I posted another thread a few days ago and a few replies down I brought up that I CC a 45 when ever I can a Sig P227 in bringing that detail up it somewhat derailed the thread. Some of the replies that were posted makes me wonder Is it looked at as taboo to Cary a pistol as a martial artist? Some question were legit questions, some were a little snarky advising just wear a vest or why have a gun since the situation I listed first the gun would not of been much help.
First, if I did carry a firearm, you would never see me posting anything about it online. Call it paranoia, but I don't think it's anyone's business whether or not I carry. I certainly am not a licensed carry holder, mainly because a license to carry is defacto registration and I don't care to be registered.
Second, I see nothing wrong with concealed carry, for a martial artist or for anyone else. As the old saying goes,
"God made man, Colonel Colt made them equal."
Third, I believe that carrying firearms changes the dynamics of any self-defense situation. Now, you must not only defend yourself, you must defend your weapon; by which I mean you must keep it from being taken from you. If you draw or otherwise brandish it, any self-defense situation has now become a deadly force situation. If you do that, you must a) be certain that you're legally permitted to do so, or you're going to become a bad man's boyfriend in prison, and b) you must be capable of taking a human life, because you just raised the chances considerably that you'll have to do so.
Fourth, just like martial arts, carrying a weapon is worse than useless if you are not highly skilled and continue training with it. Buying a gun and chucking it in your pocket is not improving your chances of surviving a self-defense scenario. It's increasing the chances you'll shoot your dick off. Guns are not magic wands. You don't wave them around and things get better (although some have argued with me that they waved a gun around and things *did* get better, I think that's the exception rather than the rule).
My opinions on the subject are nuanced and frequently misinterpreted as being anti-gun. I'm pro-gun, so please don't misunderstand me. I'm anti-idiot, and a lot of idiots carry weapons and think they have protected themselves thereby. Armed idiots are still idiots; they're just more dangerous to everyone around them.
Anyone else CC and incorporate that in to your self defense plan, do you have an EDC pack you keep in your truck, or maybe just a few odds and ends you try to have around? I have a small pack I carry in the truck and with me to work. Honestly it's more to hold my lunch and a few cokes but I tossed in a few things to help in an emergency. Just a flash light, some rope a small stick to make a tunicate, gloves.
That brings me to another of my favorite topics. "Self defense plan." That's a good idea. I think everyone should have one. Unfortunately, I think most people do not even understand what one is.
Bug-out bags are nice. Having first-aid kits and canned food and water and so on is nice. It's all nice, and for the most part, it probably won't do any harm.
However...
Most people seem to think that a) they will somehow instantly know how to apply a tourniquet or staunch bleeding from a sucking chest wound or purify their water or read a topo map after TSHTF. Again, just like martial arts and firearms, if you do not make yourself expert in the use of those tools and practice with them, they won't be of any use to you.
I also think that most preppers or survivalists or self-defense experts and so on never seem to consider the self-defense scenarios they are MOST LIKELY to find themselves in. That is, we are far less likely to experience a nuclear detonation than we are a hurricane, tornado, earthquake, fire, mudslide, flood, or other
force majeure.
So, before packing up the tourniquets, it would be a good idea to have a fire extinguisher and to know the different types of fire and extinguishers and maybe even have practiced putting out a fire with one. It would be wise to practice evacuating your own house, blindfolded, in the middle of the night, while crawling on the floor to simulate avoiding toxic smoke. It would be a good idea to have an evacuation plan with your family so that everyone knows where the rally point is, so that you don't go running back into a burning house to save a family member who has already escaped but you just don't know where they are.
It would be wise to take some weather-spotting classes offered for free from FEMA through local governments. It would be wise to actually become Red Cross certified in various life-saving skills, and to practice those skills.
It's nice to have a compass. It tells you which way magnetic north is. Close to useless unless you have a map to go with it, and have learned orienteering skills. There are clubs where you can learn such skills.
You might want to learn to reload, since once you run out of ammo, you have a nice metal stick, not a gun.
Some tell me how they will hunt for food when TSHTF, but they've never been hunting, never gutted or skinned an animal, never eaten wild game. Good luck with setting that snare if you've never done it and now have to survive based on your ability to do so. Good luck hunting when you run out of ammo, or when you spoil the meat by puncturing the wrong organ while you fiddle-faddle around inside the critter's guts.
If you really want to get your learn on, volunteer at a local veterinary clinic or shelter, where if you're lucky, you might learn to give an injection, stitch a wound, and otherwise help sick animals (all of which can be used on humans in emergencies).
Most of us who are getting older also have medical issues that we tend to forget about. Yeah, a year's worth of food in the garage, and no diabetes medication past thirty days worth. Can you pull a rotten tooth? Do you have replacement eyeglasses?
It goes on and on. TEOTWAWKI may happen someday, heck it probably will, but the chances are that none of the preppers, survivalists, martial artists, weapons stockpilers, or etc are really going to be surviving it. More importantly, your house could catch on fire (God forbid) or there could be a local flood or other weather event that puts you out of your home or turns off your power in the area for days, weeks, even months, and your bug-out bag won't be of that much use, especially if you just buy it and carry it around like a magic totem.
I would think even with martial arts a lot of people would incorporate a firearm into their plan? Maybe I'm way off.
You are correct. But depending how far down the rabbit hole you want to go, it's a whole lot more than that. Food for thought.
Personally, what *I* throw in my truck for emergencies is a good flashlight, a fire-starter, a sleeping bag, a charged (but deactivated) cell phone, and a good set of socks and boots. All of more importance to me than a firearm in most circumstances; and if someone breaks in and steals it, I won't be afraid they'll use it to kill someone. I also have a AAA membership. Best money I ever spent with regard to vehicles.
