Almost had to use my knife tonight...

Sorry to hear about your troubles FTC, I hope your situation improves for the better. Like DB1, I would strongly suggest that you look into getting a shotgun. I've had my 12 gauge for quite a while now, and thankfully have not ever had to use it. It is comforting to me that it's there though, just in case the need were to ever arise. ;)
 
The view many Americans have that Canada is a sleepy little country is a mistake. We have international criminal activity, and real urban problems.
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About 8-10 yrs. back, I was visiting family in Halifax, Nova Scotia. On the same day that I arrived, the local news there had a report about a group of teens that beat a man almost to death. So much for N.S. being a quiet little province. I don't know what became of anyone involved in the case, but hopefully they're still in jail.

Trash. :mad:

Frank
 
Originally posted by Full Tang Clan
In many ways, I was no better at that moment than these low lives I want out of my neighbourhood.
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How can you say that? You are obviously a law abiding citizen. Don't place yourself on their level, even in your own mind. All your actions were completely honorable. Dealing with those "low lives" made you in a sense a hero. Not a movie hero but a real life hero, one who does his duty, that is for many abnormal.

Good luck to you.
 
It would be wonderful if every Police administartor had a crystal Ball and could predict with 100% accuracy where the next act of violence was to take place and by whom and then dispatch his officers prior to, and be truly PRO-ACTIVE.

But the reality is that LE is charged with the protection and safety of lives and property but simply cannot be at the right place at the right time, every time. Law enforcement is a reactionary job most of the time. In all my years of LE, it was very, very rare to drive by a home and see a burglar climbing in or out of a window, arrive on the scene of an armed robbery and have it actually be "in progress" or be in a postion to intervene on the attack of a citizen as it is happening. That is what every good Cop hopes, wishes and works for; to be in a pro-active role and be there as something bad is happening to protect the lives and property of those he/she has taken a sworn oath to protect. HOWEVER, for the most part we respond to calls for help and arrive after the bad deeds/damage are done.

Having said this, it is a duty we have here in the USA for ourselves to engage in self-protection and self-preservation, and while it is importatnt to leave catching the bad-guys for the trained LEO's to handle, you absolutely must be ready, willing and able to protect you and yours when the crap hits the fan because 99.99999999% of the time, the Police will be reacting to an action that you will either win or lose prior to their arrival. Maybe the POLITICIANS will one day acknowledge this and stop taking away the rights of good people to protect themselves from the scumbags who roam this earth and could not care less about law, or have any respect for the freedoms and safety of others. I say shoot them and THEN dial the Police, the expectation that you can rely on the Police 100% of the time is simply unrealistic.
 
Wolfmann: afterall Crim101 was right... even if the cops were getting more proactive they still couldn't eliminate crime because the chances for them to see the crime is very slim.
That's probably because people have no real good sense of security and have their house surrounded by a freaking forrest. (I've seen houses like that in Canada). I wonder how many of them get robbed in a year.
I've said it a million times to other people, but I can understand why some Canadians don't like to have handguns around. But I think the knife laws are just f***ing bull...
/Rant mode off (for a while)
Full Tang: can you e-mail me and let me know where this happened? I wanna know.
 
Hey Full Tang...

Not to be rude or anything..But..

Your lucky he didn't Bust a Cap in your A$$....

On the other hand,,your lucky he didn't call the coppers and have you charged...

If you draw,, be prepared to draw blood...Drawing to look tough will get you killed....

ttyle

Eric...
 
Full Tang ,

Unfortunately, the threat of violence on the law abiding public is reaching epic porportions....nowhere are you exempt from this escalating problem.

I have had a license to carry for the last 20 years and have rarely carried, but my views in this matter have changed over the last couple of years.( my wife received her LTC just a year ago as well)

It's a sad state of afairs when you feel something like this is nessary,but it's reality and we can't rely on the police for our immediate protection.

My son is in law enforcement (juvenile div.) and has stories that would make your hair stand on end!!

The only time in my life I called 911 it took 20 minutes in response time.....need I say more.
 
Full Tang,

I totally know what you mean.
I had a slightly similar scare when I was working with my mom on restoring a church a couple weeks ago.
We were restoring the basement, but one of the problems with the whole setup was that the church's main door couldn't be locked from the inside, and we were more than a little bit nervous about unexpected guests.
Over the course of several days I got used to the creaks and rumbles of the church and went about my business.
Then one day I'm vacuuming the floor and I begin to hear a very rapid *THUMPING* sound, it took me a while to realize just how grave the situation was - the rest was just reaction, I switched off the vacuum, drew and opened my Spyderco Chinook and readied it in reverse grip... THEN THE DOOR OPENED...

Fortunately it was just the church caretaker escorting some unscheduled inspectors in, but I think we both ended up scaring each other %&*$less.

Point is it wasn't fun, it wasn't a rush, it was pure reaction and fear, and I was a little shaky for a while after that, even though I didn't let it show.
 
Originally posted by one2gofst

First of all, I do not think that flicking, in general, is the best way to open a knife. It increases the risk of losing the blade and offers no real advantage.

Second, I would not have brandished the blade to the slimeball.
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I appreciate your concern, and I am aware of the theory about cloaking your knife until you're ready to use it. It's as new as Fred Perin's knife fighting techniques, and as old as Sun Tze "Art of War" doctrine of "Show your strengths as weaknesses, and your weaknesses as strengths". Also, I know that "wrist flicking" is inherently risky because you could drop your knife and even I had reservations about doing it. However, I MADE DAMN sure that I heard the knife "click" and lock into place.

However, what I did was calculated -- albeit a calculated risk -- and I did it for a reason.

I have 20 years of martial arts experience and have studied weapons and weapon disarm techniques. Now this in no way implies I'm a "tough guy" nor do I have dillusions of invincibility, or think I know it all. However my training is why I was able to stay calm, there was no adrenaline pumping, and I was able to think clearly, and calculate a plan.

Secondly, I have some background in criminology, and applied psychology. I read his body language and his intentions. His hands were visible so I took a gamble that he was not armed so I figured he was just a punk who was going to try to sucker punch me.

Lastly, the "wrist flick" was also a psychological ploy and did the job I intended it to. It was like a big pit-bull in the backyard and made him back off. In addition, the action of flicking the blade intimidated him. Lastly, I covered my ass legally since I gave him two warnings and let him know that was armed and ready to use it.

So, yes, we could get into debates on street fight/street survival and knife fighting strategies but as the saying goes, "you had to be there." Nevertheless, your insights are fully appreciated.

Bottom line: In my particular situation, my game plan worked. In others I admit it may not work. There is no RIGHT WAY and I would advise everyone to do what they think is best given a situation.

However, the most important thing was I had a game plan, rather than panicking by pissing my pants, or panicking by launching an unnecessary attack which could have landed my ass in jail.
 
For those criminal, we should get rid of them. Especially for those known as the terrorist. For those bad teenage, should give them a lesson and let them know Canada is not the paradise of the criminal.
 
Sad fact, Sunnyside.
Canadian Criminal law and it's enforcement does harbor criminals.
I've stated before.. but...
Canadian Criminal Code says that first degree murder (cold blooded planned and/or murder of peace officer) warrants 25years without parole.
Second degree is like 10 years without parole.
The data that I had (I believe) was 1996 and the average murder gets out in 7 years.
What do you call that but harboring criminals?
 
Originally posted by Normark

Your lucky he didn't Bust a Cap in your A$$....

Eric...
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You have a legitimate point which is why I originally stated that the wisest move would have been to back off, go inside my house and call the police. It would have certainly been the safest move to make. This is also why I'm trying to impart on some of you guys to think twice before engaging into a fight.

But give me a little credit in that "luck" wasn't the only factor. I used strategy. First, it was not an oncoming rush attack and there was enough distance initially so I had lots of time to assess the situation. Based on that, I took a calculated risk. See my explanation a few post up.

Now ask yourself this: If I had done what some of guys think is proper knife fighting technique of not showing the knife, and letting him come close enough to launch an attack, there could have been two different outcomes:

1. I would have sliced him, he would be in a hospital or morgue, and my ass would be in the slammer right now.

2. During the scuffle, I may have lost the blade, he may have gain posession and I would be in the hospital or morgue right now.

Bottom line: In THAT particular situation, my strategy worked (which is why I can talk about it with shameless bravado now). I think each situation has to be evaluated differently. It's not like it is in martial arts magazines, or going to knife fighting seminars where they tell you if A happens, then do B. That stuff is static. A real confrontation is not static, and it's certainly a hell of a lot more dangerous.
 
Originally posted by Full Tang Clan
...2. During the scuffle, I may have lost the blade, he may have gain posession and I would be in the hospital or morgue right now.
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You had time to draw and give a verbal warning, so you had time to draw your house key, and go into the house. Number two above could have happened regardless of how you drew your knife, and there is always 3. He draws a gun and ... a cap in your a$$.

Deadly force is for when there is NO other alternative. You let macho self-confidence get the better of proper tactical decision-making. No big deal. It could happen to anyone. Displaying the will to use deadly force to defend yourself works just the way it worked for you in most cases. But you left yourself vulnerable to option 3.
 
personally I think this story is a figment of somebodies overactive imagination. Not that it matters but I doubt it happened. First of all you see someone acting wierd or flaked out why do you confront them? Bullshiite you look straight ahead keep your senses about you and walk away. Flicking open a spyderco.... when you dont know if he has a gun or friends that he was with>>? this is b.s.
 
Hey Full Tang :

I agree with your strategy : use psychological method(s)
on a potential attacker, rather than fight/flight of which
NEITHER always works ;) It seems this "new breed" of street
punk is determined to get into it with one, or attack someone
who(m) is passive. I notice this "new breed" also back down
in the face of a threat ( or is that "counter threat"? :)) I
myself don't subscribe to always being "legal" ; self defense
is a right of nature, and if some @$$hole wants to rumble, I say
you piss on his parade by ANY means possible ( including psychological
means ;)) Let me tell you by first hand experience, I tried the "walk away" and was pursued by my pontential attacker, sometimes force ( or a "show" of force ) is the ONLY way out!
Piss on the lawmakers & their Praetorian Guards that protect them!

A.E.T.
 
This is mostly in support of Wolfmans comments, and I would like to hear from any LEOs who could help clarify the matter, but I have always been under the impression that LEOs are not there to protect, except in a vague general way by removing the criminal after the crime. Specifically, I believe that even if someone threatens you by saying "I will come to your house this afternoon and kill you", there is really nothing the cops will or can do. They cannot/will not come and stake out your house or anything else. I'm sure they might document the incident, write a citation if there is enough evidence, talk to the parties involved, but they're certainly not going to be your protection. I believe this is due to pragmatic considerations (cops can't function as security for anyone who feels threatened, especially in some neighborhoods where this would include nearly everybody). Furthermore, I think there are legal considerations that would also become problematic as, while it is easy enough to gather information after the fact and let the courts sort it out, it's a whole different story if a LEO is present at a conflict between two individuals and has to make quick decisions on what's at issue, who's the BG and GG, how much force is necessary to stop the ensuing violence, etc.

None the less, LEOs seem to support gun control because they think it makes the streets safer for them, not the citizens. As an aside, I had a young friend who trained at a local police academy. Within 6 months of doing part time police work he had an incident where a minor criminal was trying to run away from him and his partner. Having had martial arts training, he used a leg kick of some type to knock the criminal down. In doing so, he tore the hell out of his knee cartiledge, etc. He is no longer a cop. My point is that I would imagine to remain a LEO far any amount of time one has to balance self-preservation against capturing the bad guys. I would go on to say that I imagine staying safe is the number one thing on a cops mind every day, as it should be. Consequently, I don't think the police want to get in the middle of any knife fights, gun fights, etc. and would much rather show up after the fact (if not, based on the reasoning above, they wouldn't stay cops very long anyway).

So, I believe that, like the LEOs, we should consider our self-preservation as a primary goal. Don't expect the cops to be there to help you, but remember that avoiding winding up in jail and paying legal fees also falls under self-preservation.
 
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