How practical is point shooting?

Point-shooting or combat shooting, or whatever new name is being used this week, is the current rage among pistol shooters. The love of point-shooting is nothing new, but the disregard for marksmanship is at an all time high. I have nothing against point-shooting. Defensive shooters should train to acquire natural body alignment and reaction shooting skills. But marksmanship remains the basis for successful shooting. Today's shooting students enjoy schools that teach 3-7 yard point-firing under the guise of practicality. That standard is, well, impractical. If a 20" wide silhouette is acceptable for measuring hits at seven yards, then it follows that at 30 yards, groups the size of a semi-trailer are acceptable. Because that what you'll have if a silhouette is your standard at close range. What happens when a silhoutte-sized target is two car lengths away from you in a parking lot, your child is between you, and the armed suspect is bladed at a ninety-degree angle? I'll tell you; you'll miss without proper marksmanship. Under those "practical" conditions, you're target zone will appear to be about the size of the bullseye on a 25 yard pistol target. Exploitive instruction and lazy learning are not practical, they're dangerous.