The Exit

[Aldous]

I've got 7 years of Martial Arts training, I learned how to defend myself from a knife without the use of a weapon, since today if you attack back with a weapon, you get sued, as aforementioned. I agree with the self defense training, and these ASPs seem to be alot better than carrying a gun around. And Tendo, I feel your pain. I had a reverse-blade sword, like from Kenshin, and a replica Luger, both beautifully made for display. Both now in some evidence room for some reason unknown to me. I hate certain overzealous police officers.

[JustADude]

I've got 7 years of Martial Arts training, I learned how to defend myself from a knife without the use of a weapon, since today if you attack back with a weapon, you get sued, as aforementioned.

Still, I was told in training "The first thing to know when you're fighting unarmed against a man with a knife is that you WILL get cut. Accept it." Yeah, it just means to not be afraid of the blade or you won't be able to fight effectively, but I'd still rather pull out something non-fleshy than deal with a sharp object unarmed.

Blunt objects are a whole other story.

[siead_lietrathua]

One of my supers has actually started encouraging me to carry my mate's baton when i work nights, since we had an assault happen in our parking lot after the store was closed one night. and i walk home >.<
but 3' of steel is rather comforting, expecially since it fits in my hand when retracted so someone can't see it in the dark.
edit:
never had to hit anyone with it either. usually just extending it will scare off the town drunks.

[Becks]

In less than five seconds, we had some bags of cigarettes on the floor that needed to be restocked, a small puddle of urine to be mopped up, a fire exit to be closed and a decision to be made; what to do with the switchblade he'd dropped.

We decided to give it as a present to the cop who referred us for training.

We kept the memory for ourselves.

GREAT ending!!!!!!! If I had a working printer, I'd print this story out.

[MadRocketScientist]

Getting way OT here, but...

Regarding swords/sword canes/etc. Disregarding the fact that a cheap weapon will have shoddy workmanship in the grip/hilt/etc or in the cane itself, most swords purchased are for DISPLAY only. They are generally made from spring steel, the stuff the leaf springs on the rear axel of your '78 El Camino are made from. Some places have been known to actually salvage the leaf springs from old cars, stamp out a chunk of metal that is the shape of the sword they want to make, shape it with a grinder, and either polish it or plate it with Stainless Steel. Swords stamped with 440 Stainless may only be Stainless coated. This gives a blade that is flexible (the spring steel core) with an outer coating that can take an edge and hold it. The problem is that it can not take a hit. Hit it against something hard enough and the spring steel will allow itself to flex more than the stainless coating can handle and it will chip and flake.

So do your homework and be prepared to shell out some serious cash for a reliable blade. Solid 440 Stainless, or damascus steel, are good steels for blades.

There is a good discussion here about 440 Stainless as it applies to edged weapons (read past the first few posts for the good stuff).

http://www.finishing.com/149/15.shtml

[Gravekeeper]

Up here cane swords often count as a concealed weapon which is a no no to be carrying around. I'd get less hassle walking around with my claymore.

A lot of display swords aren't full tang and thus attempting to seriously use them is more likely to result in you maiming yourself or a bystander when the blade goes flying off in a random direction. -.-

All that being sad, the baton sounds amusing ( Wonder what the law up here is regarding them.... ). But luckily I wouldn't need one. I do work night shifts, but the down town core in Vancouver is strangely safe in the evening. Just don't start wandering any further down Granville. My coworker wanders over to Tim Hortons every shift at 4am and has never encountered anything more hostile then being asked for change. Likewise I've never run into any trouble wandering over to 7/11 half way through my shift either.

Nanaimo on the other hand....we have an office in Nanaimo too ( That we do hourly security checks on ) and the poor girl over there had shots fired outside last week and a huge gang fight out front this week. Plus she works over there by herself in a vaguely secure office building ( Their building manage keeps procrastinating on fixing the door to their fire exit. ). Which is why we do security checks on her.

[Nekojin]

I once owned a genuine ironwood bokken. It was stolen or lost during a move - I don't know which. I currently own a rosewood (I believe) bokken, and it's reasonably durable. I don't expect to use it for any serious action.

I went into a "Japanese Import Goods" store in the local mall yesterday, and they had a stand of bokken and shinai by the register. One of the bokken had a sticker that proclaimed it was $11.95. Curious, I pulled it out of the stand... and immediately slid it back in, and walked out of the store. It was far, far too light to be a real (usable) bokken. I'd guess it to be laminated plywood, or something else very flimsy.

[Andara Bledin]

Fun facts about swords and the law in California:

Any edged blade longer than 6" is classified as a "dirk" and illegal to be carried. The only way to legally move a dirk is to or from such a place as a store, your residence, or an event and it must be stored in the trunk of the vehicle.

Any edged weapon with more than 4" of edge on the second side is considered dual edged and illegal to be carried.

Any edged weapon that can be opened with a simple hand movement or with one hand (most lock blades fall into this category, now) are illegal to be carried.

In some cities, it is legal to carry edged weapons that do not have a sharpened edge. The city of Lakewood, for example, allows this. Such weapons are legally classified as "probes."

Any blade that is carried within a sheath can be legally considered a concealed weapon. Even if the sheath itself is completely visible and obvious. Stupid, but true.

Finally: A sword in a sheath worn openly is a felony, but a loaded, concealed firearm is just a misdemeanor.

From observance: You can walk around the Lakewood mall with a sword on your hip, and the security guards won't blink, but random kids will point you out to their parents, who mostly won't believe them. Even when they can easily see you for themselves.

Also, Costco will not let you into the store while wearing a sword. They actually have formal rules regarding such.

The fun things you learn as an active faire participant.

^-.-^

[RecoveringKinkoid]

If you find a place that sells sword canes, please let me know.

I've seen them at Pennsic. Find someone who's going to Pennsic and get them to pick you one up.

Don't wait, it's this month.

[JustADude]

Any edged weapon that can be opened with a simple hand movement or with one hand (most lock blades fall into this category, now) are illegal to be carried.

And THAT is the single biggest bullshit regulation I have EVER heard!

Yeah, I am SO not moving to California... ever. That state's laws and I just do NOT get along on just about any point I come up against.

[Andara Bledin]

Actually, if you get a lock blade that doesn't have the little thumb button on the side of the blade, you're still ok.

Even if you can flick nearly every lock blade ever made open with a simple flick of the wrist....

^-.-^

[Clintmax]

Wow! That's a GREAT story! Congratulations on stopping a would-be thief in such a way that he knew he was bested! I laughed at the results in the end too! *shakes your hand*!

[Gawdzillers]

I'm surprised nobody's mentioned Krav Maga in all this talk.
For those that don't know, it's a form of Israeli self-defense* fighting.
It teaches you how to escape from a knife attack, gun attack, etc. The main idea is to do as much damage as possible in as little time possible. It employs what many other martial arts do not: dirty tricks. Crotch kicks, eye pokes, whatever gets you out of danger. That being said, it isn't the most graceful martial art out there, so you might not impress your friends with a nut shot.

*I've bolded self-defense because that's what it is: self defense. DO NOT expect to attack someone with Krav Maga, that's not what it's used for.

[LadyAndreca]

I'm surprised nobody's mentioned Krav Maga in all this talk.
For those that don't know, it's a form of Israeli self-defense* fighting.
It teaches you how to escape from a knife attack, gun attack, etc. The main idea is to do as much damage as possible in as little time possible. It employs what many other martial arts do not: dirty tricks. Crotch kicks, eye pokes, whatever gets you out of danger. That being said, it isn't the most graceful martial art out there, so you might not impress your friends with a nut shot.

*I've bolded self-defense because that's what it is: self defense. DO NOT expect to attack someone with Krav Maga, that's not what it's used for.

That's the only type of self-defense I know. I learned just a little at my first job from one of my co-workers, but the freshman women's PE class at my college had a day completely devoted to it. I can do some NASTY stuff, especially if I have a set of keys handy.

[Nekojin]

I'm surprised nobody's mentioned Krav Maga in all this talk.
For those that don't know, it's a form of Israeli self-defense* fighting.
It teaches you how to escape from a knife attack, gun attack, etc. The main idea is to do as much damage as possible in as little time possible. It employs what many other martial arts do not: dirty tricks. Crotch kicks, eye pokes, whatever gets you out of danger. That being said, it isn't the most graceful martial art out there, so you might not impress your friends with a nut shot.

*I've bolded self-defense because that's what it is: self defense. DO NOT expect to attack someone with Krav Maga, that's not what it's used for.

Wing Chun is illegal to teach in the US for a similar reason. The core concepts of the style can be boiled down to two sentences: Avoid fighting if there's any way possible. If the confrontation is unavoidable, cripple or kill them.

The form consists of two parts. The first is a very beautiful, flowing momentum, almost like a dance. This is used primarily as an intimidation device (part of the, "avoid fighting if possible," philosophy), although there are strikes built into it as well. The second part is nerve strikes, vital strikes, and so forth, designed to inflict as much raw damage with bare hands in as short of a time as possible.

I find that I believe in their philosophy... anyone who is so eager to fight that they can't be talked or intimidated out of fighting probably deserves to learn the hard way why not to fight... and certainly is not deserving of any holding back on my part.