And this is why you should train with your less dominate hand!

Last June I tripped at work and shattered my right shoulder. And when I say shattered I mean it was so bad that the orthopedics doc said he if he saw it in the ER he would have operated that night. I ended up needing reverse replacement surgery. Even with me doing above and beyond PT I only have 75% movement in the right arm and may not recover full mobility.
I cant draw with my right hand and now will have to retrain doing everything lefty. That means even shooting my AR platform rifles. Its could be a stiff learning curve.
My advice is to become at least a little practiced in using your non dominate hand for shooting. You never know when fate may kick you in the naughty bits and lay you up.
Lesson learned too late here. Learn from my mistake.

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Excellent advice Kenneth. My hope is that you succeed in adapting and overcoming!

Stay safe.

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My recovery astounded the doctors. He didnt think I would be able to move as much as I currently able. Amazing how boredom and being restless can aid in recovery. One can only watch so much daytime TV. Going back to work was a freaking relief.

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It sounds to me like your “can do” spirit and work ethic led to the recovery that you realized. Keep pressing yourself to get stronger and better. You may just astound yourself and your doctors again by gaining more use of your dominant arm once again.

Stay safe

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Thanks. It beats me on how healthy people can sit at home all day and do nothing.

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Sorry to hear about your shoulder. I couldn’t agree more about training with your non-dominant hand. I wish you the best of luck in your recovery and training. Out of curiosity, will making this change affect your edc gun? I carry a Glock, which is not fully ambidextrous and when I work mirror image drills I have to use the trigger finger to release the mag. I sometimes cheat on my Glock with a newly re-acquired HK VP9 that is fully ambi and it makes life much easier as a lefty.

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Good luck on your recovery. A strong mindset does a lot of good.

Recently, I had an issue with my left hand (I’m a lefty) that holding a pen was painful. I wondered if I would be able to draw in an emergency. Luckily, I’ve been ambidextrous all my life and have always trained with my non-shooting hand.

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@Kenneth94 , sorry about the accident brother and pray for a speedy recovery and continue to practice less dominant hand always. Stay safe brother.

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I carry Berettas 92F and X models. Since the safeties can be worked by either hand that isnt a issues. The mag release can be switched but I am working around that. It will be interesting when I try to shoot my AR with the left arm though.

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I once trained with a friend that had a broken wrist. Pins and screws and a big cast covering his arm and hand. The both of us would practice weak hand and single hand reloads and after a couple of weeks of training we showed an impressive improvement. You defiantly should be training weak hand on a regular basis.

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Hope your recovery continues to go well!

Along with training with our off hands it may be a good idea to keep an off hand or ambidextrous holster on hand for at least one of our pistols in case we need to switch.

I jammed my trigger finger pretty good a month or so ago and it is still giving me some issues. Not enough to make me switch hands for daily carry but enough to make it less painful to practice more with my off hand:)

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Thanks for this reminder. My CCW firearms training instructor was very adamant about being able to shoot at least some proficiency with either hand, in case you got shot in your dominant arm etc.

Full and complete recovery to you!

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Welcome to the family brother @JeffCJ , glad you could join us.

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Sorry about the injury, and prayers for a speedy recovery!

That is such a strong mindset to be in and your story shows the importance of training your non-dominant hand. No one knows when they may get injured and it’s important to be prepared for those kinds of situations. This post is honestly making me consider getting a left-handed holster.

Another reason that training is so important, is that if you are in the middle of a fight and you injure your left arm or hand, knowing how to defend yourself using only your non-dominant hand could save your life.

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Good advice. My instructor started me with non-dominant hand drills very early on in my training. Yours is a good reminder to maintain this practice as part of ongoing training.

Sorry for your accident. I hope that your recovery continues and you regain full use of your right arm.

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I truly understand where you are coming from. I have been in martial arts, law enforcement and retired from the military. I learned at a early age that fighting alot eventually will injure you strong side one time are another. So you always train that weak side to have confidence that it will be there when you need it

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Sorry about the shoulder. I got a new left shoulder three months ago. You will find that there are exercises above and beyond the ones you must do that can be modified using yours weapon, just use your imagination.

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Hope you recover through your injury Kenneth. Great idea to train with your less dominate hand. As soon as you get better with your right shoulder, you’ll be awesome with both hands. Good luck brother!

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You might want to consider Building or Buying a 10in AR.
You will need a “Pistol Stock” for it - Looks/works same as AR stock but has a Pistol “Band” on it
to make it Legal.
I got one and Love it. Also makes a Great “House Gun”. Put a light on it.
MUCH easier to handle and maneuver than a Full Size 16in gun.
Good out to at least 100yds with just a Red Dot.
10in also popular with the SF “Teams” doing CQB(In a house) work.
Put a “Shake Awake” Red Dot on it like Sig Romeo 5.

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Sorry to hear about your accident and I’m glad your recovery is going well . I had to have both rotator cuffs done . One doc dragged the one out for three years before I dropped him and found another who did both a few months apart . Good news is the advanced warning allowed me to practice , buy proper holsters and mag carriers , and convert a 1911 government , a commander and a defender to ambi . Also did everything the new doc said about pre event and post event exercises and such . I was back at the range in a month’s time shooting the above with full house .45 loads .
Hang in there , Chris

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