POLITE SOCIETY RULES AND OTHER INFO
The Polite Society is an organization that holds shooting matches designed to test defensive skills with
the handgun. This organization was formed primarily by Tom Givens of Memphis, TN and Jim Higgenbotham of
Kentucky, both of whom have military and law enforcement experience, and both actively train civilian,
military, and police departments in various places around the country.
The Board of Directors has several other members that also have similar "real life" experience to draw from.
Real everyday carry guns must be used in a Polite Society shooting event. The general rule is, if a gun
would not normally be considered appropriate to be carried on the street, it cannot be used in a Polite
Society match. The other rules are also designed around winning real life street confrontations, and not
around winning matches.
Targets used are generally one of two types; Humanoid reactive, which fall over when properly hit, or
humaniod cardboard targets with scoring zones. When using cardboard targets, the requirement is usually
a minimum number of points on the target for it to be considered neutralized, instead of something
arbitrary such as "two hits per target" which many shooting sports require. Scoring zones on these
targets usually place a much larger emphasis on accuracy, requiring the contestants to actually hit
what would be considered a "vital zone" on a human.
After exploring various formats for about a year, the Polite Society was formed (to be a not-for-profit
corporation) and officially opened its doors for membership on February 21, 2003.
Polite Society events do not focus on sport shooting or competition but instead on the triad of
marksmanship, gunhandling, and tactical skills as all of these are considered important in order
to be a well-rounded gun person. You do not come to a Polite Society event in order to win a
trophy; you come in order to improve yourself and others, and to gain knowledge and information.
To be sure, scores are involved in many of the shooting programs, and they are scored under a wide
variety of systems, but the thrust is to gauge skill, not to compete � basically you should be
competing against yourself or against a standard of excellence. It may seem strange to some people
that you might go to a shooting event where some (or even all) of the tests do not result in the
actual firing of your weapon, or where there is more emphasis on use of cover than marksmanship.
You may travel a long way to an event and fire only a few rounds, but the knowledge gained will
be as significant, it not more, as if you fired 300 rounds in routine competition.
Most major matches include separate training classes or seminars in addition to the shooting event. In
particular, the yearly national match at Rangemaster in Memphis, TN hosts multiple trainers from around
the country, and any shooter that attends the event may attend any of the additional events that strike
his interest for no additional charge. This typically results a student being able to participate in
training that would normally cost as much as several thousand dollars for only the nominal fee to
attend the event (approximately $100 to $200). Because it involves so much more than just the shooting,
the event is usually billed as a "training event" rather than a "shooting match."
The Polite Society was not designed to replace or compete with any other shooting sport. It was designed
to provide a training venue for like-minded individuals; those individuals who realize that some competitive
shooters focus too little on real life skills needed by the everyday permit holder or police officer who
carries a gun for self protection, and who is not worried about owning guns or practicing techniques that
only serve to help win shooting matches.
We fully support all other sports and heartily suggest participation in them for gaining skill at marksmanship,
and, in fact, most of the trainers and board members still hold active memberships and compete in most of the
other shooting sports, and many have served on the board of directors of other sports. We exist to raise the
consciousness of those who believe that mechanical skill is but one facet of one�s entire self defense package
and that good tactics should not be discouraged by the scoring system and poor tactics should be penalized.
Polite Society has already attracted many quality trainers and is in the process of developing an advisory
board of the best-known weaponcraft trainers and experts extant. Already that list includes Tom Givens, Marty
Hayes, Jim Higginbotham, Keith Pridgen, Karl Rehn, Andy Stanford, Gabe Suarez, and we are adding more.
For more information on joining the Polite Society, information on rules, or information on a match
near you, please email one of the following people or click on one of the following web pages.
LINKS UPDATED DUE TO CHANGES IN ORGANIZATION AND LOCATION.
As of about 2015, Tom Givens no longer owns a physical location in Memphis, TN. He now lives in Florida and teaches "on the road." For information about Rangemaster or any training events, check the Rangemaster website.
Rangemaster Home Page
For information regarding www.rrmemphis.com:
Robbie Robinson: Rob Robinson
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