Firearms and Empty Hands

From a reader - "How do you justify the transition from teaching martial arts into teaching firearms?"

Perhaps this question arose after the reader read this post. 

Nevertheless, it is a good question, and one I am happy to answer. 

My martial arts background:

• Started Judo in 1982, but did not attend anywhere near enough. 
• Started karate in 1985. Discontinued teaching it in 2021. Still practice to this day. 
• Started jiu-jitsu in 1987. Discontinued teaching it in 2020. Still practice it to this day. 

Needless to say, my Senseis have been very impactful in my life. And it is from them that I draw the inspiration to teach what I teach. John Suarez taught the Wado-Shiho-Kai style of Wado-Ryu. The tenets of that style are Kata, Kihon, Kumite, and Koshin. Most karate styles stop with kata, kihon, and kumite. For clarity:

• Kata - traditional forms. Prearranged patterns to practice muscle memory. 
• Kihon - fundamentals. The building blocks of fighting technique.
• Kumite - sparring. Live practice. Usually against a resisting opponent. 
• Koshin - self defense study. Also sometimes written as "Goshin." 

A karateka (practitioner) either believes in the effectiveness of these tenets, or does not. It is that simple. I personally believe in learning the fundamentals, building muscle memory of the fundamental movements, practice of likely self-defense scenarios, and live practice. And let's see how that translates to firearms instruction:

• Kihon - fundamentals - a person must learn the fundamentals of marksmanship, gun handling, malfunction clearing, and presentation. 
• Kata - a person must practice muscle memory of the fundamentals. Although not as elaborate, there are several gun "kata" a person should practice: the draw, the ready-up (from multiple positions), the "tap-rack," and more. 
• Koshin - self defense is at the heart of gunfighting. A person needs to practice implementation in realistic situations. This includes adverse conditions, different positions, different positions, and more. 
• Kumite - sparring. A person should practice safe Force-On-Force. In addition, a person should practice live fire and not just dry fire. Live fire practice should cover the self defense scenarios mentioned above. And a person should practice these with a partner. 

There is a natural connection, and that is how the transition is justified.