“Not to mention too, if you do something stupid with your gun like hold it right up to the perp’s face and he’s martially trained, you’ll be without a gun and you won’t have MA training.”
When I raise a gun, it IS to shoot. Not to threaten. Not to hold it there. If he is within 6 feet, I’ll shoot without raising the gun - no need. Then I’ll move and try for another shot at another angle.
Some reality: According to the FBI, you can blow a man’s heart out with a 44 magnum, and - if he is determined - he will still have 10-20 seconds of useful consciousness left. If he chooses to use that to shoot, stab, or punch, that is HIS option and you don’t get a vote. At best, you limit how long he can do so.
You are correct there - guns are NOT magic wands and they are not defensive in nature. They allow a weak person to deliver a killing blow, but no handgun caliber is capable of stopping a man in his tracks without a difficult brain shot.
That isn’t true for high powered rifles. If you get the bullet moving at 2500 fps or better, the ball game changes. But no handgun does that...
You do realize that in the scenario you just mentioned, you’re waving something that’s anywhere from the size of a cell phone to the size of a broomstick in a crowded and cramped area with somebody in your face trying to get an accurate shot off on somebody who’s probably in much better physical shape than you are?
Bears repeating. IMHO, 20 feet is well inside where the perp should be if armed.