The most popular places that I get ideas for posts/articles are from the various forums and the occasional magazine. One of the most common topics I see is those about –
1) What do I do when I cannot carry my gun?
2) What do I do when I cannot carry a knife?
3) What do I do when I cannot carry A-B-C?
It all comes down to mindset. For our purposes it means simply this, a promise to yourself that regardless of environment, odds, or lack of tools you will go over, through, or around anyone that attempts to bring violence upon you or anyone that you are entrusted to protect. Be decisive when doing it.
I believe that the reason most people ask these questions is because they do not have, or are not comfortable with their open hand skills. For that reason, you must view everything in the world as an edged or impact weapon. If you can pick it up and hit somebody with it and it cuts them, then it is an edged weapon. If it does not cut them, it is an impact weapon. As I sit here at my desk, there are about a dozen things within arm’s reach that were not designed as weapons; however I would not want to be hit in the head with any of them. I think the worst would be the fork from my breakfast jammed into my face or eye socket.
Make a game out of this. When you are lying in bed, taking a shower, or walking into an unfamiliar place, identify improvised weapons and how you would use them based on their size and composition. Don’t ignore the obvious like the pen in your pocket or the cup of piping hot coffee in your hand. When I was still on the job, I seldom felt more protected than when I would respond to a call with a cup of hot coffee in my hand.
Seldom do attacks take place in the middle of a field. In our society, we are usually close to vertical surfaces such as walls and vehicles. Even if we are in a field, we always have the ground. Nothing stops violent action faster than Central Nervous System disruption. Every time someone walks by you look where they are in relation to the closest vertical surface. Are they farther away from the wall than they are tall? If that is the case, palm their face and drive them backward. Which part of their body will hit the surface first? Or maybe it is better to lower your shoulder to drive them into the side of a vehicle.
Even more than training, this requires mindset and decisiveness. When you are “unarmed” you need to have better situational awareness than when you are armed. But when you view every person you meet as a possible threat and subconsciously have a plan to damage them, you are always ahead of the game.
These are tools that live in your head and cannot be taken away by law, TSA, or prohibited by your employer. These are the tools that save lives.
1) What do I do when I cannot carry my gun?
2) What do I do when I cannot carry a knife?
3) What do I do when I cannot carry A-B-C?
It all comes down to mindset. For our purposes it means simply this, a promise to yourself that regardless of environment, odds, or lack of tools you will go over, through, or around anyone that attempts to bring violence upon you or anyone that you are entrusted to protect. Be decisive when doing it.
I believe that the reason most people ask these questions is because they do not have, or are not comfortable with their open hand skills. For that reason, you must view everything in the world as an edged or impact weapon. If you can pick it up and hit somebody with it and it cuts them, then it is an edged weapon. If it does not cut them, it is an impact weapon. As I sit here at my desk, there are about a dozen things within arm’s reach that were not designed as weapons; however I would not want to be hit in the head with any of them. I think the worst would be the fork from my breakfast jammed into my face or eye socket.
Make a game out of this. When you are lying in bed, taking a shower, or walking into an unfamiliar place, identify improvised weapons and how you would use them based on their size and composition. Don’t ignore the obvious like the pen in your pocket or the cup of piping hot coffee in your hand. When I was still on the job, I seldom felt more protected than when I would respond to a call with a cup of hot coffee in my hand.
Seldom do attacks take place in the middle of a field. In our society, we are usually close to vertical surfaces such as walls and vehicles. Even if we are in a field, we always have the ground. Nothing stops violent action faster than Central Nervous System disruption. Every time someone walks by you look where they are in relation to the closest vertical surface. Are they farther away from the wall than they are tall? If that is the case, palm their face and drive them backward. Which part of their body will hit the surface first? Or maybe it is better to lower your shoulder to drive them into the side of a vehicle.
Even more than training, this requires mindset and decisiveness. When you are “unarmed” you need to have better situational awareness than when you are armed. But when you view every person you meet as a possible threat and subconsciously have a plan to damage them, you are always ahead of the game.
These are tools that live in your head and cannot be taken away by law, TSA, or prohibited by your employer. These are the tools that save lives.
