"PIE-ING" AND SHOOTING
by Yudi Wong, Firearms Instructor

Nearly everyone in the military, law enforcement and shooting community knows how to "pie" a doorway, window, corner or room. For the benefit of those who are reading this, but do not know what "pie-ing" is, I'll explain. Pie-ing, or slicing the pie, is a method of using angles to see around a barrier while presenting the smallest possible target to anyone who may be on the other side. To "pie" a room, for example, you position yourself by the door or opening in a way that allows you to peek into the room, use the door jam or corner for cover, and expose the least amount of your body to anyone who may be inside. Reposition your feet, and continually view larger and larger "slices" of the room until you are able to see as much of the room as you can without actually making entry. In terms of tactics, slicing the pie is pretty basic stuff.

Now, just about every law enforcement pistol qualification course I know of includes at least one stage of fire where the officer must shoot around a barrier to engage the target. Some jurisdictions allow their officers to rest their hands against the barricade; still others require them to stand off their barricades. Regardless of how they actually qualify, the fact remains - it is important for our military personnel and law enforcement officers to be able to shoot accurately from behind cover. Unfortunately, I continue to see officers shooting from behind barricades in the most inefficient, and uncomfortable manner possible.

For some reason, shooters like to get close to the barricade, forcing them to bend their bodies perpendicular to the direction of fire to engage their targets. The shooters position themselves in front of the barricade in their regular shooting stance, and try to keep the outside leg from extending beyond the plane of the barricade. They draw their pistols, bend sideways at the waist and attempt to shoot the string of fire. This position is uncomfortable because of the strain on the abdominal obliques, and because something on their duty belt is most likely jabbing them in the side or pressing against their body armor. This discomfort affects their breathing, which, in turn, affects their shooting. This position is difficult to hold for any length of time, does not provide a stable shooting platform, and sometimes makes the shooter lean backwards.

I began teaching a new way of barricade shooting to my students, who have dubbed the new technique, the Yudi-Pie. They tried calling it the Wong Stance, but they felt that it could be misinterpreted, since everyone wears hearing protection on the firing line. So, Yudi-Pie it is. The technique is simple and can be learned quickly.

The Yudi-Pie takes advantage of the space on the shooters' side of the barricade, and maximizes the use of their physiology to establish a steady shooting platform. To execute the Yudi-Pie technique, you take a step back from the barricade and place the outside foot forward. It does not matter if you shoot right or left-handed; the outside foot is forward. If you are shooting around the right side of the barricade, you place your right foot forward. When you shoot on the left side of the barricade, your left foot is forward. The feet are spread more than shoulder width apart (by the way, your shoulders are wider than you think they are). Instead of bending sideways at the waist, you simply bend your front knee and lean forward diagonally until you can see and shoot around the barricade. It looks like a shallow lunge. If your rear heel comes off the ground when you lean, reposition your feet so the rear foot stays flat. If you want to brace your hands against the side of the barrier, adjust your feet accordingly. The Yudi-Pie takes advantage of the fact that your knee bends with less discomfort than your waist, and your leg muscles are more accustomed to bearing your weight than your abdominal obliques. The diagonal movement allows you to pie the barricade, maintain a stable shooting platform and expose less of your body to the target. The Yudi-Pie works well in the kneeling, too.

I hope you use the Yudi-Pie to improve your tactics and qualification scores. I'm also contemplating giving out a reward for anyone who will come up with a better name for it.//yw