Thinking about yesterday's post where I showed a police training video dealing with an attacker with a knife, I don't think concealed carry is a panacea for self defense. In the video, a cop has to have his hand on his gun and at least 21' of distance between himself and an attacker with a knife to have a good chance to survive. If your gun is concealed on your person, getting it out and using it effectively is going to take even longer.
I'd think that you'd have to be trained in both hand-to-hand combat and carry a concealed weapon to feel reasonably safe going in to bad situations. You'd also have to reflexively choose which to use in the split second things went bad.
Finally, if you want to see something really alarming, dig this.
Yes. Which is why I think that a good, stout walking stick (maybe with a weighted head) is probably way more effective for self defense than a pistol. Or a knife, for that matter: you can't go walking around with a drawn knife in your hand without attracting unfavorable attention, but nobody really thinks twice about a walking stick. And it's hard to imagine a weapon that is fast enough on the draw to compete with one that is automatically in your hand. Plus, it is useful for actually walking with when the footing is uneven!
ReplyDeleteSituational awareness is far more important than the type of weapon one carries, if one carries a weapon at all. Habitual aggressors are experts at selecting victims.
ReplyDeleteHaving said that, the best weapon to carry is a legal weapon with which you practice.
A loaded cane, shillelagh, or baton is a fine weapon if you are confident and skilled enough to engage an attacker who is in your face. That's a bit difficult for a petite woman (except in movies). Most experienced thugs will simply take it away from you and beat the hell out of you with it.
But the utility of concealed carry is not always, or even usually, about thwarting a personal attack. It's about watching a scene unfold like the one in Luby's Restaurant or Fort Hood and being able to respond.
Tim, a cane is the one weapon you can take on board a plane. If you know how to use one, it's pretty deadly. What shocked me most about the videos is how ferocious the attacks were.
ReplyDeleteTW, I'm with you re: women fighting. Even our female instructors who were well-trained knew they weren't going to be able to take on most men.
ReplyDeleteYou hit the nail on the head - situational awareness and use a weapon with which you're very competent.