Jerry Miculek, and thoughts on learning

[Cory]

While doing some youtube searching for Claude Werner I somehow wound up on a Jerry Miculek video from 2013. The video has a ton of great information in it, from someone that likely outshoots every member of this forum on any given Tuesday.



This particular video wasn't new to me. I saw this video shortly after it was posted (possibly early 2014ish) while I was a gun enthusiast but certainly wasn't a shooter who was putting in effort to get better. I was already aware of the differences between the isosceles and weaver stances, and pretty much chalked old Jerry up to a natural talent who could never be duplicated. I thought his discussion about recoil control was great, especially after seeing how he shot near the end of the video. I mean this old guy in the funny brim string hat can really shoot.

Tomorrow makes a year since I began my training log here, and with it a year of me actively consuming everything I can about shooting and defense. A year of active dry fire, with about a range visit a week for 7 months of it. A lot of sweat during dry fire, a lot of disappointment on the range, a lot of concentrated effort. A lot of podcasts, youtube videos, and plenty of interaction here on PF.

So what was different when I bumped into the video today? Perspective. This time watching Jerry talk I picked up on things that I already knew when I started putting in the work but hadn't fully appreciated. When Jerry mentions elbow position in the video I had a little eureka moment, and presented my pistol a few times thinking about them and their consistency. The he mentioned all his weight being on his toes... suddenly I thought of Gabe White and others telling me to get more weight behind the gun, but now I had a better idea about how to do that without a forward lean. Now I need to work that in my dry fire. Then Jerry talked about "seeing fast" being required to shoot fast. That's something I've been working on and have found is important through a few steel competitions I've shot. Awesome. He also talks about leaving his head up to look out the center of his eyes being helpful to seeing faster... It's like he's talking to me. I also now know the importance of the consistency that he emphasizes, and realize that consistency is what produces a shooter like Jerry. He isn't magic, he is well practiced.

All of these things were things I had heard before. Nothing new here. I've known it since 2014 at least. But having more experience and more frame of reference seriously changed what I got out of this video. The same information but I am now better equipped to absorb it, understand it, and apply it. I really puts the saying "Don't know what you don't know" into better perspective. I still hate the saying and it seems like an over used firearm training industry cliché at this point... but it doesn't mean it isn't true. Basically the more you know, the more you can learn from the resources you have. And that's awesome.

What resources have you gone back to and learned from again? Videos, Podcasts, Posts, Articles, Classes, whatever.
What things did that second look help you learn, realize, or somehow bring to fruition that you may not have otherwise?

Thanks for reading my novel.

-Cory

[Doc_Glock]

Great, thought provoking post. It is all to easy to think “I already know that. “ other than re-reviewing the basics from a new perspective.

Often time what we learn depends on what we bring with us and as we grow in experience, we bring a different person to our educational opportunities.

[John J. McCarthy, Jr.]

Miculek makes a great argument for the Isosceles stance over the Weaver for competition shooting. However Massad Ayoob suggests you learn and become proficient using both and everything in between for combat shooting. This because in a self-defense scenario you may be required to shoot and hit from where you are in the moment.


http://www.anamericanwithagun.com/

[HopetonBrown]

Miculek makes a great argument for the Isosceles stance over the Weaver for competition shooting. However Massad Ayoob suggests you learn and become proficient using both and everything in between for combat shooting. This because in a self-defense scenario you may be required to shoot and hit from where you are in the moment.

I've noticed that people who say "competition shooting" tend to be people who don't compete. But the goal is the same for self defense or gun games; maximum hits in minimum time. I've shot in almost every position imaginable in matches, I don't feel that practicing Weaver would've helped me.

Ken Hackathorn said that while at the FBI academy he watched tons of officer involved shooting vids during his downtime. He said that he noticed the only time officers who were trained in Weaver shot in that position was when they were already in Weaver before the shooting started. Otherwise they defaulted to Isocoles.

[JohnO]

There was a video somewhere on the net with Larry Vickers & Ken Hackathorn. (Don't quote me I think it was those two.) Vickers was shooting some sort of machine pistol like a G18. Hackathorn told him to use a Weaver Stance to better control the gun. Vickers switched from Iso to Weaver and his control improved dramatically. A unique application where Weaver bested Iso.

[Gun Mutt]

I've been in this mode all week! Another thread here turned me onto Mike Seeklander's podcast & I've been burning through past episodes with some of the greats from both the competition and tactical world. One of the things that I "knew" from reading Mas' books before attending Thunder Ranch in '98 was how to use a crush grip on my pistol, Clint Smith called it gorilla gripping, IIRC...but I'd forgotten it. I'd gotten lazy about it, too comfortable with my ability, easy range trips, dry fire focused more on concealed carry draws than trigger presses & a couple of IDPA matches per year.

So now I'm signed up to shoot my first Steel Challenge next weekend and my hands are very aware of how hard I've focused on gripping my pistol. Listening to a master shooter review "the basics" is always worthwhile.

[taadski]

One of my Sergeants when I started my LE career was an avid competitive shooter and is pretty much solely responsible for igniting my interest in the shooting sports. He has a framed and signed poster of Jerry on the wall of his office. I was paying attention to Mr. Miculek’s antics, accomplishments and perspectives from the start. He’s a gold mine.

I read Practical Shooting; Beyond Fundamentals pretty early on. Reading it again a number of years later with a bit more perspective and ability, it read like a completely different book. It’s kind of the epitome of a resource that reads adequately for a newer shooter, but dives much deeper with more experience.

[John J. McCarthy, Jr.]

Mr. Brown,
Competition shooters have a lot to offer anyone seeking to shoot better, for any reason. They break down and analyze every inch of movement necessary to draw and shoot a pistol. Add this to their dedication to training they are able to eliminate any motion not contributing to shooting fast and accurate. Miculek says a lot when he says something must be repeatable.

Competition shooters and self-defense shooters have very different goals: the competitor shoots to defeat fellow competitors, the self-defense shooter shoots to defeat a lethal threat.

http://http://www.anamericanwithagun.com/

[John J. McCarthy, Jr.]

Competition shooting has a place for self-defense shooters. It trains you to shoot under pressure. The pressure realized in competition is quite different from that in a life and death fight, but in a basic sense the skill legitimately transfers.


http://www.anamericanwithagun.com/

[John J. McCarthy, Jr.]

Has anyone notice the giant bear mitts Miculek has? When he grips a 1911, it looks like a pocket pistol.