Weapons for self defense - What are my choices?

By Joel Persinger

As you have probably already guessed, my weapon of choice is avoidance. I prefer to avoid trouble in the first place, so my need for a weapon won’t come up. However, trouble can sometimes find you no matter how hard you try to avoid it. With that in mind, there are several weapons you can use to defend yourself. Keep in mind, the first rule is to obey the law. Don’t select a weapon that is against the law to have or use. Check with your local authorities in order to find out which weapons are legal in your area. Here’s a short list:

* Gun: If you are going to use a gun for self defense, PLEASE do the following.

• Get some great training from a place like Gunsite Ranch http://www.gunsite.com/. There may also be a local shooting facility in your area that offers self defense training, but you can’t go wrong with Gunsite.
• Take a firearms safety course.
• Buy a quick access gun safe and use it! These can be purchased from most gun stores and will allow you to get to the firearm with the use of a combination locking system. They provide quick easy access for you, but the criminal and your kids are locked out. Make sure you bolt your gun safe to the wall or floor so the crook can't just take the safe, gun and all, and run off with it.
• If you use a shotgun for home defense, invest in a quick access shotgun rack from Mossberg firearms. It will work with a pump gun like a Mossberg 500 or Remington 870 and will allow quick access for self defense, while making sure the crook and your kids can’t get to the fire arm or take off with it. Any firearms that are not being used for self defense should be locked in a gun safe with the ammunition stored separately.
• Do Not carry a firearm on your person unless it is legal for you to do so.
• For heaven’s sake join the NRA and your state affiliate organization. I am a member of the NRA and the California Rifle and Pistol Association for example. They have great programs to help you use your firearm effectively, responsibly and safely.

* Knife: In some states it is legal for you to carry a tactical folder like the Kershaw I carry. I’m in California where it is legal, but you will want to check the laws in your local area. A tactical folding knife opens quickly with a flick of the thumb. My personal knife is a Kershaw and is very quick to get into action. I carry it wherever and whenever it is legal to do so.

• Learn to fight with a knife. There is nothing worse than having a weapon that you don’t know how to use. It may very quickly become your attacker’s weapon if you can’t use it properly. Classes are easy to find. There are many seminars you can attend. David “Adventure” Collins and I are attending a knife fighting seminar in Long Beach this weekend for example.
• It should be mentioned here, that I could probably beat the tar out of David in a hand to hand fight because of my skill and size, but he could cut me to ribbons with a knife any day of the week and barely be breathing hard while I was leaking blood all over the pavement. The lesson is simple; if you’re a smaller person like David, pick an equalizer and learn how to use it. It can make all the difference between survival and injury or death. I’m 6 foot 3 inches and 230 lbs with a black belt in Tang Soo Do and a lot of other training, but I still take an equalizer of some sort everywhere. If I do it and you’re name isn’t King Kong, then you should do it too.
• There are some cool (and frightening) knives out there. “Adventure” Collins went to the Cold Steal Challenge in Ventura last week and came home with a couple of interesting ones. These knives are made of composite materials (A fancy word for plastic). They are very sharp, pointy, strong and impervious to the elements. They’re also very light. I don’t know if their legal to carry, but they sure would be handy in a rainy or wet location since they won’t rust. Each has a required metal ring in order to make sure they are detected by a metal detector. However, the ring can be removed easily. My understanding is that these knives are instantly illegal once you remove the metal ring. It’s precisely because of these kinds of sneaky weapons that I carry my cane when I fly (and why I am grateful for Air Marshals). Honest folks will use these appropriately and should have the right to do so. Nevertheless, if you’re in law enforcement, be aware of these. If the ring is removed, metal detectors won’t pick them up.
  

* Stick / Cane

• The simple truth is you cannot carry a gun or knife in many places, but you can carry a cane anywhere at anytime and stick type implements are all over the place. For example: the big Maglite flashlight in your car’s glove compartment is a stick. Your tire iron is a stick. A broom handle is a stick and so on.
• For Cane: check out Cane Masters at http://www.canemasters.com/. I am a member of the Cane Masters International Association as is “Adventure” Collins. I own several of their canes and take one with me everywhere I go (even on the airplane). I’m almost 50 years old, so no one asks me about it. Between the Cane Masters system and my Arnis instructor, I have really learned how to use this weapon.
• You can learn some great stick (and knife) technique from Hock as well. Check out the website at http://www.hockscqc.com/.
  

No matter what weapon you select, make sure you know how to use it and the consequences of doing so. This is part of being a responsible martial artist.