Self Defense: Practical or Paranoid?

[red5angel]

Ok, so I have this thick dowel I use for some of my excersises right and I have go tin the habit of sticking it under the bed on my side at night, just in case.
The neighborhoods not necessarily a bad one by any means, but things happen. Since Christmas my wife hung some replica swords (still functional obviously) on the wall in the entry and so anyone coming through the front door has a chance to use them on me or other occupants of the house.
My wife thinks I am being a little silly putting the stick under the bed, but I won't have a gun in the house anymore. I just believe in being prepared for anything...that's what a few years in the boyscouts will teach you! :)

What do you people think? too much? too little?

[ewallace]

Not paranoid, it's being prepared. Personally, I'd like to keep a surface-to-air missle launcher under my bed, but the ATF generally frowns on having such tools in the hands of folks like me.

[KC Elbows]

I keep a bokken, a three section staff, and two knives within reach of where I sleep.

You're probably not paranoid, but you should be thinking about why your wife is putting the replicas right there. What's she up to?

[dezhen2001]

nothing constructive to add... just wanted to say i like ur avatar ewallace and kc - what a way to make a man secure in his marriage :D

dawood

[red5angel]

Exallace, if I could arrange it I would make sure you had a surface to air missle under your bed ;)

KC, hehe, I don't know I open up a life insurance policy before christmas and suddenly I get all sorts of guns, knives and swords for christmas. Of course my wife being the decorator, she gets to decide where they all "belong", hmmmmmmm


Actually this question kind of reminds me of this night back in high school when I was in karate. I was crashing at a buddy of mines who was also in my karate class. Him and I had just turned the lights out about 3 am when we hear this loud crash from downstairs. We creep to the door and open it and hear voices downstairs. He grabs his boken and hands me his sai and we both go tearing downstairs but the guy was already heading out the back door. We found the guys footprints and as near as we figure he must have been outside this guys window waiting for us to crash before he broke in!

[apoweyn]

well, i've never tried it, mind you. but i wouldn't fancy fending off a sword with a dowel rod. replica or no. :)

is it paranoid? probably. odds are pretty decent that nobody's going to break into your house. (i don't know stats, mind you.) odds are that if they did, they wouldn't be coming specifically to cause you harm. odds are that if they were coming specifically to cause you harm, they wouldn't plan on doing so with the replica swords in the hallway.

that said, what's the harm? doesn't cost you anything to stick a dowel rod under the bed. so what if it never pays off.

now my wife would never go for having weapons by the bed. (not that i'm inclined to do that anyway, honestly.) but if you believe that weapons are necessary for home defense, then it only makes sense that they be readily available to you.

so i guess it's a question of cost-benefit analysis. my gut tells me that there's little benefit to it. but if there's little cost as well, what the hell. and if i'm wrong, and there is a benefit to having that weapon on hand (god forbid), then no cost is too high. right?


stuart b.

[Cody]

Swords by the door, huh? I wouldn't like that much.

As for the dowel, I'm cool with that. I have a thick wooden sword by my bed.

Cody

[red5angel]

Ap, you've never seen me with a dowel rod obviously... ;) Besides the things is like an inch and a half thick, I know it's just wood but still!

I essentially explained to my wife that it doesn't hurt anything. First of all I use the stick for training so it isn't like I went out to get the best "Self Defense Dowel" (TM) I could find, I just happened to think, hey if someone were to come in the house it sure would be nice to have somehting other then my hands to use if I had to. Guns were out so I just made it a habit of sticking this thing under my bed when I was done with practice.

[apoweyn]

hey, like i said, no harm in it.

but as long as you're sticking a nondescript stick under your bed, you may want to grab a rattan eskrima stick. i've got to believe it'd weather getting beaten on with a sword better than a dowel rod would. dowel rods break. rattan frays, splits, etc. but tends not to snap.

[yutyeesam]

Would we be inclined to call someone paranoid if they sleep with a gun under their pillow?

How different is keeping a rod under the bed, or a sword by the bed? The level of potential damage inflicted is the obvious difference, but principally, is it not the same?

It's an issue of how much one fears death. If you watch Bowling for Columbine, one astounding difference between Canadians and Americans is how considerably less Canadians are consumed with fear, compared to Americans, yet they have the crime, the poverty, and a love affair with guns.


123

[norther practitioner]

I'm roomates with a guy that trains with me..... We were discussing this the other day when we realized we have a sword in just about every room (dining room, his room, my room, living room, and near the front door). And a butt load more weapons around, staffs, 3 section staff, etc. What we have done now though is stuck some weapons in some spots for "just in case" situations. The house has been broken into twice, and one of our friends always brings by some questionable "aquantainces". Anyhow, I am a firm believer in that there should always be something close at hand to hit someone with (helps you make your point). In all seriousness, keeping a dowel right there doesn't hurt anything, and in all reality you never know when you are going to have to bludgen someone trying to violate your space and sanctity. So practical would be my vote....now if you had a tinfoil hat on and some patriot missles in the garage, then we should find a good therapist ;) .

[red5angel]

Ap, since I am looking at doing some escrima trianing ayway it might be a good idea, the trusty "Self Defense Dowel" (TM) was just a handy and hard stick laying around anyway.

yutyeesam, I think the level of potential damage is what makes the difference. I have worked with guns enough to know I have better control over someones life with a stick. It will definitely allow me to gain control of a situation easier and I won't be tempted as much to go for sweet spots I might be with a gun. If you live in the right neighborhood, it might be necessary, but for my suburb I would have to call myself paranoid if I kept a gun under my pillow.

[Former castleva]

Feng shui solutions:
Sleep facing the door (or least a related entryway)

Dunno about swords above the door...
Spiky cactuses placed near the windows should keep intruders away...

I do not know if I´d consider weapons within your reach paranoid,maybe of less importance than good preparations to keep troubles away from your drowsy body.

:)

[yenhoi]

I have a pair of rattan sticks within reach when I sleep. Couple knives under the pillow since sept 11, too.

Paranoid.

[Slayer]

Who lets see. A few knives here and there. My staff by the door. Escrima sticks, and Bart Jam Doa by my bed. Colt 45 in a holster attached to the bottem of my desk. My mom keeps a Bretta 9mm in the kitchen, and we have a shot gun hidden in the China Cabenit.

I saw prepared. We keep our weapons in our house so we can reach them with in 10 seconds.

My dad was in the Army
I was in the Scouts
My mom was home alone on day when our house was broken into.
So we try to stay prepared

Slayer

[Sharp Phil]

What is paranoia? It's generally believed to be a state of suspicion about your fellow human beings that is out of proportion to the actual threat they represent.

Is being prepared for an emergency even though that emergency is relatively unlikely a question of paranoia?

I have an article in the current issue of KnifeForums Magazine (http://www.knifeforums.com/subscriptionspage.html) called Safer in Suburbia. It's all about the types of survival gear you can carry on you, in a briefcase, in your car, and stored at your home in case of natural emergency, civil unrest, crime, and so forth. There is every chance that most of this gear, which I haul around personally, will never see use.

But I'd rather be prepared than unprepared.

Self-defense -- and, more broadly, preparations for unnamed and unspecified emergencies -- is all a question of hedging your bets, gambling against chance. You can't win every bet, but you can cheat as much as possible.

:)

[Sharp Phil]

I keep a 1" x 24' maple dowel

A 24 foot maple dowel?

[red5angel]

Yenhoi, I knew you were paranoid from the beginning man ;)

Slayer, holy geeze!! You must live in a rough neighborhood or something!

[dezhen2001]

i dont have anything :( - tlak about peer pressure from you guys :D

i have a statue of a drunken monk on my window facing out so it protects it from intruders!

oh - but i do have 4 bricks by my bed that i use for hard qigong training so i guess they casn count as weapons lol

dawood

[DelicateSound]

I have f*ck all. Not really scared. If anyone broke in I'd let 'em have whatever, I'm insured. I really doubt anyone'd try to kill me over a TV, a PS2 and a 1990 Fender Stratocaster in Alpine White with a maple fretboard. That's all I really have in my room at Uni, save for empty beer bottles and a sick stain on the carpet.

If I lived in a rough area I might. Next year I'll probably be living in a crappy student house with a shotgun under my pillow and anti-personel mines under the floorboards.

F*cking hell.

[apoweyn]

don't worry about it dezhen. all i've got is a really large bottle of Tums. but they are extra strength, so...

[red5angel]

I have a Corgi who gets cranky when you wake him up and he often sleeps at the end of the bed so that I may not need the stick.

[Former castleva]

Yeah,corgi...
If you have NOT trained him too much,he might just happen to take a few shots at intruder´s calves...then dodge the incoming kick.
Traditional fashion.
:)

[ewallace]

I'm pretty sure Xebs would kill DS for his PS2.

[apoweyn]

Originally posted by red5angel
I have a Corgi who gets cranky when you wake him up and he often sleeps at the end of the bed so that I may not need the stick.

okay, now you're just showing off. a corgi and a stick?!

:)

[red5angel]

Yeah, that dog is so sturdy, I figure if I don't have the stick I can hit them with the Corgi. He might not even wake up!

[Laughing Cow]

Like dezhen I got nothing and don't plan on getting anything.

Most of my MA weapons are stored away, but than there are still plenty of other things to fight with.

I also normally never carry when I go outside, just not needed.
And if I do I follow my Sifu's advise:

"If you carry don't look as if you are doing so. And don't be overconfident and rely on what you carry."

[Cheese Dog]

Allright guys, I just had to go in my bedroom and check. I have within reach of my bed:


1. Two arnis sticks
2. a bokken
3. army knife
4. A foot long metal bar
5. two stacks of weights, one iron, one vinyl covered concrete. (good for throwing at pesky intruders)
6. enough dust bunnies under the bed to take out a small army

D a m n, I didn't know I was that paranoid!!!!

[yutyeesam]

YOu're all making me paranoid, now!! I just checked my bedroom, and all I got is a cat toy that could serve as a mini rope dart. That outta give 'em a good laugh before they splatter my brain against my bedrest with their gat.

Cody-
What is your response to what I said about fear?

123

[fightfan]

Originally posted by ewallace
Not paranoid, it's being prepared. Personally, I'd like to keep a surface-to-air missle launcher under my bed, but the ATF generally frowns on having such tools in the hands of folks like me.

LMAO! Im seriously thinking about trading in my 9mm for a AK-47. Thats close enough for me!
Check it out, E.
http://www.atlanticfirearms.com/rifles.htm#AK47

[ewallace]

A buddy of mine takes this stuff pretty seriously too. He has a SKS semi-auto with a 30 round clip filled (one in the chamber too) with "Full Metal Jacket" rounds. He also has a Tec-9, and a 9mm Sig with laser sights. Crazy s.o.b. was on the roof of his house when the millenium came, just in case.

[ewallace]

Just go to a few of the gun shows at the airport convention center or live oak civic center and get to know some folks there. Once you kinda get in with the loop you can find some really...uhh...nice weapons. :)

[red5angel]

hehe, EW , I had some friends like that, avid gun collectors etc..who decided when the millenium came it would be better to purchase 3000$ worth of dried foods, no less then three rifles, one for quote "crowd suppression". These guys holed up for three days in some out of the way place in the country....

[Sharp Phil]

FMJ rounds are just standard "ball" ammo. The TEC-9 is possibly one of the least reliable pistols on the market, too -- it tends to jam a lot. I had a CAT-9 made by the same company that was a pretty good little pistol, though.

[ewallace]

The TEC-9 is possibly one of the least reliable pistols on the market, too -- it tends to jam a lot
The word "Possibly" should have been omitted from that last statement. That would be the last firearm I would want when things go bad. But as my friend did, if I was offered a brand new one for about $75 when I was 18, I would have bought it too.

[ewallace]

I'm still waiting for about $650 to fall into my lap so I can go buy my HK .45. Just thinking about it makes my mouth water.

[red5angel]

HK .45 nice, I rarely cleaned mine, or not as much as I should have and never had problems with it. After my military experience however my choice for caliber iwll always be 9mil, it's just too stable to not want ot use it, and yes it may not have the stopping power of some of the larger guns, a quick and might I say accurate double tap will usually be enough......

[ZIM]

Kind of old-school, myself, and I don't like making a fetish out of weaponry. I think that having weapons is not paranoid, but being paranoid is not helped when you add weapons into that. Chicken/egg.

2 pairs brass knuckles, 1 machete, 1 sapper, a steel-headed mace (true!) under the car seat, several hunting knives, couple of staves, a rapier [scr3w katanas].

As for guns, I'd rather get a decent revolver, say a .38 special, or a double barrel breachloader shotgun...I like the fact that I could be a total slob with that kind of thing and it'll still work...no muss, no fuss. Some argue that getting the thing reloaded during 'combat' is a problem.

H3ck, get TWO. Problem solved. :D

[fightfan]

I think my dad passed the "gun gene" down to me but the thought of having to use one on somebody and not finishing the job instantly petrifies me. I think thats why I want a higher caliber than the 9mm. Other than that 9mm is great!

HK.45 is sweeet! .45's are fun. A friend of mine had a Ruger .45. We took it to the range and everyone around us was looking at us like "what the he11 is that?". The shells were flying everywhere and bouncing off of heads. Funny $hit man!

[SevenStar]

anyone seen that movie "Strange Days"? rembmer that one quote "Paranoia is merely reality on a finer scale"

That said, I have 3 kali sticks, a broadsword and a katana all within reach of me in the bedroom. I have a knife that folds so that the blade and handle form a T shape - you put the handle in your hand and the blad portrudes from between your knuckles.

I would be leary of keeping weapons all over the house though, as some of you have said you have. if they are in the living room, for example, they are more accessible to intruders than they are to you if you are in the bedroom. you don't want to provide them with something they can use to kill you easier.

[tnwingtsun]

Romanian AK47 WASR 10 .762 x 39 Semi auto, these are like the Romanian SAR 1 but will only take a low capacity single stack 10 round magazine, chrome lined barrel, scope rail, pistol grip, nice budget priced rifle, may be legal in areas where the hi capacity AKs are not, comes with 1 10 round magazine, sling, cleaning kit, owner's info, new in box

WRONG INFO



If you wanna an AK-47/AKS/MAC-90/SAR-1,2,3,whatever,do some research and go to the friggin range and learn how to change mags blindfolded,muzzel awarness and train,train,train,if you must have a firearm.

http://www.gunsnet.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=77


I think paranoid people are chasing me.....

[tnwingtsun]

"Film director Michael Moore has just released a anti gun piece of crap documentary called, "Bowling For Columbine". A film were he exploites the death of children to push his anti gun views. I learned of this movie when i saw him in a interview on a news channel were he was summing up the messege of his film in saying he wishes to ban all civillian owned firearms, because in his view they serve no purpose. In the film he postrays all gun owners as insane and all of his "proof" comes from the acts of a few bad apples. He calls this documentary a debate on gun ownership but it is clear he has made up his mind even before he began filming."



Geeze,what a POS making money off of something like this.