[pickpocket]

You're holding me responsible for defending arguments that LE training is poor or not. Actually, I don't have to defend either of those positions.

LE has the benefit of being able to review dashcam videos to see what officers did and did not do during a gunfight. Regardless of whether their training is sufficient or not, the fact cannot be denied that LE has - at the very least - the ability to review statistical data and make decisions based on that data.

If we can agree that the degree of proficiency of a student has as much or more to do with the student's ability and desire to absorb the course material as it does with the quality of the course material itself, then you can see where I'm coming from.

Erick's point was well taken - you aim for the target that is available. However, the mistake he made was assuming that everyone trains the way he does, that everyone is approaching this issue with his level of experience and training - however we all know this isn't the case. The fact that people should aim for whatever target that presents itself is an extremely valid point. However, most people do not train to aim for elbows - and more importantly, SD situations are more likely to lend themselves to full frontal target than aiming for whatever "is available".. if an encounter is statistically going to happen within 7 yards, then I would imagine that a significant amount of one's training should be focused on engaging targets within that 7-10 yards. COM hits seem to make the most sense at that distance.

I do not find fault with Erick's statement other than that it seems to point out the obvious. I don't believe anyone here is advocating anything other than aiming at the target that presents itself - however, for that majority of people who are not as proficient as some of the rest of us, my advice is still to practice COM hits because that's where you are most likely to find yourself in an SD situation. Police dashcam videos of police shootings support this.