The 2nd Edition of Martial Art of the Gun is now available and contains two short additions that were not in the 1st Edition: Chunking and Buddha Belly.  If you have the 1st Edition and read both this blog on Buddha Belly and last weeks blog on Chunking, you will be brought up to date.

Here is what has been added to page 55 of the 2nd Edition:

Buddha Belly

When shooting a 12 gauge shotgun while standing and balancing on one foot (which is considered to be impossible), a key concept is what Kent calls “Buddha belly.”  It is performed as an integral part of the Turnipseed Basic Stance.  High-level martial artists will recognize that we are shooting with chi.

In traditional Chinese culture chi is a term that means “life-force” or “energy flow.”  In Asian martial arts chi, ch’i, qi, or ki, is a somewhat esoteric term associated with one’s internal power and ability to perform remarkable feats of physical prowess.  The Turnipseed Technique alternatively explains the use of one aspect of chi by means of body mechanics, by the use of the structure and function of the human body.

Kent will instruct a student to “Let your belly drop.”  Further elaboration would be to mentally think of your relaxed belly (lower abdominal area) as being heavy and allow gravity to pull it downward.  Visualize a statue of the serene Buddha with his belly hanging out, and relax your body as much as possible.  No muscle tension is involved other than the minimum necessary to stay standing and balanced, and to shoulder your shotgun.  By letting your belly drop, you thereby lower your center of gravity and increase your stability.

Your support knee should be slightly bent just as it would be while you are walking and maneuvering, and you will be an inch or two shorter than when standing at attention.  Some martial artists refer to this as low balance or lowering your center (of balance).  When you become proficient with Buddha belly, integrating it with your Turnipseed Basic Stance will enable you to remain balanced on one foot while shooting a 12 gauge shotgun.  This is unparalleled recoil management.

The 2nd Edition of Martial Art of the Gun is now available and contains two short additions that were not in the 1st Edition: Chunking and Buddha Belly.

The Turnipseed Basic Stance is the sum of eight Constants which define specific positions of the body or body parts. Chunking makes it easier to remember the eight Constants by “chunking” them into smaller sub-groups just as your phone number is divided or “chunked” into an area code plus three numbers plus four numbers (3 + 3 + 4).

Here is what has been added to page 33 of the 2nd Edition:

Chunking*

An effective way to organize and remember the 8 Constants is to group them into three chunks of 3 + 2 + 3.

1:00 – Posture – 2%

Indexing – Cut-In-Half

Reach – Thumbs – Straighten

The first chunk of 3 Constants positions your body by defining your posture and by orienting that posture to the target. Summarize it as proper Walking Posture.

The second chunk of 2 Constants fine-tunes your personal indexing angle to the target between 1:00 and 1:10 by alternating between an internal and external focus. It refines and personalizes the natural angle of orientation that you were born with. Summarize it as Indexing.

The third chunk of 3 Constants defines the position of your non-shooting shoulder, hands, and arms. Summarize it as your Shoulder and Arm Position.

The sum of the three chunks is the Turnipseed Basic Stance which establishes your foundation, your stable shooting platform. Becoming proficient in the Basic Stance is by far your most important step in the process of becoming an excellent and dependably consistent shooter.

*Kent and I learned about “Chunking” in Bob Pike’s outstanding two-day Train-the-Trainer Bootcamp. Bob is a leader in his field, and we were fortunate that Bob himself taught this excellent class.

We had a table at the Crossroads of the West Gun Show in Phoenix this weekend.  Thank you to everyone who came by to say hello.