Also called akimbo style, the practice of using two weapons simultaneously,
one in each hand. The term usually refers to firearms, most commonly pistols (but machine pistols and other weapons can be used).
The practice has its start in the Old West. when cowboys generally carried
single-action revolvers. Since these weapons generally had no more than a six round capacity and slow reload times, it was often necessary to carry more than
one handgun. However, since most of the handguns were
single-action, it was very impractical to dual-wield them. It is more likely that the cowboys used what is called a New York Reload which is to hold
one gun in each hand, firing with the strong hand (generally the right) and then, when that
gun ran out of ammunition, switching it out with the
gun in the weak hand.
Dual-wielding as it is known today first became common in kung
fu movies featuring guns, such as those directed by John
Woo (called gun fu). The use in films later spread to some action and western films. Today, in addition to action movies and show, it is not uncommon to see akimbo style in video games.
There is a bunch of
kids running around today who think dual wield is legitimate technique because of what they have seen in movies like the
Matrix series and games like
Halo. Dual wield is highly impractical for a variety of reasons. First of all, it makes aiming much more difficult. It is almost much more difficult to handle recoil when you are firing two handguns at one time.
