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Aswad -> RE: Weaponry, protecting what's yours (4/22/2007 12:41:12 AM)
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In reply to the OP, before having read the rest of the thread...
For me, taking responsibility for myself and my actions is important. The logical extension of this is that I'm responsible for my own safety, and to the extent that I'm responsible for anyone else, I'm responsible for their safety.
Living in Norway, I can't legally carry a firearm or other commonly recognizable weapon of any sort without being part of the special forces (who are required to carry theirs at all times, including off-duty time) or one of the handful of people (typically bodyguards for important people) who have a special permit. Fortunately, firearms are rarely involved in assaults here.
Either way, a knife does more damage at point blank, if you know how to use it, or if the opponent knows how to defend against a gun, and the damage can be harder to treat. The advantage of a gun is lower training requirements and improved range.
That said, I do carry a concealable folding knife of legal length (about 2 inches, which is enough to get the carotid and jugular, among other things) as well as a short metal flashlight (which makes an excellent striking weapon, e.g. blows to the temple).
And I also train in a Martial Art that emphasizes awareness of one's surroundings, body dynamics, muscle memory, dynamic anatomy, pain tolerance, practical/realistic training, and so forth.
So far, though, the most serious thing I've had to use it for was when some guy tried to attack me with no warning while I was distracted; I wasn't really aware of what was happening before I realized I had stepped off his line of attack and then stopped short of a potentially lethal attack because of the sudden shift in his body language (presumably surprise, fear or something similar; either way, he no longer felt like a potential threat, and he wasted no time in running off).
I try to stay out of trouble, which kind of limits the exposure, and people tend to back off when they get the vibe that another step will mean one or more of us will likely not make it to the hospital and that I'm not about to start giving any thought to whether I'm going to be the one that does before it's over.
People seem to have this misconception that the police have a direct role to play in one's personal safety, which just isn't the case. Few people are willing to accept that argument, though.
I'd recommend reading the "On Sheep, Wolves and Sheepdogs" text by Lt. Col. Dave Grossman with regards to some of this. I may not agree with everything he says, but the fundamentals ring true to me, and I realize a lot of it is written in a way that is meant to be appealing to a general audience in the US.
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