[1] The modern technique uses a two-handed grip on the pistol and brings the weapon to eye level so that the sights may be used to aim at the target.
[3] Initially, competitors primarily used some form of point shooting, a single-handed technique with the pistol fired from the hip, that was popular and believed to be the best-suited to the purpose.
The later competitions held at Big Bear were designed to represent actual and projected real-life situations, including shootings that some of the police officers attending the SWCPL had experienced.
[5] Six competitors consistently dominated the competitions, and these men became known as the Combat Masters:[6] Jack Weaver, Ray Chapman, Elden Carl, Thell Reed, John Plähn, and Jeff Cooper.
These competitions included highly accomplished world-class point shooters, such as Reed and Bob Munden (later known as the "world's fastest gun"), who competed using what would become the modern technique.
[7] Plähn, who possessed a PhD in physical education, filmed the Combat Masters in action to analyze what their winning techniques had in common.
[8][7] Others significant in the SWCPL included Leonard Knight (finished second in the first IPSC U.S. National Championship in 1977), Al Nichols, Jim Hoag, Bruce Nelson (designer of the "Summer Special" holster and an LEO in Southern California working in narcotics; present at the formation of IPSC and formed the Holster Committee), Michael Harries (former US Marine, who invented the Harries Technique of flashlight manipulation for use with a pistol, as well as becoming an instructor at Gunsite and consultant to police departments and the movie industry[9]), and Jim Zubiena (appeared in the episode "Calderone's Return Part 1" of the TV series Miami Vice, a good example of the employment of the modern technique and the Mozambique Drill in entertainment).
He chose a large caliber because experience demonstrated that the largest quantity of force, and therefore damage, should be inflicted to maximize the chances of stopping even the most motivated and physically tough assailant.
The choice of magazine-fed semi-automatic handgun was because this firearm enabled continuous fire by allowing fresh magazines to be inserted quickly by the shooter.
Jeff Cooper's studies of reports from gun fights pointed to the greater effectiveness of larger diameter bullets in killing or incapacitating an assailant.
Pistols are not practical platforms for the launching of large projectiles because their small size, relative to rifles, decreases their capacity to absorb the force of recoil, increasing the proportion transmitted into the user's body.
The greatest adjustment of focus (relatively more ocular muscle contraction) is required to view shorter distances, such as the gun's rear sight.
This focus on the front sight is one of the main themes Colonel Cooper impressed upon students of the modern technique to clear their minds when shooting during a confrontation.
Cooper asserted that if the individual weren't prepared to encounter danger at all times, the technique used and the pistol selected were of no consequence.
[citation needed] Cooper requested his students report back to him if they had been involved in gunfights, so that he might build up a body of reference material against which the modern technique could be evaluated and altered or extended.
The reports drawn from the experience of those involved in gunfights continued the tradition of reflecting real situations in the courses of competition set up for the South Western Combat Pistol League.
At this point, our boy quite sensibly opted to go for the head and tried to do so, but he was a little bit upset by this time and mashed slightly on the trigger, catching the terrorist precisely between the collar bones and severing his spinal cord.
Recognizing that similar situations would occur, Cooper popularized the term Mozambique Drill based on the technique improvised by his student there.
This drill consists of shooting two rounds to the center of the torso, followed by a pause and assessment of the situation and then a more carefully aimed shot to the head, specifically, in the triangle formed between the eyes and the base of the nose.
The "El Presidente" drill was invented by Cooper while training the protection squad for the president of a South American country.
This drill was invented by Cooper after the kidnapping of US Army Brigadier General James L. Dozier by Italian Red Brigade terrorists.
At that time, U.S. military personnel were prohibited by Italian law from carrying firearms within their areas of accommodation, which were within the local community and not on U.S. bases.
In this drill, the range is set with five metal silhouette targets hinged at their base (called "Pepper Poppers") so as to fall backward when struck.
A second participant stands far to one side and is tasked with retrieving a pistol and a magazine from a tool bag, which he must assemble and ready for action.
This action mimics the terrorist who retrieved his submachine gun from his tool bag and provides a datum against which the shooter must compare his performance.
He traveled the world providing training in the technique to security teams protecting heads of state, prominent politicians and wealthy individuals.
In 1976 Jeff Cooper founded the American Pistol Institute (API) at Gunsite Ranch just north of Paulden in Yavapai County, Arizona, to provide training in the technique to a larger audience of military personnel, law enforcement officers and citizens.
Gradually, some people working with firearms, such as close protection teams and special forces units of Russia and Belarus, moved toward adopting doctrines and formal training regimes.