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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Paladin" data-source="post: 657199" data-attributes="member: 263">Not really, in my relatively vast experience a weapon produced defensively almost always causes a scumbag to back away and run, or stay there with their hands up. I've apprehended two criminals by simply producing a weapon and holding them for the police. The police said, "Thanks, but next time shoot him." I'm not kidding - I have witnesses.It depends on the individual, but I haven't really seen that in the hundreds of people I've taught. Carrying weapons grants you a sense of security and confidence you certainly will never have if you're unarmed and essentially defenseless. To put this in perspective: if YOU are attacked by five people (which we've seen has happened here) would you rather be able to (a) produce a weapon and kill/wound your attackers -or- (b) get your butt kicked? In the hands of someone untrained, these statements have validity. However, if someone is trained in knife fighting and firearms retention techniques - you aren't getting the weapon away. Trust me. I carry two guns and two knives on me at all times (in the great state of Texas we have Concealed Handgun Licenses, which I have) as well as pepper spray and 20 years of martial arts experience. If someone attacks me, they're going to have a very, very bad day. Note that any attacker is "unpredictable," unless you've been training with them for years.Here's a good example of why being armed is good: I'm currently sitting by my window watching for my neighbor's crazy stalker to show up and bother her. He's already driven by her house at least four times in the past 24 hours. She is a defenseless single mother of four. I just changed her locks for her yesterday as it is believed he has a key to her house. No amount of good thoughts or talking "sense" into said scumbag has worked. The police have already told him that if he shows up again, "He'd be considered trespassing and it would be reasonable to assume he was there to commit a crime." They then reminded him that in Texas, you can shoot people for that, especially at night. *Hint-hint* He hasn't gotten the hint. She stands no chance against this guy, neither do her children. Being armed is good.It depends if you're talking traditional martial arts or real self-defense. Note that with real self-defense, five opponents can be neutralized quite quickly. Especially in firearms-friendly areas. The most I've trained to fight at once has been 10. The most I've actually squared off against, but didn't engage in melee was about 15. My point is, if you're armed the numbers against you don't matter; your size doesn't matter; your sex doesn't matter; your age doesn't matter. All that matters is you have a CHANCE to survive. Unarmed, you're either screwed or lucky. None of us here are halflings, so don't count on luck. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /></blockquote>

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