Learning to draw, increasing your muscle memory and adjusting your mindset are three important aspects of concealed carry.
Your Draw
There are many ways to draw from different concealment positions, and learning and practicing the best ways for you are crucial. You never want to be in a situation where you need to get to your firearm quickly, but you find yourself fumbling with your jacket or shirt. Practicing in your home (with an unloaded firearm) and practicing at the range on a regular basis are important as well.
When I first put my firearm on in the morning, I take a few minutes to practice drawing in front of the mirror with what I’m wearing that day. A longer shirt than you’re used to wearing can make a big difference when drawing. Your hand needs to go down just a little further to get a hold of the bottom of your shirt. These things need to be taken into consideration at all times.
Here is a video showing different draw methods, and gives some really great advice:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_fNPrGqACE
Muscle Memory
Muscle Memory occurs when you practice often. The more you practice and the more repetition you have with your drawing method, the better muscle memory you’ll develop. So, if ever in a situation of needing to draw your firearm, you should immediately know the exact spots to place your hands to draw.
When faced with a self-defense situation, your body will dump adrenaline into your system pretty quickly. Muscle memory let’s you think a little less of one more thing (the draw) during a difficult situation. Dealing with an adrenaline dump is a whole other story, and we encourage you to do research into this to see how your body might react in the event of self-defense.
The video below goes in a little more detail with muscle memory and is worth a watch:
Mindset
This is an important key to surviving any situation. Staying on your toes and being alert cannot be stressed enough. What if the bad guy has a buddy right around the corner? We can never be prepared for every situation that could arise as the possibilities are infinite, but we can prepare our minds to be ever-watching and alert to the things around us. Practicing this is easy and can be done anywhere you go. If you normally walk around with your head down on occasion, break that habit. When you’re walking with your head up, scan the immediate area and try to notice things you may not have noticed before. You may find that you’ll catch yourself being much more alert to the smaller things in your proximity. One day, that small thing that might have gone unnoticed before could now be seen, and it just might be the bad guy.
