Ok, a walking holster I may be...

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Thinking "outside the box" has led to some innocuous looking items in my home that can easily become "defensive tools".
Note: I said "tools", not weapons.
There are two pieces of old garden hose about 24" long that can make some very painful welts, or even breaks a nose or blind someone. Then there is the old umbrella that has had all the fabric removed and the metal point made somewhat more pointed. Unlike virtually any kind of sword, it is no good for hacking or slashing and, being about the diameter of a foil or epee, is only good for punctures. But it is long enough to reach the heart, lungs, etc., and if you don't hit bones, a complete pass through.
Then there are the hammers and screwdrivers that can be surprisingly effective, just at a dangerous range (too close).
 
I may well be a walking holster for someone else...but I’m also a walking holster for myself. I also have the advantage of knowing where the gun is and practice in using it. And I have a nasty one-handed opening serrated blade on my offhand side as a weapon retention tool.

Hardware can’t make up for a lack of training or abilities, but it can maximize the ones you do have. Add making smart choices to the mix and those will take you a long way.
 
You know if I wasn't an old curmugeon this would be a funny topic. But let the young thugs remember, most old guys don't fight fair. I will use the tools that JTHunter mentioned if need be. I try to keep my head on a swivel, keep at least 1 cutting tool, 1 ccw, 1 extra mag, flashlight, and the hopes that I need nothing but my flashlight. Ya'll stay safe out there
 
Encoreman said:
You know if I wasn't an old curmugeon this would be a funny topic. But let the young thugs remember, most old guys don't fight fair.
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It's still a funny topic. Few years back, got a new officer who allegedly had a lot of local MMA experience. He talked a lot of smack, so in DTs later on, I used a finger-lock takedown on him. He howled a bit. You don't always have to be in the best shape; experience and trickery can work to shut the youngsters up sometimes.
 
At 65, I'm about out of gas, as far as fighting goes. I was into boxing and wrestling in younger days, as it seemed necessary where I lived, and martial arts were cost-prohibitive. Barfights were plentiful, but even then, I was fighting just to get out, once it started. I've always been big though, and that seemed to keep ruffians at bay for the most part, as I always heard of my smaller friends being jumped. I can still go maybe 3 one minute rounds on a heavy bag, which I did for the first time since winter started, last week at the gym. I'll likely keep that up throughout the summer, like last year. That and my grappling ability may at least give me a better chance to get at my gun, if someone rushes me unexpectedly. My head is on a swivel always, but anyone can slip up.
 
JohnKSa said:
Here's what I posted on the other thread.

Here's my take on the situation. It's pretty much the same as my take on all self-defense.

1. Learn enough about real-world self-defense encounters so that you can form a realistic picture of the things that can happen.
2. Learn about the things a person can do to deal with the various things that happen in real-world encounters.
3. Think through plans for the various things you might have to deal with. Don't just think about one plan or the absolute best plan for each situation--you may not be able to implement the ideal approach. By the way, I don't mean just daydream through this. I mean use what you've learned in steps 1 & 2 to see how specific real world threats can be countered.
4. Decide which plans are within your capability. Think about your physical limitations. Think about the time you have to train. Think about the cost in materials and training expenses.
5. Think about which plans you are willing to put into place and actually would put into place. To use a common example, there's no point in buying exercise equipment if you know you won't use it.
6. Implement the plans you choose that you believe are reasonable for you.
7. Don't pretend that you are more prepared than you really are. Understand the limits that your planning and preparation set and remember what Dirty Harry says: "A man's GOT to know his limitations."

You may not be able to/willing to become an expert in hand-to-hand fighting, but you still need a plan for what to do if someone grabs for your gun. Maybe it's a really simple plan that's not great. Something like grabbing the gun with both hands, screaming, biting and kicking is better than not doing anything at all. But learning some basic retention skills might be easier than you think. Maybe you choose to bolster a miminal active retention scheme with risk reduction and passive retention. So conceal instead of carrying openly. Carry with a retention holster. Carry a gun with an unusual operating technique like a squeeze cocker. Carry a gun with a magazine safety and train to drop the mag if the gun is being taken and you can't stop it.

The point is that doing nothing at all and just assuming that you've got the bases covered is not a plan--it's not preparation. It's a prayer for luck, and sadly, luck favors the prepared.

I see people making two common mistakes when it comes to self-defense:

1. Thinking that because they're more prepared than the average person, or the guy down the street, or the guy from work, that they're prepared enough.
2. Thinking that because the ultimate level of preparation in one area is difficult or impossible to attain, they can just forget about that aspect of preparation entirely and it won't hurt them.
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All of this.

there is nothing wrong with not being a hand fighting kung fu master.

The dangers many warn about are when you have an unrealistic idea of how proficient you at closed distances when discussing self defense.
 
Both my rotator cuffs are busted and inoperable. No way could I engage in any continuing use of physical force. So I pulled two defensive strikes out of my Marine memory: a chin thrust and a sternum punch. Both, if done with full force are likely to stop an assault at least long enough for you to extricate yourself or to access a self defense weapon. The sternum, a very thin bone, breaks relatively easy. It is an extremely painful break. It can cause one or both lungs to collapse and could even disrupt heart function. The chin thrust is a hard strike upward using the butt of the palm of the hand to strike under the chin. It forces the head way back. That can actually break the connection of the brain stem and spinal column. At a minimum it shock the centra nervous system and means instant disorientation. So I figure I have enough shoulder strength to get one or both is those strikes before the my arm just will be a mess. I practice those strikes in my mind.
 
That's what I'm talking about. Not your specific plan, but HAVING a plan and making sure it's one that's within your ability to implement. My plan might be different, maybe more effective, maybe less effective, but it's still going to be better than just letting the guy take your gun and then waiting to see if he runs away with it or decides to shoot you.
 
Walking holster, LOL; yea, I've got on a holster wherever I'm walking. I'm always carrying Glock 23/32 wherever.
And sometimes I have my two buddies with me; I've literally had people say, "you're not going to get assaulted". :D
All this is in a "good area". ;)
DogsApril2021.jpg
 
1942bull said:
So I pulled two defensive strikes out of my Marine memory: a chin thrust and a sternum punch. Both, if done with full force are likely to stop an assault at least long enough for you to extricate yourself or to access a self defense weapon.
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And they are even more effective with my Irish walking stick cane. At 74 it is about all the fighting I can do, and even with one new (8 weeks) knee I can't run at all. I'll keep wearing my IWB holster and pistol.
 
The young will from time to time bring up this subject. They are young, strong, agile and sadly ignorant. When one becomes old, looses physical strength and loses agility they usually become wise enough to know that the old saying is true. Never start a fight with and old guy. He'll just kill you.

So at my advanced age. With multiple bad joints and heart disease. I'm not going to be able to go toe to toe with a younger man. Should I then just submit and die? Or do I still have the right to use whatever is at my disposal to stay alive?
 
patmccoy said:
And they are even more effective with my Irish walking stick cane. At 74 it is about all the fighting I can do, and even with one new (8 weeks) knee I can't run at all. I'll keep wearing my IWB holster and pistol.
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Amen brother. As Sergeant Major of a battalion I once served in d\addressed the grunts. Among the things he said were these words of wisdom; “A warrior is one who just keeps going until there is noting left to go with”. I heard that in 1961. I have ever forgotten it. I see you subscribe to it. Semper Fi.
 
Phaedrus/69 said:
I just had surgery on my right shoulder. If everything works out ideally I still probably will never have the mobility and strength I had before. It really sucks as I'm not even super old (51), just had a freak injury.
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Cut yourself some slack - my shoulder turned out ok and would still be but for the type of repair that was done. Just do your therapy with religious fervor!
 
I consider the "walking holster" comment from the other thread which many of you have seen to be quite arrogant, and naive. It also indicates that only fit, martial-arts competent men are able to prevail. What does that say about the 125 pound woman that carries?

What it might well say to that arrogant young man is "Well, she shot you, didn't she?"

In reality, it's all about situational awareness. And, the FACT that none of us can win every possible scenario. I don't worry about a hand-to-hand conversation, rather, I just try to make sure I stay as far away from such a potential conflict as possible. And I carry.
 
david58 said:
It also indicates that only fit, martial-arts competent men are able to prevail. What does that say about the 125 pound woman that carries?
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That's a good point that I hadn't thought of. I'm 73, easily 30 lbs overweight (I'm working on it), the lower thirds of each of my lungs are mostly scar tissue due to a bout with a bacterial pneumonia back in 2005, and I haven't had any "martial arts" training or practice in over 50 years. Yet I'd bet dollars to donuts I could whip my 46 year-old, 5'2", 120lb daughter in a fist fight - IF she didn't shoot me with that Smith 9mm she carries and knows how to use.:eek:
Another example of someone not at all "competent" in martial-arts, yet still capable of defending themselves if they had to would have been my dad. Dad was motorized wheelchair bound for the last 6 or 7 years of his life on Earth. But I guarantee that somewhere under that blanket, or in that robe Dad was wearing, he had a little .32 of some kind (Dad was always an "anything .32" type of guy). So I guess after Dad became wheelchair bound, rather than being one of them "walking holsters," he would have just been a "rolling holster," huh?o_O
 
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We are all responsible for our own will being there for we adapt to our circumstance be it as examples age and health issues. None of us are the same as has we were (X) number of years in the past. We learn thru thought and experience. Thus we adapt and overcome our inadequacies brought on by aging. The reality is no one should live in the past but rather be adaptive to the process of aging.
 
It also indicates that only fit, martial-arts competent men are able to prevail.
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Obviously the person who made the comment was thinking about martial arts (being an instructor) but that doesn't mean that martial arts are the only possible way to prevail. Having a little push knife handy that you could easily access with your weak hand might be a good plan. The key is thinking through the problem and trying to find solutions that will work for you. Just about anything you come up with is better than just letting the bad guy take your gun and then hoping he'll leave and not shoot you with it.

Mistakes you don't want to make:

1. "I'm more prepared than X so I'm good." Just because you can find someone who's less prepared than you are doesn't mean you've prepared to an adequate level.
2. "I can't do martial arts at a competitive level so I might as well just give up." Don't get focused on one solution that isn't a good fit for you and let it convince you that there aren't any solutions that will work for you.
 
Light, keys, Glock32, OTF knife & metal comb goes everywhere I do, with 27 rounds ammo thrown in also. I never dreamed I would ever bond with a OTF knife but it is just so handy with 1 hand, in fact I just reached for it to double check on it after mowing for hours. My daily load out.
 
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