,” this is a “draw.” In order for the defender to prevail he needs more than 21 feet of distance between him and the attacker, or he needs to do something different.

In a real world encounter the attacker with the knife initiates the motion and the defender has to percieve and react. This is an advantage for the attacker with the knife, so the defender needs more than 21′ to even achieve a tie, let alone a win.

Starting with a hand on the gun, or the gun at the ready position is an advantage to the defender, and he needs much less than 21 feet to shoot simltaneously as he is getting stabbed. Similarly, allowing the defender various forms of movement also changes the amount of distance required.