Self Defense advice
Creeperbane2
Victorian ScoundrelIndianapolis, IN Icrontian
I'm lookin for advice, I currently carry a small pocket knife for self defense, but in short it's a piece of shit not even worth sharpening and I am in the market for something new. I have considered getting a new knife, but I have heard so many good things about batons. Anyone have any advice, suggestions, recommendations? Noting I have virtually no martial skill.
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Tools are only as good as the operator. Not getting into a situation is better than trying to get out by show of force without the skill the back it up. My recommendation is to get practical self-defense training if you're consistently worried about your safety.
As for you specific question:
My personal inclination would be that a standard pocket knife would be useless for self-defense, because in any situation in which you felt the need to use it, pulling out and opening up a normal pocket knife would not happen. If you are using something like this HK assisted open, that's different but still not advisable as you're more likely to have it turned against you if you don't get some training. A baton is easier to use without training than a knife, but you should still invest in a more holistic self-defense class that includes weapons training if you're worried.
This ^^^^^^
Nick's free five minute self-defense seminar:
In any good self defense program you'll learn that one of the first things is to carry yourself in such a manner that you project confidence and awareness of your surroundings. If you look like a less than easy target, you'll likely be left alone. Look and act like a helpless and unaware chump and you'll likely be treated as such.
The second thing is to keep yourself away from likely locations of something happening. It's not always reliable, but it certainly helps.
Actual physical self-defense is ALWAYS a last resort because it means engaging your adversary and the odds are high that you're gonna get hurt. If you aren't properly trained in the use of a weapon, you shouldn't be carrying it. It'll get used against you. That knife or baton you pulled out thinking it'll be a deterrent? Guess what, the bad guy just took it from you.
Bottom line: regardless of your weapon of choice (knife, stick, gun, hands/feet, whatever), if you don't know how to use it efficiently and effectively, you're fucked.
The only true self defense is not being there when the attack arrives. A weapon will only serve to increase the chance that you get hurt.
If you've got the money and are so inclined look for security training companies in your area and get a Use of Force License (If it works the same way as up here)
They'll teach you how to defend yourself provided it becomes necessary (As @Mertesn said it's a last resort, regardless of training) in the use of a baton or sap.
Do not get one until you've either taken a UoF class or self-defense classes.
On that note, Boxing is not particularly difficult to learn the basics for (Provided you take classes) and is a rather pragmatic, efficient martial art.
Until it hits the ground. A boxer on the ground is like a turtle on its back.
Showing a knife in a conflict is a good way to get yourself stabbed.
As someone with a CCP in VA and having worked as a bouncer for a somewhat rough bar for just over a year, it is my absolute recommendation that the best thing to do is just avoid conflict as best you can. I have spent hours at the range and I am still in need of more practice. There is a state of mind that has to be understood as well. The second you escalate a situation past words, mortality becomes a factor. I believe that I would have a hard time dealing with the consequences of taking a life over a wallet, car or any other personal belongings. As a result I have decided that most of the time, my handgun will stay locked away so I never have a chance for such a result. I carry a pocket knife as a tool pretty much everywhere, but I have never thought of it as a means of self defense or protection. If you are really serious about protecting yourself or loved ones, I would say that professional training is the only option, and even then nothing is guaranteed.
You mean ASP, right?
Pretty confident that the Icrontians above have given excellent advice based on the question asked but I am left with a follow-up, in what situations do you feel the need for protection?
If it's walking from point A to Point B worried about being mugged, Option C: Pepper Spray.
You don't want to be in a fight, mace the fucker and run.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baton_(law_enforcement)#Sap
I though he was talking about this
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ASP,_Inc.
@Creeperbane2 , I say this as both a friend and someone concerned with his own safety from time to time. When it comes to self-defense, you have to ask yourself two important questions:
"Do you know your mental limits?"
and
"Are you prepared to live with the repercussions of potentially taking a life?"
When it comes to the first question, I mean it like this: Do you know when to stop? For example, if someone attacks you and you manage to give him a "good" beating and he tries to run away, are you going to let him go or are you going to lose it and continue going after him? Knowing when to stop is the difference between a simple failed attack or a life-ruining experience (see Trayvon Martin). Not to mention, if you continue going after the guy, how do you know that he doesn't have a few friends waiting around the corner ready for an ambush?
As for the second question, when you decide to fight, you know that there is a possibility that only one of you will be walking away from it. This means that you may have to take the other person's life in order for yourself to live. But what comes after will be the hard part.
For example, my friend Don (you know him, @Creeperbane2 ), served as a flamethrower operator during Vietnam. From the stories he tells me (and only me, so I consider myself lucky), he talks about how he would blast a shrub and see three Charlies running out, burning and screaming as they died. As he tells me today, he can still see them burning, still hear them screaming, smelling the stench of burning flesh, and so on.
While you would not bear as much as he did, it will still have some sort of effect. To see a man/ woman lying in front of you in a pool of their own blood, hearing the blood gurgling from their mouth as they struggle to breathe their last breaths, seeing the life fade fast from their eyes, and then the realization that you just took away: a father/mother, a brother/sister, a son/daughter, a cousin, a best friend. Are you prepared to deal with that?
What you ultimately decide is up to you, but I suggest you look deep into yourself and think long and hard before you make your decision.
(Note: To anyone reading this, in regards to the second to last paragraph. I have never had to kill someone in my entire life, and if I complete my life without ever having to, I will be happy. I have, however, seen two people pass away to date: my father and my grandmother. I based what I wrote on my experiences with those instances and modified them to the experiences if @Creeperbane2 had to take someone's life by knife.)
@aspieRommel Ummm, ok.....I'm just looking for something to hit someone in the nuts with if need be and run. To provide about 5% extra security walking home at night, but...deep. However I think I'll just go with a baton, simple, effective, low mantinence and Budk has some cheap.
A fist isn't sufficient? Knee? Foot? I was under the impression you wanted serious advice.
I am a glass cannon, decently large in stature, pathetic in streignth, and lacking the cash for anything in the way of martial arts training. But then again, my cheapest option would probably be pepper spray. @BobbyDigi good advice, ty and ty all.
It's good that you understand your current limitations. That gives you a starting point. Work on your strength. You don't need anything but discipline to get started. Body weight movement can give good results: push ups, sit ups, air squats, jumping, running, etc. Zero equipment needed and you've got almost your entire body working. Save up for inexpensive equipment (jump rope, weights), but ONLY if you'll use them.
Technique > strength for everything but a sucker punch (and even then, surprise > everything). I am the not the strongest person in my karate class by any stretch of the imagination (I'm actually the smallest person in the group), but I can take down almost anyone using proper technique. It's shockingly easy once you have built muscle memory.
And yes, pepper spray is probably your best option. I'm not sure if there's any kind of training for it (aside from point and spray), but it'd be a good idea if it's available.
You forgot one key consideration for the use of pepper spray... try and make sure your target isn't directly upwind.