Someone tried to break into my home last night

[GeneChing]

I was watching the Simpsons, decompressing after practice, at around 10:30 last night. My wife and kid had gone to bed when I heard this banging in the kitchen. At the time, I thought my wife had got up to get a snack and was openning and closing the refrigerator door. In reality, it was someone trying to pry the screen off of our window. It's funny how your perceptions can mold a stimuli to fit into what your mind thinks should be happening. But it was too loud and incessant - my wife is really quiet and sneaks up on me all the time - so I got up to investigate. Again, my mind was thinking that maybe my wife was mad or something, and that's why she was slamming the refrigerator door, even though that would be so unlikely for her - more like something I would do. As soon as I got up, I knew something was wrong since the bedrooms were undisturbed. I turned on a light, and that alerted the perpetrator, who fled. I saw a shadow cross the window. I dashed back to my room, crossing paths with my wife in the hall, who asked what was going on. I told her to I thought someone was out there and to stay with our child. I got to my weapons rack.

Now as an aside, one of my shixiong, Robert Daniels, from a long time ago stopped a home intruder. I think Robert may be teaching in Seattle, so if anyone knows him, say 'hi' for me. Anyway, there had been a series of mid-day break-ins at his apartment complex. He was home in the afternoon and his room was right over the door. He heard a noise, looked out the window and saw someone working the door with a screwdriver. He ran to his weapons rack. Now, this is why I bring this up - he couldn't decide quickly. When he did decide, his chose a wushu broadsword, which probably wasn't the best choice, practically speaking. But he managed to be coming downstairs right when the guy got in the door. Imagine, you break into a house to see this big dude charging you with a broadsword. He turned tail and ran. Later, the cops commented after seeing the broadsword "too bad you didn't catch him".

For many years, I keep the equivalent of a pillow sword by my bedside. My wife always commented that it was a "guy thing." Perhaps it is. After Robert's experience, I had given it a lot of thought and figured that a bokken was the best home defense weapon for me. I specialized in sword for years, CMA, fencing and kendo, so a bokken is very versatile for me. For a long time, I kept a bokken by my bed, however, in the last few years, I lost the affectation.

So there I was at my weapons rack, with all this is flashing through my mind. It's dark, so I have to feel my way. Over years of neglect, my bokken is buried under a bunch of stuff - I couldn't find it anyway. So I grab my heavy dragon-head cane, the one I competed with for years; I even took it to China when I was on the US AAU national team. I also grab my 4-D maglite. I worked my way through college at a sleazy discount movie theater and we all got really proficient with maglites. Of course, by the time I've retreived all of this, the perpetrator is gone.

The cops were there in about five minutes. They said that they had a similar break-in in the neighborhood a few minutes earlier. They sent a CSI guy out to take prints. The would-be intruder had unscrewed the yard lights so they wouldn't turn on. Given the smudges left on my broken screen and the window, the CSI cop thought the intruder was wearing gloves.

It was all over in an hour. My wife and I moved our kid to our bed to sleep between us. We watched Letterman to unwind a bit. I finished off a bottle of Jack Daniels, then broke into a bottle of Talisker.

Now, the morning after, I'm still buzzing from the experience. This weekend will be devoted to installing some more motion detector lights outside and re-evaluating my home defense weapons. Martially speaking, it has my reflecting on my practice. I've let my weapons practice slide a bit in the last year or so - that needs to be remedied. Also, I've gained new respect for the kung fu uniform. When people ask me how to get to a local CMA tournament, I often reply, "look for a bunch of people in their pajamas". Standing in my yard with my cane, maglite and pajamas, I'm more appreciative of our practice garb.

[MonkeySlap Too]

Glad your okay. Not happy the guy got away.

Last year my car got broken into. My wife was awake, and I think alerted the punks by accident. I came flying out of the house with a combat steel Jing (purchased at martial arts mart)...but they were gone. My first choice was an oak staff - for the reach - but was concerned I might get caught in the trellis.

Funny stuff, eh.

Now I'm just shopping for a Glock. More efficient and safer, especially with a kid around who might be in danger while daddy is fighting.

[Chang Style Novice]

Very glad to hear you and your family are alright!

Too bad about the one casualty though.

Poor, poor Jack.;)

[Vash]

That's some scary $hit. Glad everyone is all right, Gene.

You raise a good point about traditional weaponry. We might not use it in the "street," but we probably could find some use for it in home security.

Again, glad everyone's all right.

[red5angel]

ouch, glad to hear things turned out alright.

I keep two knives by my bed. My wife thinks it's a guy thing too but when I was young and taking karate, a friend of mine had his house broken into twice while I was there! All we had were his sai and his katana and bokken, which we grabbed and effectively chased the intruders out with (probably more just heard the noise, only one guy saw us and that was on his way out). So now it's just habit.

[Starchaser107]

hi gene glad you're okay and your family is safe , that's the important thing.
i know this might sound like blasphemy coming from a kung fu guy
but what about guns?
ever considered getting one, or that the intruder might have one?

how about a taser? that wouldn't really conflict too much with martial ethics would it?

blessed.

[sean_stonehart]

Dang Gene... that blows. I'm glad to hear everything is ok. I'd get the motion detectors set up on your outdoor lights around waist high on you.

On the gun issue, that's an emotionally charged topic. I'll say this. I have one for home/personal protection & find no conflict with any martial ethics. Ethics be ****ed when it comes to protecting my family. Property can be replaced, family can't.

On the counter to that, if you unload a mag into a guy who's just doing a B&E with no weapons, you're on the line & chances are you will loose unless things are very extreme or the laws are such in your state to allow for such extreme measures with no idea of what is really going on with the person.

Judge Pen.... Paging Judge Pen.... time for a professional non-commital answer about this...

[Judge Pen]

Funny I keep a bokken, a couple of knives, and a .380 automatic all within reach. Fortunately no one has tried to breal into my place.

[Judge Pen]

In Tennessee (and I would assume most southern states) when someone is advancing into your home then there's a presumption that one has a reasonable beleif that their life or the life of their family is in jeopardy which could justify the use of deadly force in your home. However, that presumption can be rebutted by the circumstances: i.e. you shoot him in the back as he is fleeing your property etc.

[stubbs]

lol @ having too many weapons to choose from...funnily enough i keep a bokken and a pair of escrima sticks next to my bed
________
No2 Vaporizer Review (http://no2vaporizer.net)

[stubbs]

i just thought..bubble wrap would be a great early warning thing to have near the entrances...no body can resist playing with bubble wrap!
________
Chevrolet Corvette C5 Specifications (http://www.chevy-wiki.com/wiki/Chevrolet_Corvette_C5)

[norther practitioner]

I keep my dog at the foot of the bed, and a jian in the bedroom...




Gene,

Glad to here you and your family are all OK.

[David Jamieson]

good to hear you and the family are ok.

It's time to install the sharks with the lasers on their heads I think.

That kind of experience is trippy to say the least. Would be interesting to read a distilled retrospective beyond what you've already written here Gene.

cheers and good luck!

[Ray Pina]

Glad it turned out the way it did. You get to look like the hero chasing the guy away and no blood or sweat spilled ..... good karma.:D

[grlyncher99]

It's all about having the wild animals inside your house to keep away the wild animals outsider your house. Of course, they do have to get off the bed or out from underneath the covers, but they will be there for you. Now, you just need to get them to differentiate from the real threats and the ones only they can see. For instance the pesky dogs that park in the neighbor's yard should be classified in the nusiance category and not a real threat.
Glad to hear everything went okay despite the fact you did not have a chance to demonstrate your martial prowess. It's probably better that way.

[Shaolinlueb]

glad your okay gene. glad your family is oaky.

sounds like the guy knew what he was semi doing too. it cracked me up when you said "I finished off a bottle of Jack Daniels, then broke into a bottle of Talisker." maybe its just me :o

[CaptinPickAxe]

Glad to hear your cool, Gene.

Me and Shake had a threat of break-in at our old house. We had lead pipes, 3 foot dows of wood, and various knives and hatches strategically scattered through out the house. I slept with my Butterfly Swords next to my bed and a .22 in the closet. I wanted to use my Butterfly Swords, but they were kinda dull so I would of opted for the .22. No break in though, I'm happy to say. Well at least none while we were there.
We had someone pry off the screen on a window, bust a small corner out of the window, reach in and unlock the window, climb through, and steal $500...We think we know who it was cause when we confronted him he skipped town.

[Meat Shake]

Throwing knives and a tonfa by my bed, and a great combat pocket knife. :)

Glad to hear you're ok gene. I had someone kick my front door in about 3 years ago while I was in the living room sleeping on the couch... I wasnt wearing my glasses and Im legally blind, so I couldnt really see ****... I guess whoever it was saw me staggering towards the door and ran though. :D
Then last year, I looked out my window and saw someone ****ing with my jeep, so I grabbed the katan I used to have and ran outside, but they had seen me peek out the window and ran. A few minutes later I see them cruise back by in the same truck, but they also see me duck and roll into the bushes with a sword... Needless to say they didnt come back again.
Then a few months ago some little rat ******* middleschoolers were out on their bikes breaking windows and I heard them, and they were right by my jeep so I figured they did something to my jeep... I run outside in my boxer briefs and start chasing them, and I guess since I was barefoot the little buggers didnt hear me. I catch up to the slowest one who is wearing a backpack and grab his backpack and pull him off his bike. I drag him back to my jeep telling him the whole time that his friends arent good friends for leaving him, and nothing better be wrong with my jeep. lol. I get back to the jeep, nothing is wrong, and since I dont have my glasses I cant see if anything happened to a neighbors house, and no neighbors were out so I let him go.

But yes... Glad you are ok gene. Any sort of wooden club is a choice home defense tool.

[Meat Shake]

Originally posted by CaptinPickAxe

We had someone pry off the screen on a window, bust a small corner out of the window, reach in and unlock the window, climb through, and steal $500...We think we know who it was cause when we confronted him he skipped town.

Closer to 900$.

[Kristoffer]

this is why apartements are better. Steel doors baby

[Gangsterfist]

We've also got a weapons rack. On it are some poles, a hockey stick, a baseball bat, and tape bat, and a kendo stick.

The tape bat is a bat completely made out of layered duct tape. Its about two inches thick. Trust me, its hurts real bad to get whacked with the tape bat. If you scrape it across someone it will tear flesh. Its about 2 and 1/2 ft long. Its like a heavy whip, and when you swing it at someone and hit them with it, it really hurts.

How we came to make the tape bat, and its purpose.....

Well, thats a different story all together.

I don't keep guns in my house. All my guns are with my folks. I feel a bit uneasy because we are all young and party a lot. Last thing I want is some drunk idiot getting into them, so I don't keep them there. As for bedside weapons I just have a decent pocket knife in the nightstand drawer next to the bed.

[CaptinPickAxe]

I never told anyone about the heater. I feel the same way as you, but never let anyone near my room during parties. Also, we know never to play with guns...no matter how spackled we may be.

[SanSoo Student]

Glad the guy didn't get in. Near my bed I have some tonfas, and a tactical folder. Motion detecting lights are a good buy, especially in the backyard.

You could always be cheap, and set up punji traps everywhere, patrolled by guard dogs.

[Indestructible]

Glad you and your family are okay Gene. I had a similar experience some years ago. I went for the hall closet where I had some baseball equipment and in my haste grabbed my son's wiffle ball bat! Fortuneately, the guy had run off when he heard me, but funny in retrospect.

[jun_erh]

On john Stossel a while ago he interviewed some of these muggers and stuff. Their biggst fear is that the person will have a gun.

[YinYangDagger]

If that's the case Jun - I'm the intruders worst nightmare :D

Hmmm, too many weapons to choose from...Glock 17, S&W .357, AR-15, ahhh yes, the good ol' Mossberg 590 12 gauge.

[MonkeySlap Too]

Well YYD, at least you have good taste in guns...

[YinYangDagger]

at least... :D

Saw you speaking about a Glock yourself...I highly recommend the Glock 21, I had one but had to sell it when things got hard years ago. I always liked the bigger .45 caliber compared to the 9mm, and if you use the Glaser rounds you'll put someone down quick without worrying about accidently hurting an innocent. Good stuff.

Of course my pops is more "gun crazy" than I am, and with all the guns he has he chooses a single shot 12 gauge beside his bed, equipped with a nice bandolier of 12 ga rounds. He says if he needs more than that then it's his time to go LOL.

[MonkeySlap Too]

Last time I went shooting (which was the first time in years), my buddy the gun nut gave me a wide range to test taste before I went shopping.

The Glock 21 was on the top of my list. By far the best control of recoil, I was actually able to group fairly well without haveing fired a gn in five years.

I too prefer the larger rounds.

The Baby Glock was a neat toy.

I also enjoyed the Makarov police issue automatic - while only a .38, it was incredibally accurate for me.

The Kimber 1911 wasn't bad either, but 1911's have a long history of going off when they feel like it.

Went through about 20 pistols. Glock was my favorite, and still is.

[Northernboxer]

I have heard of many lawsuits where a perp was injured by the homeowner and sued them for being hurt. So if someone breaks in to your home should you shoot to kill? How many of you would be so quick to do so?

[Vash]

I don't think I could. I could fug the boy up pretty good, though. Peeps can't sue if they in a coma.

[YinYangDagger]

100% correcto MST - the 21 feels nothing like the old 1911 when you fire it, but I still like the 1911 and it's look - but if I HAD to choose one, I'd still go with the Glock.

If you get the chance, I think you'd be even more surprised by the Baby Glock .45 (Glock 30). All that firepower, excellent recoil, and STILL fits in a jacket pocket - simply unbelieveable....

NB -I have heard of many lawsuits where a perp was injured by the homeowner and sued them for being hurt. - True - I've heard of those cases too, fortunately the state I live in you don't have that problem...Prime example of this is when a perp tried to break into my friends house next door, he scared them away before he had a chance to use his firearm - the cop said: "Too bad you didn't get a chance to shoot him, we think it's the same guy doing all these burglaries in this neighborhood." LOL

So if someone breaks in to your home should you shoot to kill? - Uh yeah, he may have a weapon and may want to kill you.

Bottom line is if a total stranger is in your house and you are not aware of it then I'd guess he was there to do more than bring you cookies.

[joedoe]

I have a friend who lives in Indiana and he recently invested in a 9mm handgun for home protection. His wife (after being trained in how to handle the handgun) asked him what she should do if there is an intruder. His answer - "Give him the whole clip. Tell the cops that he was moving to attack you and you feared for your life. A dead man can't tell his side of the story".

[YinYangDagger]

Joedoe - That's some of the best martial arts advice I've seen here in a LONG time :p

[diego]

Originally posted by GeneChing
I was watching the Simpsons, decompressing after practice, at around 10:30 last night. My wife and kid had gone to bed when I heard this banging in the kitchen. At the time, I thought my wife had got up to get a snack and was openning and closing the refrigerator door. In reality, it was someone trying to pry the screen off of our window. It's funny how your perceptions can mold a stimuli to fit into what your mind thinks should be happening. But it was too loud and incessant - my wife is really quiet and sneaks up on me all the time - so I got up to investigate. Again, my mind was thinking that maybe my wife was mad or something, and that's why she was slamming the refrigerator door, even though that would be so unlikely for her - more like something I would do. As soon as I got up, I knew something was wrong since the bedrooms were undisturbed. I turned on a light, and that alerted the perpetrator, who fled. I saw a shadow cross the window. I dashed back to my room, crossing paths with my wife in the hall, who asked what was going on. I told her to I thought someone was out there and to stay with our child. I got to my weapons rack.

Now as an aside, one of my shixiong, Robert Daniels, from a long time ago stopped a home intruder. I think Robert may be teaching in Seattle, so if anyone knows him, say 'hi' for me. Anyway, there had been a series of mid-day break-ins at his apartment complex. He was home in the afternoon and his room was right over the door. He heard a noise, looked out the window and saw someone working the door with a screwdriver. He ran to his weapons rack. Now, this is why I bring this up - he couldn't decide quickly. When he did decide, his chose a wushu broadsword, which probably wasn't the best choice, practically speaking. But he managed to be coming downstairs right when the guy got in the door. Imagine, you break into a house to see this big dude charging you with a broadsword. He turned tail and ran. Later, the cops commented after seeing the broadsword "too bad you didn't catch him".

For many years, I keep the equivalent of a pillow sword by my bedside. My wife always commented that it was a "guy thing." Perhaps it is. After Robert's experience, I had given it a lot of thought and figured that a bokken was the best home defense weapon for me. I specialized in sword for years, CMA, fencing and kendo, so a bokken is very versatile for me. For a long time, I kept a bokken by my bed, however, in the last few years, I lost the affectation.

So there I was at my weapons rack, with all this is flashing through my mind. It's dark, so I have to feel my way. Over years of neglect, my bokken is buried under a bunch of stuff - I couldn't find it anyway. So I grab my heavy dragon-head cane, the one I competed with for years; I even took it to China when I was on the US AAU national team. I also grab my 4-D maglite. I worked my way through college at a sleazy discount movie theater and we all got really proficient with maglites. Of course, by the time I've retreived all of this, the perpetrator is gone.

The cops were there in about five minutes. They said that they had a similar break-in in the neighborhood a few minutes earlier. They sent a CSI guy out to take prints. The would-be intruder had unscrewed the yard lights so they wouldn't turn on. Given the smudges left on my broken screen and the window, the CSI cop thought the intruder was wearing gloves.

It was all over in an hour. My wife and I moved our kid to our bed to sleep between us. We watched Letterman to unwind a bit. I finished off a bottle of Jack Daniels, then broke into a bottle of Talisker.

Now, the morning after, I'm still buzzing from the experience. This weekend will be devoted to installing some more motion detector lights outside and re-evaluating my home defense weapons. Martially speaking, it has my reflecting on my practice. I've let my weapons practice slide a bit in the last year or so - that needs to be remedied. Also, I've gained new respect for the kung fu uniform. When people ask me how to get to a local CMA tournament, I often reply, "look for a bunch of people in their pajamas". Standing in my yard with my cane, maglite and pajamas, I'm more appreciative of our practice garb.

LOL at the pajama comment...Glad you and your family is safe Gene, and may karma drop something heavy on that *******:)

[Losttrak]

Hehe Living in what is now the #1 crime capital in the world, Dallas, I have, on a few occasions, got stuck deciding on the weapon of choice. Invariably I go for the steak knife. Broadsword is good but I am afraid of them getting within the swing radius if it ever came down to it. Then its just as dangerous to me. Gene, get yourself a nice shotgun and practice with it. Threat factor is high and makes people head for the hills. Plus, you dont need to be accurate... just make sure your loved ones are on one side of you, and the bad guy on the other.

[Losttrak]

BTW Northernboxer, as much as you prolly want to kill them... it is said, "A dead body speaks louder than a live person". Alot of peeps are prone to feel pity for a dead guy and take his side, as opposed to the living, breathing crackhead trash he really is. Aim low, maybe a nice nut shot for the sake of Darwinism and let it be.

[Ben Gash]

I've got a Kali stick by the bed.

[Chang Style Novice]

There's six dogs in my house. No-one sneaks in.

[MonkeySlap Too]

YYD - The Baby Glock was on the list. Amazing fun - practiced drawing from the jacket. A riot...my buddy is the gun-fu master, he had me doing crazy drills that made sense, really. Both Glocks did well for me. After such a long lay-off, I was lucky to place anything much less group shots. Something about those Glocks made it easy.

[rubthebuddha]

gasher -- i'm glad you brought it up. if you're going for non-projectile weapons, i think the filipinos have it best, as a basic kali/escrima rattan is much easier to manage in tight spaces like a hallway or bedroom. that, and since it's so light, it can be wielded quickly while still ****ing up anything it hits.

[Ben Gash]

Yeah, that's kind of the idea. I think with a dao I'd keep taking chunks out of the walls. Also of course, the stick offers you more control. With it you can kill, but you can also restrain and disarm.

[cerebus]

Dogs are man's best friend. A nice, big, well-trained German Shepard is great companionship and will totally disregard it's own safety to protect it's "pack" (you and your loved ones). You treat 'em right and they'll be there for you.

Also, I've seen people yelling, talking smack & throwing stones at cops armed with guns but who will run like you've never seen when faced with a snarling dog.

[CFT]

The problem with guns is that you just might regret using them:

Ex-Springbok charged with murder (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/3744157.stm)

[@PLUGO]

I finished off a bottle of Jack Daniels, then broke into a bottle of Talisker.

Now, the morning after, I'm still buzzing from the experience.

he neglected the Buzz part of the story in the office . . . Hmmmm:rolleyes:

I've got 2 BIG BLACK dogs that are generally very friendly but each have a bark that works better than any car alarm...

[Radhnoti]

I could offer hundreds of stories where using or just having a firearm saved lives. Statistically speaking, the chances of an innocent being shot is lower than the percentage drowning in swimming pools, or choking to death on food. I think someone already mentioned the fear criminals have of firearms in the hands of their intended victims.

Gene, I'm very glad you and your family are ok. The police responded in 5 minutes! :eek:
I've NEVER had an officer respond in under 45 minutes...which is why those of us not in the city are (in the main) pro-gun types I guess.

[GeneChing]

Now, two days after the episode, it all seems pretty surreal. Of course, I'm grateful that everything is safe and sound, but I always try to be grateful for that. The break-in attempt was a wake-up call for gratitude, so in a weird zen way, I'm grateful that the would-be burglar served as my alarm clock. It's given me a lot to reflect on over the last couple of days, and will certainly give me more grist for the mill in days to come.

Some odd reflections - my wife had some funny premonitions (she does that a lot, it's a bit disturbing, but more irritating that she can't have premonitions about the stock market :rolleyes:). The break-in was attempted in what was once a Yoga room where my wife held classes, so it has a door to shut off the rest of the house. For some odd reason, my wife closed that door just prior to the incident. She also brought up the subject of swapping our kid's room with her study, putting our kid's room in the center of the house, the safest of rooms. Also, the day before, she was cleaning the windows, and was trying to remove one of the screens - we couldn't figure out how to do it quickly, so we gave up. We installed new double-pane windows last year, for insulation and sound reduction (since we live one house down from the freeway soundwall). Well, now I know how to get those screens off. What's more, if that perpetrator had chosen another window, it would have been open. :o

I think both my wife and I are trippin' harder on our mutual misperception of what was happening at the moment. We both heard warning sounds and our minds transformed them into what would have been normal. We both got up - not to ward off the burglar - but to find out why the other was slamming the refridgerator door. Refridgerator doors have a distinct sound, nothing like prying off a screen window. And neither of us would slam the fridge door repeatedly when our child was sleeping. In retrospect, the entire episode wasn't as scary as it was just plain disturbing.

A lot of you have commented on guns. I totally respect the right of Americans to bear guns, and even went through a gun phase when I was in college. A lot of my friends were into guns and we went out to the range often. I hung out with a few cops back then. I also used to work gun shows, selling swords. But I've never owned a gun and I don't plan to invest in one now. That's just my personal choice, and the more I think about it, it's based on my own personal quirkiness. I have a lot of swords and such. Even if you don't know me personally, I'm sure you can imagine why I have so many. In fact, I got into martial arts because I like swords. In a weird way, and to be perfactly honest with all of you, I relish the opportunity to grab something out of my weapons rack and use it for real. Of course, protecting my family is important, and if the perp had a gun, well, that would suck. But I'm pretty confident with a short weapon. Hell, I've been practicing with them for years. Even if the perp had a club, I feel I would have the advantage, and that wouldn't just be 'home court'. Besides, I think my swords would be jealous if I got a gun. And I'm a crappy shot.

FWIW, I do have chemical mace somewhere in the house, which I had to use once years ago. It's probably expired now.

What I find really interesting about how this thread is developing is how many of you prefer boken (http://store.martialartsmart.net/40-03.html). That would have been my choice too, but now I'm starting to rethink my choice of 'pillow sword'. I'm starting to lean towards something more rapier-like for my right hand. And I'm sticking with my maglite for my left (although now I'm thinking I'll invest in one of the longer C-cell models). I think I'd be far more accurate with a pointy sharp in my right and more punishing with a blunt rod in my left - that would give me the most confidence, were this to happen again. But I'm still reflecting on it.

[Gangsterfist]

Gene-

Glad to hear everything worked out and your outlook is still positive

Last summer I saw a knife fight right in front of my house. I was litterally 30 feet away. There was lots of blood all over the curb of the street and an ambulance and police came and everything. However, no one got hurt w/ a knife it was disarmed early on in the fight.

It also kind of opened my eyes to the fact that anyone could be carrying a weapon. I live in the city. I also do not like to have guns in my house. My firearms are at my parents house for now. I still walk everywhere in the city for exercise and to save money on gas. I just know after watching that knife fight, and having a knife pulled on me before I just avoid certain situations.

Avoiding the situation has been my best deterent system ever. If I feel something is shady or not safe I avoid it. Sometimes you can't avoid certain things, but I think it has definately kept me out of a lot of bad situations.

[MonkeySlap Too]

Mag Lights are overrated - I busted one on a perp when I was doing construction site security (between jobs as a kid). They just can't handle the impact.

[GeneChing]

Yeah, avoidence is definately the way, but when someone breaks into your house, what can you do? There's that certain element of violation, for sure. I think living in the city previously has made both me and my wife less prone to paranoia here. When I was in the city, I had to deal with some sort of confrontation or break-in (to my car) about once every three months.

As for maglites, well, I like the fact that it's a light. In my recent scenario, light was really needed. It was night and my yard is big and dark. I used them in security too, back in my college days. Never had to bust a perp with one. You'll have to tell us more about that, MST. I did have to clip someone's wrists to get them off me once, and it worked fine for that.

[MonkeySlap Too]

Ah, it was a shining example of awareness skills. I ended up doing a triple shift at an unfinished contstruction site. I hadn't received my permit to carry, so all I had was my trusty mag lite.

While scoping out the 13th floor, I stepped on the guys hand as he hid behind the steel boxes that held the tools. These were popular to break into or steal...I suppose I should have noticed the guy before I stepped on his hand, and who knows why he didn't move before I did that...but there you go.

Company policy was for me to run and hide and call for help...or help them load the truck and make a report later.

Instead city-boy instinct kicked in and when the guy lunged he ate mag lite. I had him hog tied with bungie cords when the cops came. Just remember when you swing, it's the travel of the tip that matters...

Then I got fired.

As far as i was concerned, I was in danger. But policy is policy I guess.

Nothing heroic or cool. I was just lucky there weren't more of them, or they didn't jump me. A dumb falure of awareness brought on by fatigue. Tiredness builds samsara, eh?

[Stacey]

Do you think he's trained by shaolin monks? Mabye ninja thieves are after you for not publishing their crappy articles.

just a thought. Glad your safe. I checked up on you last night. You were sleeping peacefully, I was glad to see you were ok. I'll keep a lookout from a distance to make sure that no ninjas are sneaking around your property. If I see them I'll phone you or throw ninja stars into their evil ninja heads.

If you want my friend and I can guard your house. He'll wear a bright red ninja suit and I wear a bright orange one. We'll pace back and forth to fend off intruders.

[CaptinPickAxe]

Or maybe it the guys from NinjaBurger.com! I heard Gene gave out the recipe to the secret sauce!

[Ford Prefect]

Dunno. If my gun wasn't handy, I wouldn't go searching the guy out with a wooden sword... I'd have the old lady call the cops while I waited to ambush him.

lol @ getting shot while holding a toy sword.

Nice try hero.

[@PLUGO]

Life's rough on the mean streets of Fremont (http://www.drelocation.com/California/alamedaco/Fremont.html)

:rolleyes: :p :rolleyes: :cool:

[Becca]

Originally posted by Judge Pen
In Tennessee (and I would assume most southern states) when someone is advancing into your home then there's a presumption that one has a reasonable beleif that their life or the life of their family is in jeopardy which could justify the use of deadly force in your home. However, that presumption can be rebutted by the circumstances: i.e. you shoot him in the back as he is fleeing your property etc.

Late comment: A guy here in Colorado got away with killing his neibor by saying he was trying to break into his house. Dead guy came over all irate 'cause his niebor was shooting at his dog with a BB gun. @sshole neibor dicided to pull out a bigger gun and blew him away. The one who got shot never even lifted his hand to touch the door, but there was nothing the cops could do. All @sshole had to do was say he thought his niebor was trying to break in, and his girlfriend backed him up. :(

Leave the burgalar alone if he/she ain't inside. Just scare them off. You never know what corny law they will use against you for defending you home and/or loved ones.

[rogue]

We both heard warning sounds and our minds transformed them into what would have been normal. That's real common Gene. Most people "go and see that everything is alright", instead of checking for what's wrong. For homework go and read The Gift of Fear 3 times and write an essay on it by Monday:). If possible I don't use a flash light when checking the house, screws up my night vision, creates shadows, causes me to focus too much and lets the perp know where I am.

For weapons I keep various knives and short sticks hidden around. Going to get a new gun this summer.

[GeneChing]

Lat night I told Master Tony Chen, who I'm currently training under, this story and he said "I'd shoot 'em with my gun" with a smile. I know my previous master, Wing Lam, would probably reply the same. He had a lot of guns. I find that amusing. I'm just not into guns, at least, not enough to want to own one. Given the Monday night scenario, even if I had a gun, it wouldn't have made a difference. By the time I got there with my cane, the perp was gone. And it was much faster for me to draw my cane then it would have been if I had a gun. If I had a gun, it would have been locked up, since I have a kid.

Again, as I reflect on what happened, I'm struck by the strange altered state my mind was in at the time. I'm going to describe it as "terminator vision", like Arnie's eye view in Terminator. As soon as I realized there was a burglar, my perception of my home changed from, well, my home, to tactical field of blind spots. I remember approaching every corner differently, gauging the possible range of attack. I was weird, because just like terminator vision, even my memory of how things looked was different - sort of black and white. I think that's one reason why I had to drink so much whiskey after, just to turn the terminator vision off.

My kid has transformed the concept of 'burglar' to 'goblin'. She told me that next time a goblin comes, I should just ask it to go away. Somehow, that seeems strangely reasonable to me now (but I'll still have something punative in my right hand and my maglite in my left ;) ).

[Arhat of Fury]

Gene, Glad your OK.
With all the home invasions out here I have multiple weapons stashed in every room. From shuriken and throwing knives to swords and wip chains. Being a new dad, cant be too careful.

BTW- Is Koffey still teaching the KB class?

Arhat

[Ford Prefect]

I'd rather have a gun and not need one than need a gun and not have one.

[The Willow Sword]

not the break in or the thoughts afterwards or anything like that(glad you and your family are okay) is the comment " i immediately went to my weapons rack and tried to decide what weapon i wanted to grab. :D :D

we are all Martial arts geeks:p :D



PEACE,,,,TWS

[YinYangDagger]

heeeyyyyyy, nothing wrong with that :D

I'm not just a gun lover, I have numerous blades and just about every type of weapon imaginable. For you non-gun guys, go over to www.coldsteel.com and order there Special Projects catalog. Awesome, hard, and very sharp weapons! Order the DVD of their weapons demo (IT'S FREE BY CALLING THERE 1-800 NUMBER) and you won't believe the punishment those weapons can take (and dish out). I have one of there short spears and next I want to order there Battle Hammer.

[kungfuyou]

Originally posted by Ford Prefect
I'd rather have a gun and not need one than need a gun and not have one.

Has anyone watched the movie "Bowling for Columbine"?? Great movie, especially for those of you who DO own guns!!! I'm not against them, but have the same opinion as Gene.

[GeneChing]

Most of my weapons are stashed in one room ...my room (although there might be a few in my garage, etc.) I was talking to a friend about the break-in and he launched into great detail about how he has strategically placed weapons all around his home for the greatest tactical advantage. I find that a bit of overkill, personally, and this is from someone who dealt with a break-in only a few days ago, so it's still real fresh in my head. Hell, I still haven't replaced my broken screen. In truth, I probably did the same in my younger days, placing weapons everywhere, but much of that went the way of my bachelor sense of interior decorating. Bachelor decor, well, admit it, it's based on being able to get to your beer quickly (or whiskey*, or whatever), unless you have a queer eye, I suppose. At some point, weapons in the house gives into paranoia. Or fetish. It becomes an expression of insecurity. And to quote Herbert, fear is the mindkiller. OK, I'll cop to the weapons fetish.

Surely, it would have been better to go out after that burglar with a gun and if I had one, I might have. But I'm not going to spend a lot of time rehearsing for some paranoid assault scenario. I already do kung fu. There's enough rehearsal for stuff that will probably never happen. :p I suppose everyone has their personal comfort zone and I certainly respect each person's individual choice. But I'm not going to put weapons in every corner of the house. They'd clash with my kid's stuffed animals.

*I'd rather have a shot of whiskey and not need one than need a shot of whiskey and not have one

[rubthebuddha]

gene -- better make that two or three shots, just in case. you never know when you might need them. ;)

[red5angel]

I was explaining to my wife one night that you can "strategically" place weapons all over the house just by integrating them into the decor. ;)

[Becca]

My father does that, too. He has an impressive of decorative and not so decorative swords. The way he put them up, walking into his home feels like walking into one of those old English country manors.

[red5angel]

exactly Becca. My wife decorates that way so it all works out. She hangs everything and I make sure I can pull it off the wall quickly if I need to!

[Arhat of Fury]

I thought about that to, having "a weapon wall" where I could display all of my weapons would be cool, but it would suck having someone break in and kill you with your own weapon.:)

I dont have mine "strategically placed" but in drawers and above door jambs, places no one really looks. of course all that will change when my daughter gets a little older:)

Nothing prepares you for a break in. I just hope I have a straight enough mind to do whats safest for the family.

I dont like guns cause there is too much room for error, especially with kids.

[GeneChing]

As I write this to you now, I'm surrounded by weapons. After all, it's a martial arts magazine office. I have about 20 swords and other devices within arms reach. If anyone every attacks me here, I think I'd use extend-a-chuck (http://store.martialartsmart.net/19-04.html) I have sitting on my desk to hold books open. I'm not sure why. I'm not that great with chucks. Maybe because it's the smallest weapon I have near my desk.

I used to work at American Fencer's Supply (http://www.amfence.com) in a shop where I had even more weapons with in easy reach, plus power tools. During the summer, our slow period there, it was my job to draw images of the swords, jackets, etc., for our catalog. I did that upstairs, in our premium weapons room, again surrounded by thousands of dollars worth of sharps. There was this little goofy statue up there, about two feet high, of a man in armor. If anyone every attacked me in that room, I had planned to use that statue to defend myself. My reasoning was that because it was so absurd, no one would ever expect it. There were a lot of noxious fumes in that shop and maybe it muddled my thinking.

Somehow, I doubt I'll ever be attacked at work. Too bad, really. Maybe that's why I don't decorate with weapons so much anymore. I'm associating them with work too much. :rolleyes:

[Chang Style Novice]

Knife enthusiasts - I've posted this link before, and feel okay about doing it again, since their stuff doesn't really overlap with the stuff Gene peddles.

http://www.himalayan-imports.com/

Supersweet khukris (and other stuff) in a variety of styles and sizes.

[dodger87]

About 4 years ago when I was 13, for some odd reason two burglars decided to break into the house through the backyard. The reason I say odd is because it was about 9:30 - 10:30 and you would assume most people aren't asleep at that time. Anyway, my parents would often come home and find our security light unscrewed and just thrown onto the lawn unbroken. You'd think that if a robber wanted to get rid of your security light, he'd break it so that you couldn't just simply screw the security light back in, which was what we did. But the robbers learnt the lesson and I think they actually stole our security light after they unscrewed it as we couldn't find it anywhere.

Well that night I went to bed at around 9:30 (can't remember the times so well, as it was 4 years ago), and as I lay in my bed unable to sleep I heard little noises as if someone had jumped our backyard fence. But the noises stopped so I just figured it must have been my imagination. Still unable to sleep I lay in bed with my eyes open and stare around my room. Now usually you wouldn't be able to see anything through my bedroom window at night. But as luck had it a car had drove past and its light and shone on my window, making out clearly the shadow of two figures carrying some sort of tool in their hand. Must be a screw driver. Able to realise what was going on I ran to find my dad. He was in the toilet at the time but as I told him that I had just seen two robbers sneak past my bedroom he quickly got out of the toilet and ran out to my backyard door, turned on the backyard light and shout something in a very loud voice, I can't remember what it was, must've been some swear words in Vietnamese. At the instant we saw two tall skinny men run out of our backyard and jumped the fence.

[GeneChing]

On the toilet, eh? Talk about getting caught with your pants down!

So, I'm a little confused. You had someone repeated unscrew/steal light bulbs, prior to this?

[Becca]

That's no so wierd, Gene. I get vandles who break into my house every so often. They have never taken anything but some cheap julery and my spare set of chucks. Never any money. And a few times, there was money in the house when they chose to break in.

[Banjos_dad]

Glad you're okay, Gene.
I was at home one night when I heard glass falling, many years back. I rented part of an old divided house then.
Went out there because it was a skinny homeless guy w/a huge backpack, standing there holding our rake from our yard, near a different part of the house. A pane of glass was broken.
I was a fearless karate guy then. I just said, "what the f... are you doing here. Set down that rake this second before I shove it up yr @ss..." Had to tell him a couple of times. He put it down I told him to split, don't let me see him again, etc...
I was set to sidekick (& combination) him if that rake moved one mm though...

I called the cops to tell them about a guy breaking in, they wouldn't do sht because "you didn't see him break the glass..." I heard the glass break & looked, here's this freaky dude w/our rake & a broken window. Was someone driving by & shot it out w/a slingshot as the guy stood there like an idiot with this rake?

Called the landlord, he was more interested.

We have dogs now, they announce anyone who comes whether they know them or not. Good big dogs. That is one hell of a commitment. Quality times for them & plenty of attention & love. Picking up poo & vomit. Minor paw cut in glass in the forest = $172.00 & late to work. Hair on everything. Surprises.

Burglar/scam artist "solicitor" bypassing our place because of dogs on alert?
Priceless.

I read & posted on the side thread on home defense weapons first, d'oh! I decided I would favor nice robust nunchaku in the confied space of an apartment, or my sharpened forged steel jian outside. I have guns but I imagine waking up to the sound of someone AS they enter the house...I doubt I'd be quick enough to go retrieve a hidden or secured gun, prepare it to fire, & aim. I do in fact own several long firearms & enjoy shooting.
When we go stay at my girlfriend's grandma's cabin in the country we bring something since it would take the cops a minimum of one half hour, if they were dressed & ready to go, i imagine, to arrive if we had to call them. The muzzle blast of a 7.62 x 54 bolt action Moisin Nagant from WWII would send anyone in their right mind running for their life if not paralzed with shock...Sounds like lightning hitting your house, or a bomb going off maybe.
Probably frowned upon in Fremont, if its anything like Hayward where my grandma Daisy used to live, on Amador.
Guns & any weapons do bring up the possibility of your own weapon being used against you.
I don't feel sorry for people who would come and violated the sanctuary of someone else's house. But I definitely would not want to be someone taken by surprise by Gene, you all, or me, breaking into our stuff ;)
Anyway, I hope that is the extent of your bad luck for a long time, Gene.

[blooming lotus]

Originally posted by Vash
That's some scary $hit. Glad everyone is all right, Gene.

You raise a good point about traditional weaponry. We might not use it in the "street," but we probably could find some use for it in home security.

Again, glad everyone's all right.

true...and ditto, but almost everynight when I get home ( seeing as how my front door wont lock and I'm a chick)..I do a security check when I arrive........that'as the idea of self defence right......weapons shouldn't per sae be neccessary......besides scare tactics ..what are you planning to chop the dudes arm off?????

crazy at best.........

[YinYangDagger]

The muzzle blast of a 7.62 x 54 bolt action Moisin Nagant from WWII would send anyone in their right mind running for their life if not paralzed with shock..

MAN! That's a BAD A$$ rifle dude. I had a friend in college that had one of them, and we used to shoot it on the weekends.

Anyway, you should have told the guy to rake your yard or you were going to beat his a$$ LOL. And while he was at it, the gas for the lawn mower was in the garage.

[blooming lotus]

dont they have gun laws in your country???

[Royal Dragon]

Gene,
Glad to hear your OK. Ever since I had that battle Terri's stalker, I've kept the house well armed. Before she moved, she kept a sawed off in the bed room, allways loaded. I have several 2-3 foot lengths of 1-3/4 diamater scedual 80, sprayed with flat/satin black automotive trim paint in easy reach through out the house.

It's nice, and heavy. Gentile swings down low would effortlessly take out an attackers knees. I used to practice and number of simple swings, jabs and two handed strikes with it from all sorts of possible break in attacks. The flat/satin black color hides it, both in the home, and in motion in the dark. With the lights off, "I" can't really see it, even when I am the one weilding it.

Since I was VERY worried about him having a gun, I used to do ambush type drills, where I would attack with suprise. I have excellent night vision, I prefer to fight it out in the dark.

I also have a short Katanna (Whatever it's called) that is razor sharp in a decrotive, but strategic spot. This may be another choice as it is lighter, quicker to wield, and is so sharp it leaves heavy notches in 2 X 4 with almost no effort. Even if I used it just to block and jamb, the intruder is done for. If it does to the human leg, what it does to a 2X4, one slice, and the intruder is going down.

Another, more reacent, and maybe beter option, is pepper foam. we have several of those little canisters laying around the house as well. I think they wold be just as effective, and quite a bit more liability free than my other more cavemanish choices.

[YinYangDagger]

dont they have gun laws in your country???

Yes we do, too many of them, as a matter-of-fact. (Oh Lord - I can HEAR it coming).

[dodger87]

Originally posted by GeneChing
On the toilet, eh? Talk about getting caught with your pants down!

So, I'm a little confused. You had someone repeated unscrew/steal light bulbs, prior to this?

Well some of the Vietnamese swear words consist of (I was born and raised in Australia so my Vietnamese spelling and pronounciation is really bad) du ma (I think that roughly translates to f*ck your mother), con cac (cac is d*ck and con is son, I dunno what the two words together is suppose to mean) and thats all I really know and remember from the night.

Well we have this little security light in my backyard connected just outside my room. And I think you're confused because these aren't JUST light bulbs, they're security lights that turn on whenever someone is near.

Well about a few days before the actual attempted break in, my parents had came home and found the actual light unscrewed and just left there on the lawn. So my dad screwed it back in and tested if it still works. Second time around we found the light was missing from the socket (I think thats what you call it). So we just assumed they stole it as we couldn't find it anywhere else around the yard.

[Losttrak]

Get a dog.

Unless its personal (and thus, the perp will not care...), its impossible to get the drop on a house with a dog. Unless you have doggie treats...

[gazza99]

Glad to hear your ok Gene, interesting story.

For home protection I have 2 main methods of defense.

-The first is my 130 pound Akita (japenese police and hunting dogs), just his mere size, deep voice, and "at attention" like posture will scare away even people that are guests and have been told he wont bite if your invited in.

-the second is my 9mm pistol, if the dog barks, you can bet there is a hollow point round chambered and ready for anyone who is attempting to enter the house.

My martial arts skill comes into play when I dont have the luxury of being home with my locked doors, huge dog, and gun.


regards,


Gary

[Arhat of Fury]

My 50LB Shar pei might cute them to death.

nah, but he has a deep bark and any noise that isnt normal he barks at, I guess thats good and bad:)

[GeneChing]

I wish I had checked in on this thread before dinner last night. I went out to dinner with a vietnamese student and it would have been a good one to drop on him. :p

We've been thinking about a dog, but a puppy. My kid wants a puppy. It'll be good for home defense in about four or five years.

I completely understand about the gun thing with a lot of you. I'm still not at the point that I'm going to buy one. Too much trouble. Actually, the swords are too much trouble. I was reassessing what I would lose if someone stole stuff in my home and there's really not much more than the swords. We have a really cheap TV and computer. I have a lot of Shaolin collectibles, but it's stuff that only Shaolin people would appreciate. The swords would be worth something, but that would be so hard to carry off. I had to give a talk on Chinese weapons at Stanford a few weeks back and it was such a bother having to transport all those weapons, and I have some good cases to carry them in. It would be really troublesome for a burglar, not to mention trying to explain running down the street with an armful of swords. Most of my weapons are of sentimental value - not very expensive. Of course, I'm not saying that it wouldn't be a major bum out to get robbed, of course, but I really don't have too much to steal anymore.

[GeneChing]

Know the law! READ Home Defense: Defending the Castle Against Modern Day Predators and the Legal Ramifications of Doing So (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/article.php?article=1601)by Phil Humphries

http://www.kungfumagazine.com//admin/site_images/KungfuMagazine/images/ezine/1382_Home-Defense_Lead.jpg