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Thread: "THAT'S What You're Talking About!"

  1. #1

    "THAT'S What You're Talking About!"

    For a long time, I've read the advice to "roll your elbows in" to help control recoil while shooting an handgun. It's supposed to lock your hands together for a better grip. I tried it and it didn't work. Instead of locking my hands together, rolling my elbows in actually pulled my hands apart. Worse, my elbows were now horizontal and tended to bend upward during recoil.

    Recently, I watched a video by Warrior Poet Society. He gave a couple of tips on how to control recoil to get back on target quicker. He talked about "rolling the elbows in" and demonstrated the technique by rolling his elbows out.

    At least, that's how I think of it. I took up archery when I was very young and our coach taught us that if we didn't roll the elbow of our bow arm out (from the horizontal to vertical) and out of the path of the bow string, it would slap the arm painfully. Our coach told us to roll the bottom of out elbow out. When the bottom of the elbow is rolled out, the top of the elbow is rolled in. A small thing perhaps, but for me, an illuminating moment as I finally grasp the concept.

    It also reminded me that, while we often take it for granted we all speak a common language, we don't always speak the same language.
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  2. #2
    I know exactly what you mean, and it is why when I try to learn something, trying to understand the language is SO important.
    I recently took my CCL class and a friend of a friend was the teacher. He took the last year off from competition after having a medical procedure. I was the only one in the class that had shot before and I picked up on something, that I may have been taught before, but never registered. I watched him demo shooting stance, etc (dry fire/no ammo in class) and as he did he mentioned/demo'd watching the sights as they raised and lowered. That is not an angle I had ever seen before (aiming towards a safe wall behind me), as one is not normally aside of the muzzle.
    That isn't something that ever registered with me as my thoughts were based more around, I've shot, is the target down/dropping their gun, etc? It improved my follow up shots, but I am still fighting with it based on the logic of the least amount of shots I have to, to do the job and if I am paying attention to the front sight, am I seeing the targets response.
    I know things change/slow down in those scenario's based on my times at gun point. (view things differently) The conscientious side of me just worries about going from justified to murder and the legal consequences.

  3. #3
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    I believe this is the video the op is referring to. Get to the 5min mark and he discusses this technique.

    https://youtu.be/q_qMcaCwBZc

  4. #4
    Site Supporter Jay Cunningham's Avatar
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    Conveying information clearly is important. I'm not sure telling someone to do something with their elbows is a great way to communicate how to grip the pistol. It's describing a result and not the goal. The goal is to apply grip pressure as high on the pistol (and across as much surface area) as possible. When doing this, a natural result is that the elbows will tend to "flare outward and up" while the forearms are torqueing inward.

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jay Cunningham View Post
    Conveying information clearly is important. I'm not sure telling someone to do something with their elbows is a great way to communicate how to grip the pistol. It's describing a result and not the goal. The goal is to apply grip pressure as high on the pistol (and across as much surface area) as possible. When doing this, a natural result is that the elbows will tend to "flare outward and up" while the forearms are torqueing inward.
    This.

    I’ve found personally that anytime I take focus away from managing recoil with my hands my grip ultimately suffers and recoil management goes out the window. Grip is the foundation for managing recoil. Make that foundation not solid and everything else topples down on top of it. Make it solid and everything else stands solidly in place.

    Fill in the cracks in your basement and your house won’t fall down. Also, don’t build your house on sand.


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  6. #6
    Site Supporter Jay Cunningham's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by spinmove_ View Post
    Grip is the foundation for managing recoil.
    Not just that.

    Grip is also the foundation for aggressive trigger manipulation without detrimentally moving the gun.

  7. #7
    Member Peally's Avatar
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    To break people's hearts even more: your elbows have fuck-all to do with shooting well


    ETA: aw Jay beat me to the punch.
    Last edited by Peally; 10-24-2018 at 07:55 AM.
    Semper Gumby, Always Flexible

  8. #8
    Member GuanoLoco's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Peally View Post
    To break people's hearts even more: your elbows have fuck-all to do with shooting well


    ETA: aw Jay beat me to the punch.
    I’m niot sure that’s entirely true - I started with a self-taught elbows locked technique (noob shooting a .40 at the square range) and my shooting improved when I went to a more workable “elbows out” mode.
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  9. #9
    Site Supporter Jay Cunningham's Avatar
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    Locked elbows are bad for two reasons:

    They transfer recoil straight back into shoulders. That's a tall impulse and can knock you off balance easily. But locked elbows also break your grip high on the gun and tend to establish it lower.

    So yeah; don't lock your elbows. But form follows function.

    All too often instructors struggle with conflating function following form.
    Last edited by Jay Cunningham; 10-24-2018 at 12:31 PM.

  10. #10
    Member Peally's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by GuanoLoco View Post
    I’m niot sure that’s entirely true - I started with a self-taught elbows locked technique (noob shooting a .40 at the square range) and my shooting improved when I went to a more workable “elbows out” mode.
    Doing goofy shit with your arms can help, but it's a poor form crutch for bad fundamentals. Like granny style bowling.
    Semper Gumby, Always Flexible

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