Home defense?

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<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Robert Marotz:
.... It is disrespectful and impractical to seek a sword for home defense. Even with guns out of the picture, I simply do not condone the use of swords in this way. And I mean no offense but you also probably do not know how to use a sword properly in the first place. </font>
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No offense intended to you either, but my BS Meter just went off the scale. How is it "disrespectful" to want to purchase a sword for it's intended purpose? How much more noble a cause could one use any weapon for than to protect their family? In my book, it would be more "disrespectful" to acquire a noble weapon like a well made sword ... just to hang it on the wall. What happens whenever a non-sword person sees a sword hanging on the wall (usually before you can stop them in a tactful way)? They touch the blade, pick it up and pretend to wield it, or otherwise paw it.

I am actively looking for a sword that I will use for training and home defense if needed. I study a filipino combat system, so I am capable of using a sword.

Respectfully,

Dave Fulton

 
bteel,

I suggest you go over to the Himilayan Imports board (under Makers/Mfgrs. link) and take a look at a kukuri. A kukuri is a very formitable weapon that has a HUGE intimidation factor. Training is very minimal in it's use (this was a common question for kuk fans... what type of training did the famous Gurka soldiers receive with this weapon, so the board moderator's brother in law interviewed many retired Gurka soldiers while on material buying trips... almost all of them commented that "a chop to the head, a chop to the chest, a chop to the legs... all good." That was the extent of their training. Nothing special or mysterious).

Regards,

Alan

 
Um... ok, my spelling sucks. But at least I recognize my errors and correct them
biggrin.gif


Gorkhas (the British changed it to Gurkhas which actually doesn't mean anything)

Khukuri.

There... now I'll be able to sleep at night (and know that my dad, who frequents the HI forum won't chew me out for my bad spelling
smile.gif
)

Alan

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When all else fails...JSTF :D
 
Hopefully you will hit what you aim at with the first shot of your gun. The flash may blind you momentarily in the dark allowing the intruder to pull your sword off of the wall and use it on you.
 
That's going to be one VERY brave intruder who's willing to stay there, pick up a sword and try to and fight someone who's shooting at them, no? If someone was shooting at you, would you try to take them on with a sword?

Also, if it's dark enough that the muzzel flash will blind the shooter, won't it also have the same effect on the intruder, plus how does the intruder find the sword in the dark?

If the sword is there for home defence, the best place to keep it is somewhere where the owner can get their hands on it quickly BEFORE they confront the intruder, not after.
 
Good comments all around, but I am very ammused by all of the talk about how swords are poor choices for people without training, and that guns are a better choice. Hello? So are you suggesting that guns require no skill? I would say that firearms require a lot more training than a sword for rudimentary self defense. Any dummy can swing a sword around with less chance of killing himself, the wrong person, etc.

of course I still would say that swords are not exactly practical for home defense. Never the less, let's not go giving out dangerous advice to people.
 
<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Paracelsus:
There are very few thieves who will want to have a confrontation with you after hearing the pump chamber a shell.
</font>
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That sound is probably one of the greatest laxatives known to man!


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Glen AKA Centaur
"It does not do to leave a dragon out of your calculations, if you live near him."
- J. R. R. Tolkein
 
Outside the states neither good guys or baddies usually have guns. The use of deadly force is frowned apon but beating the @#$% out of an intruder is acceptable... so .... I have several wooden training swords(wasters).In my open plan home they are an effective option.Just gotta not get too enthusiastic with the point or about the head!
 
500 years from now, people will be telling newbies not to bother with guns but to go straight to Neuro-Sonic Stunners since the stunners work better and it's disrespectful to the ancient traditions of gunsmithing and gunfighting to use a gun for self defense.
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I can't imagine why guns are not an option in Missouri unless you're a felon (which is entirely possible with the number of acts which are now felonies) but I suppose a sword isn't a bad substitute. I would use pepper spray or mace first, though, myself. That gives you some of the advantages of the gun, like keeping a little more distance, and doesn't carry the danger that you might decide at the last second that you can't cut through someone. The sword could always be a reserve; you could even train to use the spray in your weak hand.
 
Anybody ever hear a 12 Gauge Magnum go off in an average living room or hallway? If so, have you heard anything since?
wink.gif


Cordially,

Dave
 
Gotta add a one-upper to your idea Para. Stick a laser sight on the shotgun. Rack the slide whilst simultaneously tracking the laser dot down the hallway wall. I have to say that the bad guy who keeps advancing after those two warning signs is blind and deaf, and should be in a different profession.

Crayola is correct, no groggy factor. I have awakened bolt upright with all senses focused a couple of times. Cats fighting under the porch sure grabs the attention. Adrenaline is an awesome chemical.

If you are worried that you will face legal retribution for unloading a shotgun round into an intruder, make your first round a rice or rock salt load. I'm only guessing here, but I would say that any jury that convicts you after giving a perp a chance to get away would be a hangin' jury to be sure. But I guess there's plenty of those in this country.

Oh, and yes I have fired a shotgun indoors. It is not as bad as you think. The typical deafening crack you get from firearms is from the bullet breaking the sound barrier. This does not happen with shot from the muzzle of a scattergun. Furthermore, the gas from the shotgun muzzle that smacks into the air has a velocity much lower than that of its high pressure cousins, namely pistols and rifles. It's more of a big *WHUMP*. Still, it's a feat I won't repeat.

I think that if someone is going to spend a wad of cash on something for home defense, and they plan on purchasing some training as well.... get a big mean-ass dog and train with that. Safe, child friendly, burglar hating, ever alert, good home defense purchase, that one.
 
By my bed is a 19" Keris in a Traditional Hanoman stand. It is part of my home decore. I do know how to use it. There are many ethical/moral/legal/community safty issues here.

I do not like loud noises at night, I do not have the "vigilante" mind set, I am the victem of a crime, It was not premeditated, I defended myself with part of the furniture in my home from a threat to my life, I had nowhere else to go and could not flee, I was in fear of my life.

Of course it might be hard to get the keris back until after the inquest.

Just some random thoughts on the subject.

ts

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Guns are for show. Knifes are for Pros.
 
Guns not an option:

I keep a cheap 10" Chef's knife (Old Forge) on the bedroom closet shelf, handle sticking out, and a heavy Chicago Cutlery meat cleaver right next to it.
Both have razor sharp edges, and I steel and oil them every three months.
They serve no other pupose than to keep dust off of the shelf.

I can just barely swing the Chef's knife overhead without hitting the ceiling.

In the exact reverse of custom, I put the longer weapon in my support hand and the meat cleaver in my dominant hand.
With that combination I can fight inside the closet, in the hallway or in my living room.

Think of a mobile meat grinder, sorta turned inside out.

Incidentally, I consider edged-weapons a last resort.
In my profession I have seen too many knife wounds to inflict one on another human being without serious cause.

I keep an axe handle leaning against the wall right next ot the front door.
No one ever mentions it if they even see it.
Tap someone on the knee, ankle or elbow with an axe handle and they will scramble to get out of the house.



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Luke 22:36, John 18:6-11, Freedom
If one takes care of the means, the end will take care of itself.
 
I would echo the suggestion of kukuri of a gun is not an option.

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William Callahan

"I can picture in my mind a world without war, a world without
hate. And I can picture us attacking that world, because they'd
never expect it."
-Jack Handey

I'm one of those wierdos who likes Zytel.
 
Just a thought, but a NON-edged option is Newt Livesay's WA-1 sticks. While I haven't handled one yet myself, I've heard great things about them from some good people.
Check'em out.
http://members.tripod.com/~Newt_Livesay/WA1.html

(Has the benefit of being more easily explained in Court also!)


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Tráceme no sin la razón, envoltura mi no sin honor
Usual Suspect
MOLON LABE!
 
<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Robert Marotz:
It is disrespectful and impractical to seek a sword for home defense. Even with guns out of the picture, I simply do not condone the use of swords in this way. And I mean no offense but you also probably do not know how to use a sword properly in the first place.</font>
Click to expand...

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Dave Fulton:
No offense intended to you either, but my BS Meter just went off the scale. How is it "disrespectful" to want to purchase a sword for it's intended purpose? How much more noble a cause could one use any weapon for than to protect their family? In my book, it would be more "disrespectful" to acquire a noble weapon like a well made sword ... just to hang it on the wall. What happens whenever a non-sword person sees a sword hanging on the wall (usually before you can stop them in a tactful way)? They touch the blade, pick it up and pretend to wield it, or otherwise paw it.

I am actively looking for a sword that I will use for training and home defense if needed. I study a filipino combat system, so I am capable of using a sword.

Respectfully,

Dave Fulton</font>
Click to expand...

First of all, Mr. Dave Fulton, God bless you Sir...

As for you, Bob, who cares what you "condone" when it comes to Self-defense, defense of the family or home?

Regardless if your post was intended to be informative and not offensive, it was offensive. Protectionist Thought usually is, especially when delivered in such a condescending fashion...

You're not the only one who can be a prick with the English Language Bob...

This is the way I have to deal with my five year old Son, Bob, just as you treated the person who posed the question;

"NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO."




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Usual Suspect, Electromagnet for Trolls and Manipulator of Sharp Things... Some of my Knives and other neat things
 
Things are kinda quiet in here. I wonder if Mr. Marotz is going to comment? Should prove interesting if he comments publicly.

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"How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is to have a thankless child.", King Lear, Act I, Scene 4.
 
<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by paranoid9999:
Things are kinda quiet in here. I wonder if Mr. Marotz is going to comment? Should prove interesting if he comments publicly.
</font>
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Well, I'd like to give him the benefit of the doubt and say that he has wisely decided to follow the advice: "Tis better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt.". However, I think he has already missed his window of opportunity on that one.

I just couldn't resist reading his post again and I'm glad that I did because I picked up another little tid bit that I ignored before. He derides the concept of buying a sword for home defense, but proposes a baseball bat instead. What properties does a baseball bat possess that makes it a better choice than a sword? Is it because it requires less room to swing than a sword, or because it's more deadly than a sword, or just because it's cheaper? What if I've never played baseball (I did play for several years, btw) and therefore probably wouldn't know how to use it? Would it still be ok?

Oh, wait ... is it because it's more respectable to use a piece of sporting equipment as a weapon than it is to use a weapon as a weapon?

Bob(?) .... Bob(?) ....

Dave

 
I think you all are misunderstanding Rob's intent. He isn't saying that a sword shouldn't be used as a weapon, he is saying that buying one specifically to use it as a weapon in this day and age is kind of silly. It smacks of Highlanderwannabeism. Buy swords because you are a martial artist, buy swords because you are an art collector, buy swords because you like to chop things up, buy swords because you just like sharp pointy things but buy guns to defend yourself with.
 
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