Battle of the Rear Gun Disarms

Jeet Kune Do / Gun Disarms / / 6 minutes of reading

Which rear gun disarm will reign supreme? The overhook or the underhook, watch and read below to find out.

Rear Gun Disarm Keys

When a gun is being held to you from behind or from the side we have an opportunity for a rear gun disarm. Which one we choose is going to be based on the following principles:

  1. It must be simple with as few movements as possible
  2. The very first movement must clear the muzzle off of our body while controlling the muzzle so they can’t just pull the gun back and shoot us
  3. Ideally we would have control of where the muzzle of the gun is aiming so if the attacker squeezes the trigger (highly likely) that a round won’t go into an innocent person… or us
  4. On that same note ideally we would be able to rotate the gun up towards the ceiling or down towards the ground rather than horizontally. We would finish by pointing the gun at the attacker so any subsequent trigger pulls would go into the attacker.
  5. We would want to plan for failure, such as:
    1. The attacker pulling back on the gun to try to retain control
    2. Not getting the gun away quickly and struggling over it
    3. Losing our initial disarm and then going after a second disarm before the attacker has a chance to aim and fire (damn quick)
    4. Getting shot and not stopping, continue till you get the gun regardless if you get shot
Gun Disarm Underhook vs Overhook
Gun Disarm Underhook vs Overhook

Rear Gun Disarm Comparison

The overhook method (as seen on the left) is where you spin around and wrap your arm over and around their gun arm. And of course the underhook method (seen on the right) you spin and wrap your arm underneath their arm then around.

In both disarms you strike the face or neck to distract them.

But this is where the similarities diverge.

Overhook Gun Disarm Steps

In any disarm it is assumed you are close enough for the disarm to work and the opportunity is ripe so we will start from equal footing for both disarms.

Steps:

  1. Spin and wrap your arm over and around their gun-weilding arm
  2. Repeatedly strike the face to either knock them out or knock them silly
  3. They will either drop the gun or you will need to do a throw to the ground
  4. You will then continue to hit them until they are unconscious or disoriented enough that they stop fighting
  5. Now pry the gun away in the crook of your armpit
  6. Move into space, make the gun operational by firmly tapping the magazine, racking the slide
  7. Take a quick peek left and right to see if there is any other danger to address
  8. Get to a safe place to call the police as you ideally hide the gun so as to not be mistaken for a bad guy by law enforcement, bystanders, or any ambitious citizens who might decide to be a hero and attack you

Now let’s address the pros and cons to these steps:

Pros:

  • It is quick
  • You immediately get to strike the attacker’s face or throat to disorient and hopefully knock them out
  • You have a good solid hold on the gun
  • If you are the physically larger and stronger fighter you should be able to overpower them from this position

Cons:

  • While they can’t pull the gun away from you, you do not have control of where the muzzle is aiming. This means as the attacker panics they will squeeze the trigger as part of a natural flinch response. That could make bullets fly into innocent people or loved ones.
  • You cannot reach the gun around your arm, therefore you must attack them until they either drop it or do a take down and pry it away
  • If there are multiple attackers you can’t get the gun away quickly
  • If your attacker is larger and stronger you are in a disadvantageous position having to overpower a larger stronger person
  • Prying the gun away is a risky deal as a round could be popped off in your armpit
  • Small framed guns can slip through your armpit as you attempt to pry it away
  • The overhook simply will not work if the attacker is jammed in close to you or has grabbed you around the neck… that’s kind of a huge deal by the way.

That last one really is a huge deal… that means you need a second gun disarm from the rear or side if they are close or grab you around the neck. From a reaction time standpoint having choices is bad. We want one disarm that works in as many positions as possible so we can have samurai-like stimulus/response reaction time.

Underhook Gun Disarm Steps

Now let’s look at the underhook steps.

Steps:

  1. Spin, step in close, and wrap your arm under and around their gun-weilding arm, hooking the hand as a bottleneck
  2. Strike the face once or twice (steps 1 and 2 should be all one movement as you get better)
  3. Now immediately grab the gun, point it up but about 45° away from your face, and rotate it towards your attacker
  4. Rip the gun away as you move back
  5. Move into space, make the gun operational by firmly tapping the magazine, racking the slide
  6. Take a quick peek left and right to see if there is any other danger to address
  7. Get to a safe place to call the police as you ideally hide the gun so as to not be mistaken for a bad guy by law enforcement, bystanders, or any ambitious citizens who might decide to be a hero and attack you

Now let’s address the pros and cons to these steps:

Pros:

  • It is quick
  • You immediately get to strike the attacker’s face or throat to disorient and hopefully knock them out
  • You have a good solid hold on the gun. In fact if you stepped in close enough the gun will be in your armpit. If it slips out it will be in the crook of your elbow, and if it slips from there it will be in the crook of your wrist.
  • You can immediately reach and grab the gun, twist it, and rip it away
  • If there are multiple attackers you get the gun sooner
  • You do not need to overpower your attacker so if you are smaller it still works
  • It doesn’t matter if it is a larger framed handgun or a small pocket pistol, it works
  • Even if they are jammed up close or have their arm around your neck it works

Cons:

  • The gun is a little closer to your ear so you are more likely to get disoriented from the loud bang if the gun goes off. Not sure how much difference it really is between the two though…

Well based upon that pro and con list I’m sure you can tell which rear gun disarm I prefer.

Final Thoughts

At the end of the day both gun disarms can work if the situation calls for it and the attacker is close enough. The overhook does have some positions it won’t work in though so if you chose to use the overhook rear gun disarm then you need to figure out when it won’t work and what your alternative will be.

Regardless of the one you pick if you don’t train it over and over and over to get sufficient reps to make it automatic then it is a mute point. Knowledge is not enough, you must practice.

Until next time,
Brian

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