It was during the era of the LA Riots. My partner and I were moving down an alley in Los Angeles, moving to a position to intercept some bank robbers. It was dark, about 2200 HRS, and our investigation had tracked them down to a house our team was setting up on. On the other side of the alley...in the street, shots rang out. It didn't have anything to do with us. It was only a drive by shooting by some offended gang member shooting at another gang member. All it really meant was that we would need to move fast before the sirens and LAPD units alerted the bank robbers. But as trained men do when shots are fired close by, we went to ground. My partner took a knee directly atop a broken beer bottle, and had to be taken off scene for treatment. That was 1992...or 1993 before knee pads were in common usage.
The Squatting Position, for those that can pull it off, solves issues like that faced by my partner...lowering the profile on a hostile surface that you do not want to touch.
The Squatting also serves as an alternative to kneeling. It is faster in and out of than kneeling. It is not as accurate as kneeling due to the body being in minimal contact with the ground. Nonetheless, we have found it to be useful to about 300 yards.
To assume it, stand about 40 degrees to the target and simply squat down as if you were going to do a #2 in the woods. The hamstrings will be resting on the calves, and the back of both elbows (actually the triceps muscles) will be resting on the knees. See the photos. This is importnat without which attempting a squatting position is doomed to failure. The feet must remain flat on the deck.
The main detractor of the squat's utility is not a large belly as some would think, but rather a lack of flexibility in three areas. A lack of flexibility incidentally which will also limit the sue of kneeling and sitting. Those areas are the ankle, the hips, and the lower back. A lack of flexibility there is undesirable, not only from a fighting POV, but also simply from a health perspective.
We knew this as "rice paddy prone"
Posted by: Martyn C. Reiss | 10/29/2012 at 14:19
Unfortunately, since I was in my mid-30s I discovered that squatting would give me a nasty case of plantar fasciitis. I guess that's due to a lack of flexibility, but I'm not sure what it means I need to stretch.
Posted by: fsilber | 10/30/2012 at 04:59
"Rice Paddy Prone"
Posted by: Ray Barry | 10/30/2012 at 07:23
there's a book called "Pain Free", written by an ex-Marine...his name is Pete Egoscue. Very good advice on solving alot of mobility issues...if you do the e-cises he recommends.
Posted by: Michael Norris | 10/30/2012 at 07:55
Always look the rice paddy prone. Hell cannot believe I can still do it and hold that position for a long time.
Posted by: Michael Jackson | 10/30/2012 at 14:40