Are Lt. Col. Jeff Cooper’s Teachings Still Relevant?
- Thread starter Mike H.
- Start date
The Night Rider
Professional
I'm not going to say the example isn't out there but this question came up on another form and nobody could come up with a single instance where the person defended themselves after ingesting alcohol and went to jail but would have gone free had they not been drinking.
TidalWave
Professional
Quick clarification: I assume here that the circumstances had you “in imminent danger“ or whatever, and that your reaction was pretty much what it would’ve been had there been no malt hootch…
Core
Operator
I prefer the NRA fundamental rules of gun safety. I don’t know the history to which years they were adopted versus Mr. Coopers work. I have read enough of Cooper’s material to understand that he has made a significant contribution to defense and combat shooting. I would argue that his safety fundamentals are not as a profound contribution as to his tradecraft to combat handgun and carbine techniques.
Like scholars in academia Cooper was a scholar of combat arms. We wouldn’t discredit Einstein because he was not able to conceptualize travel faster than the speed of light. Thanks to his discoveries scholars are able to advance further towards the truth.
Cooper led the evolution of combat shooters for decades and has made a significant contribution to where we are now. This leaves reflection to whether we are in fact “better” at combat shooting today versus in Cooper’s day?
Humans like to believe we are getting better over time, but this assertion has been disproven time and time again. It’s my theory that we advance our technology over time and make better hammers, and this technology forces the evolution of our training. It’s quite the opposite to what we assume.
I have also followed a training organization that has evolved to out match the threats of the modern era. While threats change their modus operandi so must our training ethos. The few applied training organizations that instruct those who have to meet these emerging threats are grinding out bits of wisdom to find better ways to do things like clear stairs and manage stoppages etc.
We become arrogant in thinking we have become superior to our forebears but the truth is most of us are riding on the shoulders of giants and we will never reach the potential that these scholars achieved by their grit and determination and a bit of passionate insanity..
Like scholars in academia Cooper was a scholar of combat arms. We wouldn’t discredit Einstein because he was not able to conceptualize travel faster than the speed of light. Thanks to his discoveries scholars are able to advance further towards the truth.
Cooper led the evolution of combat shooters for decades and has made a significant contribution to where we are now. This leaves reflection to whether we are in fact “better” at combat shooting today versus in Cooper’s day?
Humans like to believe we are getting better over time, but this assertion has been disproven time and time again. It’s my theory that we advance our technology over time and make better hammers, and this technology forces the evolution of our training. It’s quite the opposite to what we assume.
I have also followed a training organization that has evolved to out match the threats of the modern era. While threats change their modus operandi so must our training ethos. The few applied training organizations that instruct those who have to meet these emerging threats are grinding out bits of wisdom to find better ways to do things like clear stairs and manage stoppages etc.
We become arrogant in thinking we have become superior to our forebears but the truth is most of us are riding on the shoulders of giants and we will never reach the potential that these scholars achieved by their grit and determination and a bit of passionate insanity..
To understand Cooper you have to go back to the late 1950’s and 60’s to Southern California and the Leather Slap matches folks like Jack Weaver, Thell Read Cooper and others were in.
With that Cooper laid the ground work with his iteration of “the modern technique “. And with the start of the American Pistol institute later Gunsite as the first vetted professional civilian non agency school. The IPSC or USPSA whichever was first was more real world oriented (major minor and set up for an 6 or 8 shot revolver before it became a John Wick COF foreleg course game it is today. (Yes I know high cal wonder 9’s are here but USPSA has become a technical gun running game over the decision making Application ideal Cooper had)
Noting against the NRA but I do know several NRA “instructors” are out of their league when attending reputable schools like Range Master instructor classes and others and many need to come back and try a second class because they fail miserably (if their ego isn’t bruised too much)
Folks like Cooper set the ground work if not for him not sure we’d have some of the reputable solid firearms courses we have today we might me 40 years behind that time.
To me Cooper is many steps ahead of a basic NRA course or training (the one exception is the NRA LE Instructor training might be on par with a Cooper class but that’s it) so all the classes as well as the 4 rules well out classes the NRA 3 rules.
I sort of think the NRA 3 rules are more of a flat range thing and Coopers 4 is more reminder of yhat 360 degree world!
If you have been drinking and have to use your firearm in self defense you have made a difficult situation more difficult. I plan on two things if I find myself in a shooting situation. 1. Insisting on pressing charges against the assailant (dead or alive!) and 2. Insisting on an alcohol / drug test. (drinking or not using or not) These 2 steps will help in any litigation that may arise.
ddeuce22
Professional
Smells like personal experience here. LOL
DangerClose
Alpha
Doesn't Rule #2 conflict with the new ever popular Appendix Carry?Hello all, here is today's article posted on TheArmoryLife.com. It is titled “Are Lt. Col. Jeff Cooper’s Teachings Still Relevant?” and can be found at https://www.thearmorylife.com/4-rules-of-gun-safety/.
