Hello Lori,
I see very few women interested in edged weapons as practical self-defense tools.
To me, this seems to be a social bias.
I feel that women are equally enabled to use a knife to defend themselves.
Do you feel that there are more women who want to learn about edged weapons but are having a hard time getting past the social stigma of using/carying a knife?
Maybe I'm way off base here, if so , please advise.
Thanks in advance for your input.
Sincerely,
Robert Langford / Combat Technologies
?'s for Lori - Edged weapons and women
Moderator: Available
?'s for Lori - Edged weapons and women
Hi Lori,
Robert Langford is James Keating's right hand man and a premier blade player/martial artist in his own right.
Norma is James Keating's other half and reputedly a blade player of note,
It is an interesting question for why more females do not take up edged weapons training since skills in blade work does a lot to negate brute strength. It seems a good choice for women and yet it's rare to come across female blade players. Even less so than female "empty hand" players.
Perhaps, the "boundaries" will break down eventually. Willeen and Donna who moderate the Filipino Martial Arts forum in www.bladeforums.com are blade players. I've seen Willeen, who trains under Rey Gelang, in action. She can acquit herself quite well against most folks, male or female, with the blade/stick.
david
Robert Langford is James Keating's right hand man and a premier blade player/martial artist in his own right.
Norma is James Keating's other half and reputedly a blade player of note,
It is an interesting question for why more females do not take up edged weapons training since skills in blade work does a lot to negate brute strength. It seems a good choice for women and yet it's rare to come across female blade players. Even less so than female "empty hand" players.
Perhaps, the "boundaries" will break down eventually. Willeen and Donna who moderate the Filipino Martial Arts forum in www.bladeforums.com are blade players. I've seen Willeen, who trains under Rey Gelang, in action. She can acquit herself quite well against most folks, male or female, with the blade/stick.
david
-
Raffi Derderian
- Posts: 635
- Joined: Thu Oct 08, 1998 6:01 am
- Location: Johnston, RI
- Contact:
?'s for Lori - Edged weapons and women
Lori Sensei,
Ya know, of all the women I have taught Kali/knife methods to, only one ever said she wanted to carry a knife. My wife!
There are other options that you could carry instead of a blade. For example, a Filipino pocket stick (sort of like a Kubaton or Yawara stick) and it is used much like a knife.
Don't be down on yourself because you feel like a "dabbler". Just knowing a few effective techniques with the blade, or stick, can be enough if you have practiced them well. I do see lots of FMA people who are so caught up in knowing lots and lots of stuff (and believe me, there is lots of it out there) that it becomes overkill. There is a point where enough is enough.
Look forward to seeing you at camp.
Raf
Ya know, of all the women I have taught Kali/knife methods to, only one ever said she wanted to carry a knife. My wife!
There are other options that you could carry instead of a blade. For example, a Filipino pocket stick (sort of like a Kubaton or Yawara stick) and it is used much like a knife.
Don't be down on yourself because you feel like a "dabbler". Just knowing a few effective techniques with the blade, or stick, can be enough if you have practiced them well. I do see lots of FMA people who are so caught up in knowing lots and lots of stuff (and believe me, there is lots of it out there) that it becomes overkill. There is a point where enough is enough.
Look forward to seeing you at camp.
Raf
?'s for Lori - Edged weapons and women
Hello Robert L-san, and thank you for your question.
I had never really noticed it - but now that you bring it up, it does seem that very few women pursue edged weapons in martial arts training or for self-defense purposes. Or at least if they do - they don't seem to be very public about it.
A social bias? Perhaps. The standard in self-defense seems to be firearms - and that is often difficult enough for women to adopt as a personal safety measure - there have been numerous posts about psychological and social pressures regarding women and guns. And most recently, with the million mom march, much is being done to present the woman, or mom, as very "anti-gun" and although there are many who feel quite differently, they seem in the minority, at least in public presence.
But that departs from your question - back to edged weapons - personally I've never had the opportunity to receive this kind of training although I would welcome it if it was available. Aside from too rare opportunities with Raffi Sensei and some traditional kung fu weapons forms (that are taught only to advanced students )I've not come across many martial artists within my style or even in my area who offer this kind of training. If it was available, I'm sure I would take advantage of it - but that is just me. I've done a bit of training on my own, but would not consider myself anything more than a "dabbler" as I believe I would need a teacher in order to master any amount of skill.
Thank you for the link to the website. Are you an edged weapons practitioner? And if so, would you recommend this lady's videos as some that would be beneficial for individual study?
Thanks again for the question - I hope I've given you some of the answers you are looking for - hopefully some of the other ladies out there will give their opinion. There are unfortunately very few women participating in these forums!
Peace,
Lori
I had never really noticed it - but now that you bring it up, it does seem that very few women pursue edged weapons in martial arts training or for self-defense purposes. Or at least if they do - they don't seem to be very public about it.
A social bias? Perhaps. The standard in self-defense seems to be firearms - and that is often difficult enough for women to adopt as a personal safety measure - there have been numerous posts about psychological and social pressures regarding women and guns. And most recently, with the million mom march, much is being done to present the woman, or mom, as very "anti-gun" and although there are many who feel quite differently, they seem in the minority, at least in public presence.
But that departs from your question - back to edged weapons - personally I've never had the opportunity to receive this kind of training although I would welcome it if it was available. Aside from too rare opportunities with Raffi Sensei and some traditional kung fu weapons forms (that are taught only to advanced students )I've not come across many martial artists within my style or even in my area who offer this kind of training. If it was available, I'm sure I would take advantage of it - but that is just me. I've done a bit of training on my own, but would not consider myself anything more than a "dabbler" as I believe I would need a teacher in order to master any amount of skill.
Thank you for the link to the website. Are you an edged weapons practitioner? And if so, would you recommend this lady's videos as some that would be beneficial for individual study?
Thanks again for the question - I hope I've given you some of the answers you are looking for - hopefully some of the other ladies out there will give their opinion. There are unfortunately very few women participating in these forums!
Peace,
Lori
?'s for Lori - Edged weapons and women
Raffi,
>>There are other options that you could carry instead of a blade. For example, a Filipino pocket stick (sort of like a Kubaton or Yawara stick) and it is used much like a knife. <<
Good Point! It was mentioned at Riddle that a Cross pen (full metal jacket) makes a good point oriented tool/weapon. Legal to carry in any manner -- left pocket, right pocket, purse, in the waistband, over the ear...
I am a believer in "dabbling." I think one almost always dabbles first to figure out if something is interesting/useful or not. If it's useful and pursued, then it's no longer dabbling.
I think one can learn faster and more efficiently under qualified tutelage. Short of that, I also think one can learn on one's own just by playing seriously at it, especially with a willing partner. (I know I can be considered sacrelegious about this.) Self learning becomes ever more viable with the explosion of books and video out there...
One can practice/learn on one's own and then seize the instructional opportunities that come around. It's a start for anyone and in anything if there is an interest.
david
>>There are other options that you could carry instead of a blade. For example, a Filipino pocket stick (sort of like a Kubaton or Yawara stick) and it is used much like a knife. <<
Good Point! It was mentioned at Riddle that a Cross pen (full metal jacket) makes a good point oriented tool/weapon. Legal to carry in any manner -- left pocket, right pocket, purse, in the waistband, over the ear...
I am a believer in "dabbling." I think one almost always dabbles first to figure out if something is interesting/useful or not. If it's useful and pursued, then it's no longer dabbling.
I think one can learn faster and more efficiently under qualified tutelage. Short of that, I also think one can learn on one's own just by playing seriously at it, especially with a willing partner. (I know I can be considered sacrelegious about this.) Self learning becomes ever more viable with the explosion of books and video out there...
One can practice/learn on one's own and then seize the instructional opportunities that come around. It's a start for anyone and in anything if there is an interest.
david
?'s for Lori - Edged weapons and women
Nice to know that a technique I had developed on my own is also good enough for the Riddle, David.
I spend a lot of time in a suit-and-tie. I have a Cross pen and pencil set.
Being me, of course, I have considered using a mantis block with one while jabbing with the other - you know, Left Hook, Right Cross.
Or maybe it's just another lawyer's Double Cross.
Sigh. More coffee....
Lori:
Thank you for the beautiful words upon my son's graduation from high school. As to the use of the knife by women...there's some very good knife stuff out there and a whole lot of very questionable knife stuff out there. The one's already mentioned on this thread (Both Keatings, Langford, et al.) appear to know their stuff and seem to be able to teach as well. David would know better than I; I only know Robert over the telephone and from posting and MOA Keating from postings, tapes, and magazine articles, but that which I have seen is very good indeed.
Others with good reputations are Hock Hockheim and Bram Franks. Hock has a book The Encyclopedia Of Knife Fighting which is reputed to be the standard these days; he also has tapes.
Bram has tapes and an interesting tool coming out into production soon called the Gunting; a tactical folding knife with a projection perpendicular to the blade so that it may be used as a small stick/knuckle enhancer/kyusho device in situations that would not warrant an open blade. He also teaches the principles of biomechanical cutting (the Filipino idea of defanging the snake):defending by attacking the limbs to disable their biomechanical ability to carry an attack back to you. He has articles and tapes on both concepts.
And Bram may be close to your neighborhood; he lives in Clearwater, FL, I believe.
student
I spend a lot of time in a suit-and-tie. I have a Cross pen and pencil set.
Being me, of course, I have considered using a mantis block with one while jabbing with the other - you know, Left Hook, Right Cross.
Or maybe it's just another lawyer's Double Cross.
Sigh. More coffee....
Lori:
Thank you for the beautiful words upon my son's graduation from high school. As to the use of the knife by women...there's some very good knife stuff out there and a whole lot of very questionable knife stuff out there. The one's already mentioned on this thread (Both Keatings, Langford, et al.) appear to know their stuff and seem to be able to teach as well. David would know better than I; I only know Robert over the telephone and from posting and MOA Keating from postings, tapes, and magazine articles, but that which I have seen is very good indeed.
Others with good reputations are Hock Hockheim and Bram Franks. Hock has a book The Encyclopedia Of Knife Fighting which is reputed to be the standard these days; he also has tapes.
Bram has tapes and an interesting tool coming out into production soon called the Gunting; a tactical folding knife with a projection perpendicular to the blade so that it may be used as a small stick/knuckle enhancer/kyusho device in situations that would not warrant an open blade. He also teaches the principles of biomechanical cutting (the Filipino idea of defanging the snake):defending by attacking the limbs to disable their biomechanical ability to carry an attack back to you. He has articles and tapes on both concepts.
And Bram may be close to your neighborhood; he lives in Clearwater, FL, I believe.
student
-
Raffi Derderian
- Posts: 635
- Joined: Thu Oct 08, 1998 6:01 am
- Location: Johnston, RI
- Contact:
?'s for Lori - Edged weapons and women
And of course, Lori Sensei, there are the world famous knife tapes sold by the world famous R.I. Uechi/Kali/JKD instructor....(okay,I'm not WORLD FAMOUS, neither are my tapes, it's early on Sunday, I've had no coffee yet...Tony understands)
As I told you at Winterfest, I think the study of weaponry, knives in particular, is a great idea for you and your students.
David,
Nothing wrong with self training. If you have the basics of an art, even Kali, you can keep going forward in your training through video.
Raf
As I told you at Winterfest, I think the study of weaponry, knives in particular, is a great idea for you and your students.
David,
Nothing wrong with self training. If you have the basics of an art, even Kali, you can keep going forward in your training through video.
Raf
?'s for Lori - Edged weapons and women
Hello Lori,
Yes, I'm an edged weapon specialist and personal consultant.
To me, an edged weapon seems the perfect defensive tool for the female. Why?? Physical size and strength are no longer part of the defensive equation. Knives do the work for you and rely on skill, not power or size. Knives are easy to conceal/carry on a daily basis and require very little training to keep ones self sharp. Firearms can over penetrate and do not allow the user the option of "just enough force to stop the adversary".
I train hundreds of people, from all over the planet, each year. Very, very few of them are women. I know there are lots of women who want/need a realistic self-defense plan that doesn't take years to learn. With firearms becoming increasingly restricted, the knife seem the next best option. So, back to my original question, why are there not more women involved with this type of training?
I would strongly recommend Norma Keating's videos on this web-site. The material is presented by a woman, for women. http://sites.netscape.net/speedrockk/homepage
The material is easy to learn and incorporate into ones program. It is very realistic and geared toward survival. Simple, yet effective.
Lori, if you, or any other ladies, are interested in this type of material, just call:
1-800-625-8183 (Ask for Robert)
I'll put the first tape (Womens Self-Defense) on sale for only $19.95 to anyone who says they saw it on "Women and the martial arts" forum. Sound good?
Take care,
Robert L
BTW - Thanks for the good words David.
Yes, I'm an edged weapon specialist and personal consultant.
To me, an edged weapon seems the perfect defensive tool for the female. Why?? Physical size and strength are no longer part of the defensive equation. Knives do the work for you and rely on skill, not power or size. Knives are easy to conceal/carry on a daily basis and require very little training to keep ones self sharp. Firearms can over penetrate and do not allow the user the option of "just enough force to stop the adversary".
I train hundreds of people, from all over the planet, each year. Very, very few of them are women. I know there are lots of women who want/need a realistic self-defense plan that doesn't take years to learn. With firearms becoming increasingly restricted, the knife seem the next best option. So, back to my original question, why are there not more women involved with this type of training?
I would strongly recommend Norma Keating's videos on this web-site. The material is presented by a woman, for women. http://sites.netscape.net/speedrockk/homepage
The material is easy to learn and incorporate into ones program. It is very realistic and geared toward survival. Simple, yet effective.
Lori, if you, or any other ladies, are interested in this type of material, just call:
1-800-625-8183 (Ask for Robert)
I'll put the first tape (Womens Self-Defense) on sale for only $19.95 to anyone who says they saw it on "Women and the martial arts" forum. Sound good?
Take care,
Robert L
BTW - Thanks for the good words David.
-
David Elkins
- Posts: 1089
- Joined: Fri Jan 15, 1999 6:01 am
?'s for Lori - Edged weapons and women
Hello all,
Reading about the Gunting video reminded me of something that my Sifu Ted showed me yesterday. It was one of those DUH? moments as you contemplate the vast gaps in your ability to see the world creatively - to wit, the deployment of a weapon with a sharp point can be a very very small movement...just enough to expose the tip, followed by full deployment on the offender's body. It's called "contouring." I would think that this strategy would be ideal for certain very close situations in which a woman might find herself being compromised.
I welcome validation of this thought by those with more experience than myself.
Trust all are well -- be safe.
David
Reading about the Gunting video reminded me of something that my Sifu Ted showed me yesterday. It was one of those DUH? moments as you contemplate the vast gaps in your ability to see the world creatively - to wit, the deployment of a weapon with a sharp point can be a very very small movement...just enough to expose the tip, followed by full deployment on the offender's body. It's called "contouring." I would think that this strategy would be ideal for certain very close situations in which a woman might find herself being compromised.
I welcome validation of this thought by those with more experience than myself.
Trust all are well -- be safe.
David
?'s for Lori - Edged weapons and women
Man! This thread has opened a can of worms for me!
First of all - thank you Robert L-san for bringing up this topic, and for honoring this page with your input and questions! Your offer is most kind and I will be calling and ordering that video!
Second - thanks to david-san - I've got a new vice - the bladeforums! What a collection of great threads! I will have to find some time to dig into them more - what I've read so far has been very informational.
I read either on the webpage or in those forums, that a knife is a natural tool for a woman being that, if she cooks, she's already got experience with a knife - perhaps even moreso than the average male. The problem - as is the crux of this thread - is turning the tool into a defensive weapon. An added concern would be that if a woman does have some natural experience with a knife - it would be more of the slicing kind of skill - and defensively isn't a thrusting motion more important? How to make this transition?
Interesting question - along with why more women do not consider the knife as a defensive weapon. I for one am looking into the matter further! Thanks for bringing up the subject!
Peace,
Lori
First of all - thank you Robert L-san for bringing up this topic, and for honoring this page with your input and questions! Your offer is most kind and I will be calling and ordering that video!
Second - thanks to david-san - I've got a new vice - the bladeforums! What a collection of great threads! I will have to find some time to dig into them more - what I've read so far has been very informational.
I read either on the webpage or in those forums, that a knife is a natural tool for a woman being that, if she cooks, she's already got experience with a knife - perhaps even moreso than the average male. The problem - as is the crux of this thread - is turning the tool into a defensive weapon. An added concern would be that if a woman does have some natural experience with a knife - it would be more of the slicing kind of skill - and defensively isn't a thrusting motion more important? How to make this transition?
Interesting question - along with why more women do not consider the knife as a defensive weapon. I for one am looking into the matter further! Thanks for bringing up the subject!
Peace,
Lori
?'s for Lori - Edged weapons and women
David E,
The "gunting" is going to be quite a product when it gets released later this summer or fall. Saw it demonstrated by Bram Frank's students at Riddle. It does provide a whole continuum of options, from control, to striking to lethal application. It will also have SpyderCo's new "compression lock", a very interesting design and reputedly one of the strongest locks that will be out there according to Spyderco's in-house comparative testing.
Lori et al, most of us have difficulty with the "mindset" needed to defend in a violent encounter. Using an edged weapon requires even more fortitude in the mindset arena. Unlike a gun which gives a little distance (unless you're at point blank), the knife requires you to be right in there, manually inflicting the damage, immersing yourself in a sea of anger, fear and bloody carnage.
At the Riddle, I had the privelege (if not exactly the pleasure of working with "Mellow Mike", a long time Riddler. (Actually, I renamed him "Mad Mike" and it caught on.) We were doing knife retention and defanging drills. Well, Mike proceeded to do some "biomechanical cutting" off the drills with his trainer. Basically, what he was doing in real life would strip the muscles off my arm to the bone -- filleting -- and leading to "contouring" around my shoulder and pectoral areas. I had spend some time with Mike earlier as we were the first to arrive at the meeting hotel before Riddle. I knew he was a surgical assistant, spending most if not all his working days in surgery. When he described what he was doing in the drills, I knew he was visualizing and I found myself doing the same. I literally began to feel sick and nauseated by the visualization. It reminded of what a friend told me about a knife fight he was in. He was attacked by a man with razor and sliced across his thigh. He pulled his knife while parring the next slash and counter slashed to the attacker's midsection. (my friend is a long time FMA practitioner.) When the man started to fold, my friend took off and ran for blocks. He then stopped and puked his guts out. He said, didn't... couldn't leave his house for a week. Though he still practices, he has chosen not to carry a knife anymore...
Frankly, carrying a weapon is an AWESOME responsibility that shouldn't be taking lightly. I find myself backing away from things I may not have in the past. Recently, I was smacked (actually grazed) off the side of the head even though I saw it coming and moved to get out of the way. When guy -- who was a behemonth -- taunted me, I briefly considered going after him. But I stopped when I realized that I would have to use a weapon against this guy to have any chance of prevailing. I thought, "what for?", my life was not being threatened imminently at that moment... So, I turned and walked away.
The "gunting" is going to be quite a product when it gets released later this summer or fall. Saw it demonstrated by Bram Frank's students at Riddle. It does provide a whole continuum of options, from control, to striking to lethal application. It will also have SpyderCo's new "compression lock", a very interesting design and reputedly one of the strongest locks that will be out there according to Spyderco's in-house comparative testing.
Lori et al, most of us have difficulty with the "mindset" needed to defend in a violent encounter. Using an edged weapon requires even more fortitude in the mindset arena. Unlike a gun which gives a little distance (unless you're at point blank), the knife requires you to be right in there, manually inflicting the damage, immersing yourself in a sea of anger, fear and bloody carnage.
At the Riddle, I had the privelege (if not exactly the pleasure of working with "Mellow Mike", a long time Riddler. (Actually, I renamed him "Mad Mike" and it caught on.) We were doing knife retention and defanging drills. Well, Mike proceeded to do some "biomechanical cutting" off the drills with his trainer. Basically, what he was doing in real life would strip the muscles off my arm to the bone -- filleting -- and leading to "contouring" around my shoulder and pectoral areas. I had spend some time with Mike earlier as we were the first to arrive at the meeting hotel before Riddle. I knew he was a surgical assistant, spending most if not all his working days in surgery. When he described what he was doing in the drills, I knew he was visualizing and I found myself doing the same. I literally began to feel sick and nauseated by the visualization. It reminded of what a friend told me about a knife fight he was in. He was attacked by a man with razor and sliced across his thigh. He pulled his knife while parring the next slash and counter slashed to the attacker's midsection. (my friend is a long time FMA practitioner.) When the man started to fold, my friend took off and ran for blocks. He then stopped and puked his guts out. He said, didn't... couldn't leave his house for a week. Though he still practices, he has chosen not to carry a knife anymore...
Frankly, carrying a weapon is an AWESOME responsibility that shouldn't be taking lightly. I find myself backing away from things I may not have in the past. Recently, I was smacked (actually grazed) off the side of the head even though I saw it coming and moved to get out of the way. When guy -- who was a behemonth -- taunted me, I briefly considered going after him. But I stopped when I realized that I would have to use a weapon against this guy to have any chance of prevailing. I thought, "what for?", my life was not being threatened imminently at that moment... So, I turned and walked away.
?'s for Lori - Edged weapons and women
Hello David, David E., and Lori,
Weapons of any kind require responsibility on the part of the user. None of us are out causing trouble(I hope) but sometimes trouble finds us when we least expect it. The reason most of us train is to be able to deal effectively with whatever comes our way. The confidence that comes from carrying a weapon cannot be found in the empty hand realm. True proffessionals demand that they have the right tool for the job.
ex. Try changing a flat tire without a jack and tire iron - pretty difficult to say the least.
Yes, the damage inflicted by an edged weapon is terrible but it is the aggressor who has forced you to defend your self. You did not seek out this violence, someone forced it upon you. Do not feel bad for defending your self or your loved ones. This is called "Rightous Indignation", you have the right to go about your bussiness and your life without someone forcing you to do things aginst your will.
Besides -
The aggressor may even decide on a different profession after being dealt with effectively. In effect you may save many more lives than just your own.
For anyone interested, I'd suggest looking into www.knifeforums.com (Riddle of Steel forum)
Alot less politics and BS than on bladeforums.
Thanks and take care,
Robert L
www.combattech.com
Weapons of any kind require responsibility on the part of the user. None of us are out causing trouble(I hope) but sometimes trouble finds us when we least expect it. The reason most of us train is to be able to deal effectively with whatever comes our way. The confidence that comes from carrying a weapon cannot be found in the empty hand realm. True proffessionals demand that they have the right tool for the job.
ex. Try changing a flat tire without a jack and tire iron - pretty difficult to say the least.
Yes, the damage inflicted by an edged weapon is terrible but it is the aggressor who has forced you to defend your self. You did not seek out this violence, someone forced it upon you. Do not feel bad for defending your self or your loved ones. This is called "Rightous Indignation", you have the right to go about your bussiness and your life without someone forcing you to do things aginst your will.
Besides -
The aggressor may even decide on a different profession after being dealt with effectively. In effect you may save many more lives than just your own.
For anyone interested, I'd suggest looking into www.knifeforums.com (Riddle of Steel forum)
Alot less politics and BS than on bladeforums.
Thanks and take care,
Robert L
www.combattech.com
?'s for Lori - Edged weapons and women
>>You did not seek out this violence, someone forced it upon you. Do not feel bad for defending your self or your loved ones. This is called "Rightous Indignation", you have the right to go about your bussiness and your life without someone forcing you to do things aginst your will.<<
Robert, definitely would not disagree with this. A large part of being successful in a confrontation is having the right mindset. That mindset can be built on conviction of one's right to defend, or on the sociopathic beliefs of a street predator. Hopefully, we are working with people in the former category here. However, with people in the former category, it is not unusual to have feelings in the aftermath of a confrontation, to go through the "what if's." The person is trying to reconcile whether s/he acted correctly tacticially and more importantly, often times, whether the action was justified according to one's convictions.
For his reasons, my friend decided against carrying anymore, not against defending himself. He stated that if he carry, he may be too likely to resort to the weapon first... Perhaps, this is based on his own assessment that he could have handled that confrontation in another way, though it didn't sound like he did wrong to me as he presented the situation as him being unaware and caught by surprise by a street person.
I know I get haunted by dreams about stuff from the past once in awhile, a lot less though than I used to be. I can understand why he may come to feel the way he does now.
Regarding www.bladeforums.com vs [url=http://www.knifeforums.com,]www.knifeforums.com,[/url] I enjoy both forums. Evidently, there is a lot of cross over in participation/lurking. I suggested the former because a specific forum is moderated by two women. I think that helps to draw out some female participation as sparse as that may be still.
Now and then, I have provided links from here to either one of those forums when there is a thread that connects to a discussion occurring over here.
david
Robert, definitely would not disagree with this. A large part of being successful in a confrontation is having the right mindset. That mindset can be built on conviction of one's right to defend, or on the sociopathic beliefs of a street predator. Hopefully, we are working with people in the former category here. However, with people in the former category, it is not unusual to have feelings in the aftermath of a confrontation, to go through the "what if's." The person is trying to reconcile whether s/he acted correctly tacticially and more importantly, often times, whether the action was justified according to one's convictions.
For his reasons, my friend decided against carrying anymore, not against defending himself. He stated that if he carry, he may be too likely to resort to the weapon first... Perhaps, this is based on his own assessment that he could have handled that confrontation in another way, though it didn't sound like he did wrong to me as he presented the situation as him being unaware and caught by surprise by a street person.
I know I get haunted by dreams about stuff from the past once in awhile, a lot less though than I used to be. I can understand why he may come to feel the way he does now.
Regarding www.bladeforums.com vs [url=http://www.knifeforums.com,]www.knifeforums.com,[/url] I enjoy both forums. Evidently, there is a lot of cross over in participation/lurking. I suggested the former because a specific forum is moderated by two women. I think that helps to draw out some female participation as sparse as that may be still.
Now and then, I have provided links from here to either one of those forums when there is a thread that connects to a discussion occurring over here.
david
?'s for Lori - Edged weapons and women
Lori:
Like David, I participate in both BladeForums and KnifeForums. There are good people and dorks on both. Try them out and make up your own mind.
student
Like David, I participate in both BladeForums and KnifeForums. There are good people and dorks on both. Try them out and make up your own mind.
student
