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This is not always good advice. Unless you are 100% sure you can outrun your attacker you are better off standing your ground.
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What's A Good EDC knife for protection?
- Thread starter Ms.Foxy
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This is not always good advice. Unless you are 100% sure you can outrun your attacker you are better off standing your ground.
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Not many knife owners have had training using a knife as a weapon...I think that is because most of us do not plan on doing so. I HAVE been through months of training with my bare hands, sticks, and mostly, knives. A 2.5 limit? That is a very small blade your trying to defend yourself with. Whats sad is people actually can have knives taken away from them if they do not know what they are doing. It was mentioned earlier that its difficult to do so with your hand around the knife...There are an enormous amount of ways to make you let go of a small knife. Also, it was mentioned earlier that a knife that small would only be really useful for a last minute thrust attack. I fully agree with this because any cut an inexperienced "knife fighter" could possibly make with a 2.5 inch blade will likely be so superficial it wont make a difference in your survival. Not trying to sound like a pro martial artist, or some kind of expert, so please don't think I am. I firmly believe that you should try to avoid a dangerous altercation where you would have to deploy a knife for your own survival. If such an altercation is that difficult for you to avoid, learn to use your hands before a knife...Be safe and take care.
A 2.5 inch blade is quite capable of cutting the arm of an attacker to the bone. It's also capable of inflicting a 2.5" stab wound. It can also inflict a much deeper stab wound than 2.5" because the force of the thrust can push the blade in deeper. A 2.5 inch blade jammed into an attackers face or throat is also capable of inflicting extreme physical trauma. And any of these types of wounds is certainly capable of convincing an assailant to back off or let go long enough to give the defender a chance for escape.
I was attacked when I was 15 and stabbed in the throat. The blade only entered my throat ONE INCH, and yet I came very close to bleeding to death. Only emergency medical treatment saved my life.
Ask any cop or prison guard how devastating a small blade can be. Inmates often inflict severe wounds with nothing more than a blade pulled from a disposable razor imbedded in a toothbrush. How do I know this? From being an inmate.
If the laws says that the OP cannot carry a blade longer than 2.5 inches, then unfortunately she is limited to a blade 2.5 inches, at least if she wants to be in compliance with the law. I for one would never underestimate the ability of a small blade to inflict extreme physical trauma, even lethal trauma. If I were attacked by a person with a 2.5 inch blade, I certainly wouldn't laugh and say "HA! You can't hurt anyone with that!" I've seen firsthand just how devastating small blades can be, even in untrained hands.
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My general view of self defence classes is that they are worse than useless. Fighting bare-handed is even more strength/speed/skill dependent than knife fighting and a few classes at the gym is not going to give someone with no previous experience the tools needed to win a conflict with someone who has hostile intent. They may however give the person a false belief that they do have those tools. Standing your ground only makes sense if you can expect to talk your way out of the situation, or you are significantly stronger and more skilled than the attacker in which case they probably wouldn't have attacked you anyway. Even then fights are never one sided and there's a fair risk of being seriously injured, especially if the attacker are themselves armed. There's nothing preventing them, they're criminals after all.
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This is true. I think there was a motto of the Commandos, "two inches in the right place is fatal."
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hmm, true enough. I suppose generally speaking I prefer to stand my ground because I'm a fairly big guy and do have quite a bit of training in various martial arts. I'm not an expert by any means but I feel a lot less vulnerable engaging an opponent head on than running and possibly being caught from behind. However since I probably don't appear vulnerable to possible attackers trouble doesn't usually find me anyway.
In any conflict there are, I believe, four ways to resolve, or attempt to resolve the situation. The first is compliance, this is only possible if the attacker is actually demanding something, and something you are willing to give up. If it is a simple case of robbery then this is recommended, the money in your wallet probably isn't worth risking being stabbed over even if you're Bruce Lee. The second is communication, or trying convince your attacker to relent in some way, usually done either through persuasion or intimidation, this may require some degree of skill and a vastly different type of skill than you will have learned in martial arts.
So your preferable options are compliance and communication in my opinion, next you get to fight or flight, which both entail a considerable degree of risk and it will require good judgement to know which is the better option. Like I said if you decide to run and fail to escape your attacker you may have made your situation considerably worse, the same goes if you try to fight and are beaten, you have to try and pick which option has the greater chance of success in the short time that will be available to you, and I suppose this depends on how skillful you are as a fighter and how easily you can escape your attacker on foot.
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Is this your experience with self defense? What self defense did you take? I feel quite the contrary on self defense. I believe knowing something is better than nothing. I would recommend Krav Maga in a very short period of time you learn to defend yourself from multiple attackers. Knowledge is power.
Just knowing a simple groin kick will take any man down, or a punch, elbow, or chop to the carotid artery
In the neck and you'll drop like a sack of potatoes. In krav maga you learn weapons fighting. I took a active shooter course, we have had several knife courses. I feel I am a 100 percent better off knowing what I know, than not knowing anything. Knives are very bad, by all means I would try to leave that scene if at all possible, safely. I never ever want to mingle with someone with a knife in a real life scenario very bad stuff.
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Locutus D'Borg
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I would carry a stout ball point pen. Companies like Hinderer sell "investigator" pens. But any heavy duty pen, without a cap, ill do. The hardest thing, especially for women, is being willing to stab another human being repeatedly. This is where training comes in.
Why the pen? Totally legal, very damaging to the enemy's face, and in court you could explain that the assailant demanded money so you pulled out your pen to write him a check and he attacked, and you defended with what you had in hand. Stab a wild dog with a pen, too.
Why the pen? Totally legal, very damaging to the enemy's face, and in court you could explain that the assailant demanded money so you pulled out your pen to write him a check and he attacked, and you defended with what you had in hand. Stab a wild dog with a pen, too.
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I would find out the laws in your state for carrying a knife. This may have been posted already, I didn't read all the post.
http://www.knifeup.com/knife-laws/
http://www.knifeup.com/knife-laws/
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A knife is a poor option for self defense imho. In order to use it you must be far to close to an aggressor.If you aren't able or trained to use a sidearm,grisly bear pepper spray would be a much better option.
[video=youtube;kpIjtVDqiIg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpIjtVDqiIg[/video]
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Pepper spray wouldn't be a bad idea. If you really want to carry a knife for self defense go ahead and do it. Just remember all the legal troubles that come with USING it for self defense...Learn more about hand to hand combat if you think you may actually need to defend yourself. Good luck and stay safe.
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You guys are crazy. If you train to use a knife as a weapon and then carry one for self defence you are asking for trouble. Your training WILL be used against you by a prosecutor in any potential self defence case. I learned some knife fighting as a hobby but I never actually intend to use it.
If for some reason you are in a situation where you really do feel like you need to defend yourself with a weapon and can't use a firearm then focus your training on stick fighting. It's relatively easy to learn and sticks are by and large more effective self defence weapons than knives, since they allow you to engage from longer range and since they are non-lethal will cause you less legal trouble.
If for some reason you are in a situation where you really do feel like you need to defend yourself with a weapon and can't use a firearm then focus your training on stick fighting. It's relatively easy to learn and sticks are by and large more effective self defence weapons than knives, since they allow you to engage from longer range and since they are non-lethal will cause you less legal trouble.
Can you cite any actual cases where this has happened? If not, how can you say that it "WILL" happen, as if it's a guarantee and a foregone conclusion.
Are you advising that people defend themselves with guns? In case you don't know, shooting a person is a great way to land in legal trouble, even when the person doing the shooting claims it was self-defense.
And as far as sticks, how many people can carry a stick around with them all day? I hope you know that hitting a person with a stick can also get you in a lot of trouble. In fact, if a prosecutor believes that your stick was capable of inflicting a lethal wound, you could very easily be charged with attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon, even if the wounds you inflicted were non-lethal and even if you had no intentions of causing the persons death.
The fact is, guns, knives, and sticks, are all viewed by prosecutors as "deadly weapons".
It's strange, you tell people not to learn how to use a knife to defend themselves because you claim that training will be used against them in court, but then you go on to advise people to undergo stick fighting training and use sticks as weapons. If knife training will be used against a person in court, then why not stick-fight training? Prosecutors do not give people a free pass for using sticks as weapons instead of knives.
But hey, I guess we're the ones who are "crazy"
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Can you cite any actual cases where this has happened? If not, how can you say that it "WILL" happen, as if it's a guarantee and a foregone conclusion.
Are you advising that people defend themselves with guns? In case you don't know, shooting a person is a great way to land in legal trouble, even when the person doing the shooting claims it was self-defense.
And as far as sticks, how many people can carry a stick around with them all day? I hope you know that hitting a person with a stick can also get you in a lot of trouble. In fact, if a prosecutor believes that your stick was capable of inflicting a lethal wound, you could very easily be charged with attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon, even if the wounds you inflicted were non-lethal and even if you had no intentions of causing the persons death.
The fact is, guns, knives, and sticks, are all viewed by prosecutors as "deadly weapons".
It's strange, you tell people not to learn how to use a knife to defend themselves because you claim that training will be used against them in court, but then you go on to advise people to undergo stick fighting training and use sticks as weapons. If knife training will be used against a person in court, then why not stick-fight training? Prosecutors do not give people a free pass for using sticks as weapons instead of knives.
But hey, I guess we're the ones who are "crazy"
OK, fair enough. I have already said in a previous post that attempting to fight an attacker is at the bottom of your list of preferences in terms of how to resolve a conflict. All I am suggesting is that a stick is less likely to be considered a lethal weapon in court, and very often you may find some kind of substitute for a stick is easily accessible without having to carry one.
I am not suggesting using a gun for self defense although I have heard from people who live in America that, generally speaking, guns are viewed more favorably in court than knives in these cases.
So my first piece of advice is not to put yourself in a situation where you need to use a weapon to defend yourself. As a general skill though I think stick fighting is more useful to learn in practical terms than knife fighting. Would you seriously advise someone to carry a knife for self defense?
fishface5
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look the lady wants to know a practical knife to use as a desperate-measures self-defense tool. She's more likely to habitually carry a small knife then a baton, kali sticks, bear spray, etc. She is obviousy willing to use it if she is willing to punch an aggresive dog in the face. I also recommend a pen in ice-pick grip but if someone is willing to use a knife that is more liklely to make the bad guy leave quickly because the danger is more obvious. 2.5" of blade is plenty enough to ruin someone's day, and having worked with many LEOs whendoing municipal (misdemeanor) prosecution in Chicago I can tell you she is more likely to get applauded than arrested for defending herself with a legal knife. IF THE USE IS JUSTIFIED then I would recommend a G10 handled spyderco dragonfly - small, easy-open, sharp slicer with strong lock. Kabar mini-Dozier would also be a good option. Maybe a Boker Subcom, but it's important to have enough handle to hold and use securely under stress.
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I would certainly hope that everyone on this forum would look upon the use of violence as a last resort.
Every juror is different and there is no way whatsoever to predict what type of weapon they will consider to be a "lethal weapon".
When it comes to self-defense, that is, defending myself against someone who is actively trying to kill me or cause me serious bodily harm, I would not want to bet my life on the hope that I will be able to find a suitable weapon just lying around and within arms reach for me to save myself.
Yes, there are people who say this, and they are wrong. Prosecutors here in America LOVE to prosecute people for using guns against other people. Heck, prosecutors love to prosecute people for shooting guns into the air. I had a defense attorney who spent 15 years as a prosecutor before become a defense attorney, and he told me that getting "gun convictions" was a great way for a prosecutor to advance their career.
As far as jurors perception of guns, the vast majority of murders in this country are committed with guns, the media never hesitates to make gun-crimes and all gun-related stories headline news, and every public opinion poll I ever see in this country indicates that the vast majority of people polled favor strict gun control, so I wouldn't expect jurors to look very favorably on someone who shoots another person with a gun.
Here's the problem I have when people say this- IT'S OBVIOUS. I'd like to think that anyone smart enough to tie their own shoes (or use a computer) is smart enough to know that it's better to avoid dangerous situations than to seek them out. I would think that this goes without saying. I don't imagine that any adult really needs someone else to tell them this.
Unfortunately, despite our best efforts to avoid them, sometimes violent criminals force themselves into our lives. And then what?
In this country at least, a lot more people carry around a knife with them day in and day out, than carry sticks. So it would seem to me that a person would be best served by trying to become proficient with the item that they are most likely going to be carrying.
I never advise people on what THEY should carry for self-defense (notice that nowhere in this thread have I suggested any particular knife, or even any particular weapon, to the OP). What to carry for self-defense is a very personal choice and each person must determine for themselves what they think is best for them based on their specific needs and circumstances. I will discuss pros and cons of various items, but I would never tell another person what they should or shouldn't carry. And quite frankly, unless it were a friend or family member, I couldn't care less what other people choose to carry for self-defense.
But I will say this- in post #58 I posted 6 incidents where people used knives to successfully defend themselves from violent attackers. I'd say that in those situations that knives proved to be quite effective for self-defense. I'm sure that every one of those people were very glad that they had a knife with them on those occasions. I don't imagine that any one of them regret that they were carrying knives, or that they used them to defend themselves. And I certainly wouldn't tell them that their knives were a bad choice for self-defense. I doubt that they would consider knives a bad choice either.
And on a personal note- I have used a knife to successfully defend myself from an armed and violent attacker, and I'm very glad I was carrying that knife.
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