• Rui Araújo, Joaquim J Ferreira, Angelo Antonini, and Bastiaan R Bloem.
• Department of Neurology, Coimbra Hospital and University Centre, Coimbra, Portugal.
• BMJ. 2015 Dec 14; 351: h6141.

ObjectiveTo postulate a new possible cause of a unilaterally reduced arm swing in addition to the known medical conditions such as shoulder pathology, Erb's palsy, stroke, and Parkinson's disease.MethodsAnalysis of YouTube videos depicting the gait of highly ranked Russian officials.ResultsWe found a similar walking pattern in President Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and three other highly ranked Russian officials, all presenting with a consistently reduced right arm swing in the absence of other overt neurological abnormalities.ConclusionsWe propose that this new gait pattern, which we term "gunslinger's gait," may result from a behavioural adaptation, possibly triggered by KGB or other forms of weapons training where trainees are taught to keep their right hand close to the chest while walking, allowing them to quickly draw a gun when faced with a foe. This should be included in the differential diagnosis of a unilaterally reduced arm swing.Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

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