“In all forms of strategy, it is necessary to maintain the combat stance in everyday life and to make your everyday stance your combat stance.” - Miyamoto Musashi

Ready positions. Fighting stances. Post shooting procedures. All too often these are contrived and artificial things. Lifeless technique devoid of real intent, theatre meant to convince yourself of your ability to prevail in a violent encounter. This is nothing new. The history of martial training is full of the equivalent of modern range theatrics. Artificial ready positions and mindless rituals meant to simulate tactical awareness are a cliche in the martial arts world precisely because of their prevalence. At least their prevalence in the academic study of violence.

Academic study, technique based on theory, is very different however than practical and relevant experience. And people who have fought for their lives repeatedly against competent and determined opponents have a ruthlessly practical view of technique and training. The trainers and trainees who espouse contrived techniques are the ones who haven’t been truly tested.

This doesn’t mean that oversimplification of technique is optimal either. That is a trap even highly experienced people can easily fall into. A good example is high vs low ready with a rifle. I was raised in army SOF, where I was taught that the high ready was sacrilege. Something the SEALs did, not us. Now, after two decades of cross-pollination in combat, SF now uses both the high and low ready as applicable. As they should, since both positions have value depending on the context.

It also doesn’t mean that there aren’t subtleties to positioning and technique. But subtleties are different than artificialities. Exaggerated and contrived technique is never optimal, and only effective against the unskilled. Nowhere is this more apparent than in ready positions. If your stance is contrived and tense you will never be able to fight effectively. This holds true for all kinds of fighting, armed or not. If you are still shooting in a “SWAT crouch,” or running around in the temple index, you aren’t training optimal technique.

Fighting is fighting. Movement is movement. The laws of human physiology and psychology are universal, and the principles of good athletic performance don’t change when you put a gun in your hands. Make your stance and structure athletic and natural and you’ll optimize your technique for you. Learn to be ready, naturally.