Counter Terrorism Institute Of America: The Tueller Drill
“Don’t bring a knife to a gunfight” is good advice. In a gun versus knife fight you are at an advantage if you are the man with a gun.
“Don’t underestimate a man armed with a knife” is also good advice. Just because you are an advantage if you are the man with a gun, the advantage is lost if the knife-wielding attacker can close the distance and make contact.
Failure to maintain adequate distance during a knife attack may lead to very negative results.
An excellent method to train in gun versus knife attacks is the Tueller Drill. The Tueller Drill was developed by officer Dennis Tueller from the Salt Lake City Police Department to demonstrate how quickly an attacker can cover 20 feet. The average man can cover 20 feet less than 2 seconds!
The Tueller drill teaches rapid decision making during knife attacks. If you carry a firearm for personal defense, these videos from the Counter Terrorism Institute of America are required viewing. The videos below were taken during one of the recent CTIA advanced concealed carry classes.
Notice the emphasis paid to lateral movement and shooting on the move.
Tueller drills were run using airsoft guns and/or real firearms loaded with simunition. Simunition convert firearms into paint-ball guns.
As the knife-attacker rushes forward, the man with the gun moves laterally to avoid the attacker and maintain distance between himself and the knife-attacker while simultaneously firing on the knife-attacker.
[...] CTIA: The Tueller Drill One-on-one instruction and feedback with Dennis Kennedy, founder of CTIA Students at CTIA watch and learn in the Urban Warfare Center [...]