Incorrect application of Position SUL. Both shoulders are level and the elbows ‘chicken wing’ causing the pistol to slant at an acute angle. Notice the thumbs form a pyramid pointing up—a telltale sign the pistol is oriented incorrectly. When the user looks down and sees both thumbs equally, that is an indicator the position is erroneous.
the training process back full circle. Both trainers and operators can benefi t by a return to the core skills and the concepts behind them. One of the idiosyncrasies we en-
A
counter is the support hand com- pletely on top of and covering the dominant hand. Typically the pistol canted outboard about 45 degrees. A variation has the shooter grasping the wrist behind the pistol. Another version has the support hand grasp- ing the slide. Practitioners claim this is a weapon retention technique. Informal testing showed no notice- able increase in retention, but a sig- nifi cant delay in delivering accurate,
aimed shots. The delay is primarily a result of the sup-
bout a decade ago,
Position SUL was mostly confi ned to special teams. Today it has become a de facto standard for police agencies and academies. The problem is too many instructors lack a link to any formal instruction by core cadre with direct knowledge of SUL’s intricacies or fun- damentals. Often we hear comments of “My buddy showed me SUL. He saw it at a seminar where the presenter got it from his partner who went to a semi- nar.” Let’s get back to the basics to get the fundamentals right. SUL was developed by Max Joseph and
Alan Brosnan at TEES Brazil in 1997 as a safe pistol carry position for CQB. The term SUL translates literally to “South.” This emphasizes the fact that the pistol is pointed down. Having been to TEES Bra- zil [Base Chouque] several years later, I can attest that calling “SUL” brings immediate results despite the language barrier. At our facility, we conduct an average of
20 or more CQB-oriented courses per year. We see quite a few variations of SUL. Some are rather close to the mark. Some are lack- ing key components. A few students have never heard of SUL but are using a similar pistol carry. Having Max Joseph recently hold courses at our facility reconfi rmed some fundamental precepts. Seeing SUL taught by one of the originators brought
port hand position. Establishing a proper grip from a hand-over-pistol starting point takes more movements, which equates to more time. At close quarters, a fraction of a second is signifi cant. When the shot is rushed, the support hand usually fails to get a good two-handed grip. Combined with the lack of hold and the whipping motion of starting from an angled muzzle, the shot groups often result in 2 o’clock hits [for right-handed shooter] on the fringe areas of the target. The most frequent error is operators
starting with the muzzle pointing out- board from a shallow angle to nearly horizontal. When the pistol is held near horizontal, the safety factor of SUL is completely negated. Yes, if you’re in a stack, the person in front of you is relatively safe, but everyone on the outboard support side is being muzzle swept. Now if that user turns to check the rear, there is a vital risk of sweeping the person in front or behind. Even when the pistol is held at a shal-
low angle, safety becomes a concern. Under stress during shoot house exer- cises, we have observed trainees start out with slight to moderate outward muzzle cant and revert to ‘muzzle fl ag- ging’ three or four rooms later. With a diagonally oriented pistol, if the user stress squeezes his/her grip, the muzzle tends to rise as the wrist straightens. This happens with concerning fre-
quency. A contributor to this situation is opera-
tors starting their carry position too high. This is sometimes at armpit height in order to clear pouches on their chest rig. Body mechanics almost force the pistol to near horizontal because the wrist cannot bend suffi ciently. ‘Chicken Winging’ the elbows is an-
other subtle cause that trainers can fault check. Remember that the sternum level is a relative starting point that may need to be modifi ed for vest kit or individual fl ex- ibility. Generally, lower carries yield more of a near straight down muzzle. Both thumbs touching are a proper char- acteristic of SUL. Some operators say the middle fi nger knuckle [strong hand] and crook of the index fi nger [support hand] are the only points of contact. Yes, they become an articulated pivot point, but the thumbs play a role in a correct position. Shooters with pistols having mechanical safeties say they must keep their thumb on the frame to engage the safety. This is a training misstep. Occasionally we see this with M9 shooters using the de-cocking lever as a safety, which requires a ‘thumb/ lever up’ manipulation. For 1911 shooters,
Side view of Position SUL showing the muzzle flared outward at a shallow angle. Having a forward lean helps with this position—especially with wearing a chest rig.
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