The following guest article was written and submitted by David B. Monier-Williams.
We welcome a variety of points of view on the subjects of shooting and marksmanship. Test them objectively on the range and let the results fall where they may.
The Turnipseed Technique
by David B. Monier-Williams
The Turnipseed Technique offers the correct and natural stance that allows for movement of WHOLE body in all directions to successfully engage multiple targets.
Look at the photos on the right with Alan Egusa walking along naturally and walking along with raised pistol also naturally. He’s in total skeletal alignment otherwise he couldn’t walk and therefore be out of balance. No muscles group is under stress. The shooting arm is extended yet neither the shoulder joint nor the elbow joint is locked, to do so would put you under stress and out of alignment. The pistol is raised to the eyes not the other way around. All is very natural.
Now concentrate on the other photos on the left. Check the bottom far left hand photo. Note that Alan’s body is facing 11 o’clock and only is head and arms face the target. Though it’s not possible to see from this photo Alan’s feet are shoulder width apart and symmetrically spread. It is important that the feet be symmetrically spread as if not then the hips wont be square to 11 o’clock and you’ll be out of alignment.
Look now at the upper two photos starting with Kent Turnipseed on the left. He is standing erect though with a slight 2% bend forward, the same bend as you get up, walk, sit down or go up or down stairs, all in all natural and in balance. Again his arms are up so that a pistol would be at eye level, no twisting or ducking of the neck. his shooting arm is straight, not locked and his hands interlocked around what would be a pistol, left thumb over right so as to be able to drop the slide quickly and smoothly. Kent’s left shoulder is relaxed and down. This allows the left arm’s biceps and forearm muscles to be relaxed yet the left hand maintains a strong firm grip over the right.
In the opposite photo, Alan facing the other way allows you to notice his same erect relaxed state like Kent’s. If you pay close attention you can more readily see Alan’s 2% bend or belly crunch. This is the natural way of sitting, standing and walking. When you start to learn the Turnipseed Technique you start sitting atop an empty five gallon paint bucket. One of the main reasons is to reinforce one of the eight constants, that of the 2% bend.
No matter what kind of shooting you do, remember, all you are is a launching platform for a missile. In defensive shooting, regardless of the type of small arms used, this launch platform must maintain balance so that you can effectively shoot while moving. The difference with the Turnipseed Technique is that it’s based on the natural movement of the body, applied kinesiology.The result is that recoil is a total NON-ISSUE. It’s not dependent on strength, women learn it as fast or faster than men. The same stance is used for shotguns, rifle, pistol and fully automatic shoulder fired firearms.
Firearm User Network 
Ted A Sames II
Jul 07, 2011 @ 14:05:20
I have not researched this to the fullest nor have I tried it lately BUT…I believe it is a regression back toward the Weaver Stance which I fought against for years. How is this natural with all the muscles in neutral? Where do you see this stance arrangement anywhere else in the world? A true combat stance addresses the unpredictability of the adversary’s movement and also allows full view of both eyes. This looks nice but seems to be designed for looking nice while shooting paper targets that do not move. Upon recoil, where does that pistol go? A true combat stance is natural…similar to a stance that a person would use while waiting to react to a served high speed tennis ball. In this proposed stance, what if the Bad Guy abruptly and rapidly moves forward and to the right of the shooter n the photos? The shooter would have to change his entire stance to accommodate the Bad Guy’s tactical movement. I demo this at every class of mine to prove that the Weaver may get you killed. Also, this and the pure Weaver does not allow both eyes to be used for observing the Bad Guy or his cousin that is out-flanking you on the shooter’s left. I also demo this to show how the Weaver is just bad tactics that again, can get you killed in a real confrontation.
Every 5 to 10 years, the Americans want to change things from the tried and true…to label something…something slick and catchy…In real life, people will react with both arms stretched out and get into a crouched position so use this position. In the classroom, I will have several real red bricks and one realistic looking foam rubber brick. I make sure the students see and hear the real bricks and then I select a pretense to throw the rubber brick at a student. The student does not react with this proposed stance! They always react in a tennis player’s stance because they do not know exactly what angle that brick will arrive at them.
Ted A Sames II, Sames Instinctive Shooting School, President
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John M. Buol Jr.
Jul 07, 2011 @ 14:06:25
I did not write this and will let the author respond.
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David B. Monier-Williams
Jul 07, 2011 @ 18:28:59
Ted:
The Turnipseed Technique stance is the basic stance.There are advanced techniques which are the basic stance with movement.
Rather than answer you point for point, I suggest you go to http://www.turnipseedstance.com. On the home page view the three very short videos on the right side. There’s no sound. Then when you have 19 min to spare click on the top right of the page for the full Video. Afterward, please come back and comment again and I’ll be delighted to answer any comments or questions.
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Anonymous
May 31, 2016 @ 14:56:06
Here’s a good review of the Turnipseed Technique:
http://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?33880-Turnipseed-Stance
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