Click over to Bitter Centurion's place and watch the video he's posted there. It shows an altercation between two idiots, one of whom has a knife. At about the 33sec. mark, the armed man stabs the other in the neck, hitting the carotid artery. Look at how little time it takes for the victim to collapse. I doubt he made it - the blood loss, showing on the ground, is enough to deoxygenate his brain within a minute or so.
Lessons to be learned:
- Danger can strike at any time, in any place, whether you're expecting it or not.
- You're very vulnerable to a close-range hit, whether from a fist or a knife or some other weapon. One good blow to a nerve center can knock you unconscious in a split-second. One stab in the wrong place and you can bleed out in minutes.
- Your only defense (apart from not being there!) is to be ready to defend yourself, and to go to intensified methods of defense (i.e. a gun) if a weapon (like a knife) is displayed; and you have to be ready, willing and able to use your firearm to defend yourself if necessary. It won't do you any good to wave it around like a magic talisman, expecting the bad guy to get scared and run away. Often, he won't.
Food for thought, no?
Peter
19 comments:
That video made the rounds a while back. Still a good reminder how fast things can happen. Pure stupidity led to that kids death. Why square up on a guy with a knife? After years of firearm and martial arts training, I'd rather get shot than stabbed. And even with training, if I'm unarmed against a knife, I'm looking for a way out...confrontation is the last resort.
I'd also add, if you have a firearm, the 21ft rule applies, and that's if you can see it coming, are fully aware, and can react without making a mistake.
Speed is fine, and accuracy is final. I like the point-blank heart shot, but the general doctrine is "Belly button, belt buckle, and balls". If your assailant is a woman, there is the danger of shooting low.
PS - I really like those Black Hills Armory "Honey Badger" rounds.
What Jonesy said. Even at that, if the young "chemically induced" assailant charges you from 21 feet, it will likely be a tie.
Tim Larkin says (I'm paraphrasing), '99% of the time, violence is not the answer. But when it is, it's the only answer, and you'd better be prepared to use maximum force.'
There's this thing called "the Nike Defense" as in "run away fast."
If I am anywhere The Vibrancy Dance Among the Terminally Stupid looks like it might break out - which would be very accidental because I look for that situation and am the first one out the door and down the road if I catch even faint whiff of it - I depart at the speed of light. If I am pursued that means The Game Has Changed and I will deal with it.
More and more of the stores, neighborhoods, attractions and venues in out country are becoming inaccessible because of crime. I suspect by the time the ball drops in Times Square again a very large number of businesses all across the country will have been boarded up because only the extremely stupid and incredibly desperate will venture into those locations.
Pro Tips:
1) Carry a sufficiently-worn "throwdown wallet" to look appropriate with several small bills in it and some cards that look like they might be credit cards; if push comes to shove don't hand it over, toss it near but several feet away from the threat and leave as fast as your feet will carry you.
2) Keep enough small bills - 1s, 5s, 10s, and 20s - in a pocket to cover your restaurant bill. If push comes to shove leave enough under the salt and pepper shakers to cover your order and leave, as in "Leave RFN." There are other restaurants. (You did check out all the possible exit points before you ordered, didn't you?).
It ain't gonna get better, it's gonna get worse. A lot worse. Plan for it.
Concur with LL. It's ALWAYS shot placement, and 21 feet...
He should have followed the rule of the three S's.
Don't go to Stupid places with Stupid people and do Stupid things.
Keeps you out of 95% of bad situations.
Hey Peter;
Frederick is spot on correct on everything, I "dump" my wallet and leave only my DL,a CC and a couple of small bills. in case I have to fork it over. I do that because some of the places I go are GFZ and I can't carry in there....Like the FOX theater and such...Their business, their rules...and I am not excited, but when the wife wants to go....well there you are...
I also avoid places where there is the possibility of "spontaneous Displays of Diversity" because my being an older white dude, it won't end well for me.
A flight examiner shared this jewel: "Don't let anyone, at anytime, do anything to jeopardize the safety of your flight."
The thinking behind that can be applied to probably everything you do or in any situation.
I've realized that 'anyone' includes yourself, such as placing yourself in a place you shouldn't be, or losing situational awareness in even a benign setting.
From a Federal Judge in a California court today:
...Lance Boland testifying that left-handed shooters
sometimes have to “add[] steps of manipulation to the gun that, if we had an
ambidextrous firearm or a left-handed firearm, we wouldn’t have to do,” which takes
time in a situation where “seconds or micro-seconds of time can be the difference
between being able to use your firearm successfully, defensively, and potentially losing
your life”].) According to Plaintiffs, only one semiautomatic handgun on the Roster is
completely ambidextrous, and not only is it expensive, but its sub-compact size means it
is harder to grip and has a sharp recoil impulse.
That refers to the H&K P2000SK(!)
A chainsaw instructor asked a surgeon if he should carry hemostat clamps with him in case of cutting an artery while chainsawing. Don't bother. There is not enough time for you to clamp off something like that wound.
Mr Garibaldi:
A GFZ only really exists if it has metal detectors to keep you out...
Pro tip: If someone is cut like this buffoon, IMMEDIATE pressure above AND below the cut is the only thing that *might* work to save his dumb ass. Or it may not…
Hey Will;
They have "metal Detectors" and if that wasn't there, I would ignore the stupid sign.
The 1st rule of a knife fight is don't get into a knife fight
that is also the 2nd rule.
The 3rd rule is you will always get cut.
I don't think that any city in the west is immune from this un-civilized nonsense. I don't know what will roll it back. Besides massive waves of immigrants from 3rd world countries where this behavior is normal; we have incrementally watched a coarsening of society. There are a thousand little steps that took us to that today and it will take 10,000 to bring us back to a more civil society.
If someone asks about self defense I tell them the first rule is, "Don't be there in all of the ways you can possibly imagine."
I then emphasize the lesson by telling the old joke:
A guy comes into the doctor's office and says, "Doc, I broke my arm in three places!"
The Doc responds, "Well stay out of those places."
" The winner of a knife fight is the guy that goes to the hospital"
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