Gun primer part 2
Apparently MySpace doesn't like it when I type up entries in other programs and paste them here. Can't for the life of me get the formatting on that last entry to stop looking like, as Stunt Coordinator, United Stuntman's Association founder and SAFD co-founder Dave Boushey would infamously call things, Home-made crap. Ah well.
I want to qualify some of what I said in that last post. Six years ago I knew very little about firearms. I owned none- not even any realistic fake guns. Sure, I'd fired them before - I've been hunting with my father, albeit not recently, but my knowledge of defensive and offensive firearms use was pretty much limited to what mass media has to say on the subject. As someone who has had very small hand in contributing to mass media, I can say that it's not a very reliable source. I wouldn't say I'm a real firearms expert still (although I might claim that for the niche in which I generally work- indie film or theatrical prop guns), which is one reason I have declined challenges to come up with specific proposals for the SAFD when I give them my periodic nudges towards developing a firearms curriculum (edited to add- I've since volunteered to be on the firearms committee, which should be forming up soon -KI, 8/13/07). There's ex-military and ex-police folks in the organization who probably know more about tactical firearms use than myself, but may not have much motivation to get the SAFD to formalize anything, since they already have the instruction and authority they need.
Anyway, when I discovered this glaring omission in my training (for which there was a real demand around here), what did I do?
The internet is a wonderful resource- just as it was for me when I first started examining the historical European martial arts and Patri Pugliese (RIP) was pretty much the only way to get ahold of historical manuals (to be then discussed on Sword Forum)... and then the HACA and AEMMA followed suit (HACA, now called ARMA, was a better website until I joined a long list of people banned for arguing with the founder on the online forum), and now in addition to the various web resources and workshops (and there's lots more now), there's more books in print than you could read in a year (well, than I can read and work through in a year anyway).
I'm not saying you can totally learn martial arts or firearms or any partly physical discipline from reading a book or hanging out on chat boards... but you can learn the basic safety rules, the commonly held beliefs (and common objections to them), the etiquette, and the culture. Firearms are more technical than most martial arts anyway, more about engineering, products, parts and physics, so at least those basics are better suited to being self-taught- and there's much more to learn about the safety and mechanics of a gun than there is with a blade.
There's also tons of great classes (and more tons of bad ones), books, and dvds out there for those wanting firearms instruction, mostly aimed at the concealed carry, law enforcement, or just soldier of fortune wanna-be demographics. That can get pretty expensive, though.
If you have a knowledge of the basic safety rules, and/or someone to help you out, you can also go to a local gun range. Many of these (two of the three I've been to near Seattle, for example) will rent you a firearm. Some of them now have policies preventing them from renting to someone who doesn't already have one with him or her (due to problems with suicides on range), but many will still rent to you if you're over 18, have a driver's license, and don't look or act like you're going to be a safety hazard. This can be a great way to just get a feel for what the real thing can be like, especially if you are not in a position (due to money, living situation, family, or whatever) of being able to or wanting to buy your own. You can experience recoil, which most fake guns (even blank firing guns) won't have. Learn to fake that, and to fake it well. Watch the guys next to you and see what it looks like when they shoot, too.
Brief aside: My theory? Recoil is like doing an accent; if an actor can do it well, it will serve them well in the right genres. If you can't do it well, you're better off not even trying, because it's going to seem really fake and stupid, and it'll take the audience out of the story you're trying to tell.
That said, firing a gun at a range, at a stationary target, standing in a little booth, firing slowly (many public ranges won't allow any kind of rapid fire or double-taps, drawing from a holster, or moving) is very different from what your characters are usually asked to portray.
If you have the time, interest, money, and commitment, I'd recommend hunting down the local chapter of the IDPA, the more sportish IPSC, or Cowboy action shooting (if you're interest is in older styles). It's the difference between learning Japanese swordplay by doing Iaido style cutting practice on tatami mats forever, and doing Kendo or Kenjutsu (fencing). Suddenly there's things to consider like tactics, movement, balance, speed versus accuracy, maintaining cover, shooting from different positions... it's a whole new world- and much more fun I think! You do have to own your own gear to participate, but it's something I wish I could do on a regular basis.
If you want more about the specifics of choosing props (blank firing, gas blowback, rubber, resin, airsoft, what does this all mean and what should I use?), check the 'Choosing Firearms Props' page on FightDesigner.com
.
Enough about guns for now though- back to swords for the next entry, I think.
On a more personal note, finished making some foam rubber rocks and a leather sling for a video project with a David and Goliath reenactment- two stones of different sizes, since they're going to try to do some forced perspective tricks to make Goliath look bigger. Never played with a sling before. Doesn't work too well with really light weight objects, but with something with a little more heft to it (like a rubber ball, for example) you can really chuck something well with it.
Warning though: as you might expect, rubber balls thrown indoors are likely to bounce back at you. Or so I've heard.
Apparently MySpace doesn't like it when I type up entries in other programs and paste them here. Can't for the life of me get the formatting on that last entry to stop looking like, as Stunt Coordinator, United Stuntman's Association founder and SAFD co-founder Dave Boushey would infamously call things, Home-made crap. Ah well.
I want to qualify some of what I said in that last post. Six years ago I knew very little about firearms. I owned none- not even any realistic fake guns. Sure, I'd fired them before - I've been hunting with my father, albeit not recently, but my knowledge of defensive and offensive firearms use was pretty much limited to what mass media has to say on the subject. As someone who has had very small hand in contributing to mass media, I can say that it's not a very reliable source. I wouldn't say I'm a real firearms expert still (although I might claim that for the niche in which I generally work- indie film or theatrical prop guns), which is one reason I have declined challenges to come up with specific proposals for the SAFD when I give them my periodic nudges towards developing a firearms curriculum (edited to add- I've since volunteered to be on the firearms committee, which should be forming up soon -KI, 8/13/07). There's ex-military and ex-police folks in the organization who probably know more about tactical firearms use than myself, but may not have much motivation to get the SAFD to formalize anything, since they already have the instruction and authority they need.
Anyway, when I discovered this glaring omission in my training (for which there was a real demand around here), what did I do?
The internet is a wonderful resource- just as it was for me when I first started examining the historical European martial arts and Patri Pugliese (RIP) was pretty much the only way to get ahold of historical manuals (to be then discussed on Sword Forum)... and then the HACA and AEMMA followed suit (HACA, now called ARMA, was a better website until I joined a long list of people banned for arguing with the founder on the online forum), and now in addition to the various web resources and workshops (and there's lots more now), there's more books in print than you could read in a year (well, than I can read and work through in a year anyway).
I'm not saying you can totally learn martial arts or firearms or any partly physical discipline from reading a book or hanging out on chat boards... but you can learn the basic safety rules, the commonly held beliefs (and common objections to them), the etiquette, and the culture. Firearms are more technical than most martial arts anyway, more about engineering, products, parts and physics, so at least those basics are better suited to being self-taught- and there's much more to learn about the safety and mechanics of a gun than there is with a blade.
There's also tons of great classes (and more tons of bad ones), books, and dvds out there for those wanting firearms instruction, mostly aimed at the concealed carry, law enforcement, or just soldier of fortune wanna-be demographics. That can get pretty expensive, though.
If you have a knowledge of the basic safety rules, and/or someone to help you out, you can also go to a local gun range. Many of these (two of the three I've been to near Seattle, for example) will rent you a firearm. Some of them now have policies preventing them from renting to someone who doesn't already have one with him or her (due to problems with suicides on range), but many will still rent to you if you're over 18, have a driver's license, and don't look or act like you're going to be a safety hazard. This can be a great way to just get a feel for what the real thing can be like, especially if you are not in a position (due to money, living situation, family, or whatever) of being able to or wanting to buy your own. You can experience recoil, which most fake guns (even blank firing guns) won't have. Learn to fake that, and to fake it well. Watch the guys next to you and see what it looks like when they shoot, too.
Brief aside: My theory? Recoil is like doing an accent; if an actor can do it well, it will serve them well in the right genres. If you can't do it well, you're better off not even trying, because it's going to seem really fake and stupid, and it'll take the audience out of the story you're trying to tell.
That said, firing a gun at a range, at a stationary target, standing in a little booth, firing slowly (many public ranges won't allow any kind of rapid fire or double-taps, drawing from a holster, or moving) is very different from what your characters are usually asked to portray.
If you have the time, interest, money, and commitment, I'd recommend hunting down the local chapter of the IDPA, the more sportish IPSC, or Cowboy action shooting (if you're interest is in older styles). It's the difference between learning Japanese swordplay by doing Iaido style cutting practice on tatami mats forever, and doing Kendo or Kenjutsu (fencing). Suddenly there's things to consider like tactics, movement, balance, speed versus accuracy, maintaining cover, shooting from different positions... it's a whole new world- and much more fun I think! You do have to own your own gear to participate, but it's something I wish I could do on a regular basis.
If you want more about the specifics of choosing props (blank firing, gas blowback, rubber, resin, airsoft, what does this all mean and what should I use?), check the 'Choosing Firearms Props' page on FightDesigner.com
.
Enough about guns for now though- back to swords for the next entry, I think.
On a more personal note, finished making some foam rubber rocks and a leather sling for a video project with a David and Goliath reenactment- two stones of different sizes, since they're going to try to do some forced perspective tricks to make Goliath look bigger. Never played with a sling before. Doesn't work too well with really light weight objects, but with something with a little more heft to it (like a rubber ball, for example) you can really chuck something well with it.
Warning though: as you might expect, rubber balls thrown indoors are likely to bounce back at you. Or so I've heard.