In previous blog posts I have shared my thoughts concerning agencies changing holsters. I believe it can be very dangerous so make sure if you are changing holsters you are doing it for the right reasons and training officers appropriately in the use of the new holster. Appropriately does not mean a bunch of draw strokes standing flat footed at the range. It means training in context. It means training with imagination and emotion. It means dynamic training closely replication a variety of situations officers may find themselves in out in the field.
I recently received an e-mail from a very frustrated officer whose agency was changing holsters. The officers were not given a choice and there was no grandfather clause to allow experienced officers to carry the old holster while new officers were trained on the new rig. The officer felt extremely confident with his current holster and was afraid in a gunfight he may revert back to the old mechanics. He was looking for ideas from me to fight the change. Here is part of my response:
The ideal is we address these issues up front and give serious consideration to the need to change and if the agency is going to change holsters the method for implementing that change becomes critical.
Having said that, you need to determine at what point you should stop fighting the change, embrace the change and commit to training in a manner that is most likely to instill new habitual behaviours with the new holster. If you have to change holsters then the longer you hold onto the resistance and the negative self talk regarding the new holster the more likely it will be that you will have issues. If you have done all you can to convince the powers that be to allow you to continue the use of the current holster perhaps the time has come to embrace the new holster and start taking action to prepare yourself for situations where you will need to draw your gun on the street. Understand, that even if you get to keep your current holster for now, if it breaks or wears out you will need to transition to the new holster.
Once you decide to move forward and embrace the new holster take some time to imagine all the advantages with the new rig. Continually tell yourself that you are as efficient with the new holster as you were with the old and embrace those statements as your reality. Train hard, train often and train in context. Imagine being in deadly force situations in a variety of situations and positions and practice drawing while you are moving forward, backward, to the left and to the right, practice drawing from the drivers seat in a car, drawing from the passenger seat in a vehicle, drawing from the ground, drawing while fighting with a subject. Also imagine and practice retaining your weapon in the new holster from a variety of situations. Every time you practice drawing imagine a threat and drawing in response to the threat. Train with imagination and emotion every time you train with the new holster.
I feel for this officer and share his frustration. There comes a point in this type of fight however, when we must decide to embrace change and move forward taking the necessary steps to train and prepare ourselves.
I am happy to report that I heard back from this officer who has a chosen to take a very positive attitude towards the new holsetr and invest in his own training to develop the necessary habitual responses with the new rig.
Take care.
Brian Willis
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