Devonai
Member
This thread was inspired by much the same topic discussed here.
The gist of the above discussion is the reactions of your companions to a confrontation or the combat that might result. For the sake of this discussion I mean "companion" to be your spouse, significant other, friends, friends of friends, and anyone else that you might find yourself out in public with on a regular basis.
Since I'm single, I'll use the example of friends. My friend Marc and I both have CCWs and are in the same unit in the Massachusetts Guard. We have trained extensively together in this context and on our own. If the SHTF when we're hanging out together, I know exactly how he'll respond, and he knows exactly how I'll respond. Assuming we survive the first contact, we can begin to apply our training to the encounter.
Well, that's great, but what about my friend Joel? He has no CCW and absolutely no martial arts training. He tends towards the absent-minded end of the awareness spectrum, often failing to notice obvious things. Such as my other friends and I announcing that wer'e turning into Electronics Boutique and he continues walking down the mall. He is one of the most intelligent people I know but he has zip for street smarts. I have no idea how he would respond to an emergency situation, let alone a direct threat against himself. Am I going to have to lead him by the hand if such a thing occurs? Probably. Can I convince him to try and raise his situational awareness? I doubt it.
And what about my friend Rob's friends, whom I've never hung out with before and have no idea how they'd react? Well the first and last time I did go out with them they made what would have been a totally meaningless confrontation worse by refusing to ignore the instigators, instead goading them on. Rob and I had to practically drag them away while insisting we didn't want any trouble. Rob and I gave them a serious "***" tongue lashing after that, but the point had been made.
So have you considered how your friends and family are going to react in such situations? In my example Marc is a clear asset but the latter two are both minor and major liabilities, respectfully.
The gist of the above discussion is the reactions of your companions to a confrontation or the combat that might result. For the sake of this discussion I mean "companion" to be your spouse, significant other, friends, friends of friends, and anyone else that you might find yourself out in public with on a regular basis.
Since I'm single, I'll use the example of friends. My friend Marc and I both have CCWs and are in the same unit in the Massachusetts Guard. We have trained extensively together in this context and on our own. If the SHTF when we're hanging out together, I know exactly how he'll respond, and he knows exactly how I'll respond. Assuming we survive the first contact, we can begin to apply our training to the encounter.
Well, that's great, but what about my friend Joel? He has no CCW and absolutely no martial arts training. He tends towards the absent-minded end of the awareness spectrum, often failing to notice obvious things. Such as my other friends and I announcing that wer'e turning into Electronics Boutique and he continues walking down the mall. He is one of the most intelligent people I know but he has zip for street smarts. I have no idea how he would respond to an emergency situation, let alone a direct threat against himself. Am I going to have to lead him by the hand if such a thing occurs? Probably. Can I convince him to try and raise his situational awareness? I doubt it.
And what about my friend Rob's friends, whom I've never hung out with before and have no idea how they'd react? Well the first and last time I did go out with them they made what would have been a totally meaningless confrontation worse by refusing to ignore the instigators, instead goading them on. Rob and I had to practically drag them away while insisting we didn't want any trouble. Rob and I gave them a serious "***" tongue lashing after that, but the point had been made.
So have you considered how your friends and family are going to react in such situations? In my example Marc is a clear asset but the latter two are both minor and major liabilities, respectfully.
