Protect yourself – oh, the options!

I’ve given a fair amount of thought to the philosophy of self-defense lately.

Not just technique.  There’s plenty of that in both Krav Maga and in BJJ.  In Krav Maga, it’s strikes: straight punches, hammerfists, kicks, knees, several elbow options.  In BJJ, as a self-defense method, there’s body positioning, chokes, and armlocks.

But as a follow-on to a recent post, there’s much more than just a technique; there’s an element of philosophy…an element of emotions and awareness…an element of ‘tools’…and an element of environment (and probably a few more).

Most recently, I’ve given a great deal of thought to the tools of self-defense.  Knowing how to rear-naked-choke someone is fun…and how sweet would it be to pull off an arm-in triangle on the streets?  But what if you are in a situation where an attacker (or attackers) have weapons?  Should you carry a gun?  A knife?  Pepper spray?  Taser?  Exploding ninja smoke bombs and throwing stars?

I’m no lawyer…matter of fact, I’m probably the least-qualified person to discuss the laws, ethics, and mechanics of carrying weapons.  But there are a few thoughts that I’ve considered, and since I have this handy-dandy WordPress Blog, I’m going to share them.  Plus, I’m armed with information from a colleague of mine who is a strong advocate of using a handgun as a primary self-defense weapon.  Not only is he a competitive tactical shooter, but he is a long-time conceal and carry advocate.  Let’s just say that if there were a robbery, or a mall shootout, or a zombie apocalypse, I want to be near this guy.  So he was my first choice to discuss the philosophy of conceal and carry permits.

He first explained his opinion that everyone should have a concealed carry permit, regardless of whether or not you carry a gun.  This made sense to me.  Using New Orleans (my home town) and Hurricane Katrina as an example…he made it clear that normal societal rules and laws can break down rather quickly.  If you find yourself with a weapon (to protect you and your loved ones), but without a permit, you could be, in the eyes of the state, considered a criminal.  So it makes sense to me to have the permit … just in case.

The next question is one of choice: what type of weapon?  I reviewed several websites to see what was out there; one site dedicated to small/compact guns listed over 300 different guns ranging from a $200 mini revolver, to an exquisite $1,300+ compact .380 ACP with laser grips.  Yeah – apparently Kimber makes some wicked good guns.

Some of this is personal preference, of course.  But there should be a great deal of philosophy as well.  Some might want the stopping power of a big caliber round.  Others might want the weight savings and smaller size of a small-caliber pistol.  The right answer is probably somewhere in the middle.

The question of holsters and holster placement it interesting to me…probably just as much as the pistol itself.  For whatever reason, I think an ankle holster would be perfect.  I am almost always in jeans or slacks, so having a concealed pistol on my ankle would seem to offer the greatest ‘ease of carry’.  Of course, enthusiasts usually prefer to carry on their hip for no other reason than the speed of drawing their weapon.  I appreciate this element as well.

Ok – enough randomness about concealed handguns.  Let’s talk about training.

Last night, we had another jam-packed Krav Maga class.  We worked effortlessly through straight punches, hammerfists, front kicks…and quickly transitioned to self-defense techniques.  Last night’s technique of choice: choke from the rear with a push.  This one is perhaps the most difficult to me.  Defending the choke is rather easy…it’s the next half-second or so is hard: hand placement.  Once you break the choke and turn into your attacker, you need to both strike and control.  Now, in the real world, you can strike (and strike, and strike), and that’s infinitely better than saying, “wait, sir, could you please put your arm here so I can hold the proper carry position?”  Of course not.  Just punch.  But to properly demonstrate the technique, hand placement is an element…so I was happy to drill this for 15-20 mins with a rather scrappy partner.  I think he ‘accidentally’ elbowed and knee’d me in the head about 20 times.  Control your body, man!  I instinctively blocked one of his more aggressive knees with my formerly broken finger, which hurt like a mother!

It was also my very first class wearing wrestling shoes.  I thought it was going to throw me off a bit, as I’ve been training barefoot for the past year.  But, much to my surprise, after about 15 minutes, I forgot I was even wearing shoes.  So, luckily, no issues there.

Guns, chokes, and elbows – all in a day’s work.  Ok, not the guns part…but definitely the chokes and elbows part.  All part of being on the mats.

Take care of each other!  Cheers.