I am a firm believer in responsible gun ownership. I also happen to live in the kind of town where pretty much everyone has a gun in their house, even if it's just a hunting rifle. However, I live in a state that has seriously hardcore gun laws. Getting a permit to legally carry a concealed weapon is pretty much impossible.
So lots of times I feel a little vulnerable. What if I had to defend myself and my kids against a carjack or a kidnap?*
I have a purple belt in TaeKwonDo, but I never felt that I would be able to practically apply that particular martial art in a real-life scenario. Now that Hubby is on a more regular schedule, I've been thinking about taking Krav Maga classes.
As a fighting technique, the goal of Krav Maga is to incapacitate your opponent in any way possible, even if it means fighting dirty. Aggressive attacks with a touch of brutality are the hallmarks of this style. It's taught to Israeli soldiers (especially the special forces), cops, bodyguards, etc.
And it totally sounds like something I'd like to learn.
If the fecal matter ever hits the fan, knowing how to defend myself without a weapon could be a useful and necessary skill. A hard punch to the head might be enough to decapitate a zombie (I mean, zombies are half-rotting flesh anyway, right?) Besides, it might be a fun way to get in shape, too.
*I have always had one thought in my mind about carjacks and kidnaps, though. If an attacker ever approaches me in a parking lot or public place, I plan to just look him square in the eyes and say, "Buddy, you picked the wrong lady to fuck with." If these types of guys are really looking for an easy target, that might be enough to make them back off. If not, well, that's when I guess I'll have to resort to other defensive tactics. But one rule: never ever ever ever ever get in the car with them. Ever. Ever.
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4 comments:
I'm sorry to hear that your state is so CC-unfriendly. Our state is friendly, but that has only happened over the course of the past 10 years, give or take. The Sheriff who gave me my license said flat-out everyone has a right to defend themselves. Then he gave my 4 year old her own 'license' and sat down and played with her LOL.
I live in Australia where our gun laws are very tough, and I don't want to get into a political argument about this, just want to give another opinion.
So with this we also have less gun related deaths, so I don't think guns are the answer. Also people here have been arrested for defending themselves on their own property when things have gone very wrong.
Of course their are plenty of bad guys with guns but I think that has been reduced because of our tough laws, therefore less guns all around.
In saying all that, I have a gun license and a gun, so does my hubby and 13year old son. I also do martial arts, though need to practice way more than I do.
Good blog, I like reading other peoples opinions and getting another perspective :D
Some of the martial arts classes I've seen are all about forms, almost like dancing and almost no fighting skills. All those stances look impressive but won't help if attacked! I'd be interested to find out how you like the Krav magma classes. Considering it myself.
There is nothing wrong with forms! Ug. People see you do forms and say "oh you're just for show." Forms teach technique, balance, coordination and rythym among other things. They aren't just dances. I could write a whole essay on this. Katas were developed to LOOK like dances to disguise the fact that they were a martial art.
Your TaeKwonDo should definitely help. When I look for dojos I always find ones that not only teach traditionally with forms, etc, but teach students how to apply it in the real world as well and don't expect them to just figure it out. This usually tends to be police officers and military people.
If you're certain you need anohter martial art under your belt, Krav Maga is a good choice if you can find a class nearby. Krav Maga is the art used my the Israel Special Forces and its sole focus is practical self-defense in tight spaces.
As for weapons there's an article on TEOTWAKI Blog about non-permissive environments as well as a post on my own blog (http://college-survivalist.blogspot.com/) on (non-)weapons. In a self-defense situation though, every thing is a weapon.
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