It was in the late 1990s, during one of the worst crack cocaine epidemics in southern Mississippi. The violence in the region was at an all-time high. Craig “Southnarc”, Douglas was caught in a life-threatening situation when he tried to grab a gun from a parked vehicle. He learned that close combat firearm retention techniques could be used anywhere, including in a car or on the ground.
A good ground game helps with firearm retention techniques in adverse environments
Douglas was an undercover narcotics officer who did a drug purchase. He was a martial artist, shoot enthusiast, and a former Army Ranger. Douglas quickly realized that despite all his training, the drug purchase turned into an armed theft. He was not prepared for the realities and close combat in such an unusual environment.
Douglas was not the first to be robbed by a gun-wielding criminal.
“I was robbed nine more times during the years that I did undercover work.” He said that most of the robberies were ‘business as usual’. “But this time, it was different. I don’t know what it was.
Douglas discovered that most robberies ended with a surrender by the robbers. Douglas knew that he couldn’t comply with the robbers on this occasion. Instead, he reached for the gun and attempted a gun grab.
The attacker was then forced to climb into the car with his assailant. The attacker was able fire one shot during the struggle. Douglas was not able to take the gun from the attacker as the shot missed his head. The incident left him with some hearing impairment.
There were no fancy Hollywood gun disarms. Douglas held onto the gunman’s hand for dear Life, trying to keep control. He placed the weapon between his bodies and against the car’s pillar, using every method he could to remove it. Douglas was left to doubt the effectiveness of all he had learned about self-defense when the assailant fled.
Training for Firearm Retention in Real-Life
Douglas was not convinced by this incident alone. He is now a world-renowned defensive tactics instructor for hand-to-hand fighting involving weapons. What he had been taught in martial arts classes and at shooting ranges didn’t always work in real life.
He stated that a lot of the things he learned were not pressure-tested or designed for the environment in which he was working.
Self-defense training is not conducted in car interiors. Hand-to-hand combat and firearms have been taught separately in the past. Douglas has learned through his experience in law enforcement how these two realms can intersect.
In 1998, he quit undercover work and became a training officer in his department. He began to experiment to find out what worked in practice.
“These were tactical issues that no one had ever addressed before. He said that he had to start at ground zero with some young police officers, who volunteered to wear motorcycle helmets and MMA gloves and use guns equipped with marking cartridges to tackle the problem.
Douglas believes that he was the first person to use dummy guns to extreme CQB training. This is likely due to the fact that the manufacturer specifically advised against firing these cartridges within three feet of the target. Douglas found violent encounters at this range most often.
Find a new combat discipline
Douglas gave up most of his traditional martial arts after years of experimentation and instead used techniques from boxing, Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, and most importantly, wrestling. He believes that wrestling is the best way to control where a fight ends up. It doesn’t matter if you are standing or on the floor.
Douglas is well-known for his ground work and ground firearm retention methods. Douglas is perhaps best known for his odd habit of having people on the ground trying to draw guns or shoot each other with marking cartridges. Training often involves punches and chokes as well as multiple attackers (pro tip: Get a good retention holster).
This is only one aspect of the lessons he teaches. Douglas places a greater emphasis on “deselecting yourself from violence” through awareness, verbal agility and social skills that enable you to avoid altercations before they escalate into physical violence.
Douglas, despite his reputation for groundfighting with weapons admits that it is almost always best to stay on the ground during violent confrontations. He sees one problem, especially when it comes down to weapon retention and being taken out. People try to draw their gun as quickly as possible, rather than first neutralizing an attacker’s grab.
It’s one thing practice your quick draw against the shot timer. It’s another thing to practice your quick draw against a shot timer.
Ground Combat Training
Douglas enjoys being prepared for the worst. Douglas believes that anyone who wants to learn how to fight at close range should begin training for ground fighting. Because fighting in a horizontal position can be so counter-intuitive, this is why you should start with ground fighting.
He likes Brazilian Jiu-jitsu because it helps him develop basic ground skills. However, he stated that he sometimes teaches the opposite when it comes to fighting with weapons. Jiu-jitsu is a sport that focuses on staying close to your opponent. However, if you want to deploy a weapon or get back on your feet, you must create space.
Douglas suggests that you use your legs to keep your opponent from getting in the way and give yourself some space. If someone is trying to draw a weapon against your, you should try to keep them away by staying as close to you as possible.
“Ultimately, I want to teach people how to problem solve. Douglas said that a gun can be a great problem-solving tool in a small number of situations. Douglas said that a gun is not necessary for an autistic child who panics and starts to run at you. A better solution is to use a wrestling match to restrain him and ask if he’s okay.
Shivworks.com has more information about Craig Douglas and his training programs.
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Personal Defense World published the article Firearm Retention Techniques From The Ground Up: Real World Analysis.
