If we didn't have guns....

If we have no guns, then my bet is we shall be in a state very similar to the jews in germany during WWII. So my answer is explosives, handmade guns, edged weapons and lots of prayer.

My other favorite lenght is the cut off shovel handle under the seat of my Tacoma. It's from the elbow to the tip of my fingers. Good for fast close work.

Click to expand...

I've got something similar beside the seat in my truck, but it's called a "tire checking tool" and is labled as such (I picked it up at a truckstop for $5). It has a steel band around one end and a leather lanyard on the other. And because it's technically a "tool", I can even bring it onsite in my vehicle at work, where "weapons" are outlawed.

Top Three

For home defense, IMO:

Short swords (chisa katana, dirk, gladius, long bayo, machete, kuhkri, etc.)

Spear

Dogs


The pocket folder I choose to carry when I'm not carrying a handgun is this one:

http://www.gerber-tools.com/Gerber-Applegate-Fairbairn-Combat-5780.htm

With the backside also sharpened (it's not sharp from the factory).

Knife

Maybe a stick.

I'd certainly be a lot more serious about my AMOK! work.

I'd have a problem, because while my state is very pro-gun and pro-concealed carry, it has strict laws against concealed knives and many other concealed weapons. I'd likely go Paul Bunyan and carry a hatchet openly on my belt.

Home defense is easy -- anything at hand. Monadnock T batons are legal around here, and make excellent doorway and car weapons.

National defense is easy as well -- matches and gasoline.

Thinking about this senerio, I can only imagine it happening if the Constitution falls, or is watered down to useless by a convention.

If that did indeed come about, I can well imagine we will be living in a very rigid Soviet style system. I doubt even the carrying of a lockblade knife will be tolerated, as in the U.K. today. Small slip joints only. Same as in Ireland and Japan if I understand it right. No protection against stop and search, no protection of you home being invaded and searched by storm troopers. Life in the new Amerikan Socialist Republik will be life under a microscope of informants, wire taps, and survailance. Big brother will be watching.

I heard in Autrailia they can't even have sling shots or cheap junk costume swords.

Makes it even more important that all you're stuff looks normal. Everyday items.

Where's Master Po when we need him?

Very interesting thread!

I was thinking about the same thing the other day, and came to the conclusion that if all guns were banned, I would feel comfortable defending myself with a stick or a knife, or even with open hands.

I really don't understand the utter dependancy many have on guns for home defense(not that firearms aren't the best first choice, but they certainly aren't the only option). It's not like a home invasion involves a duel at 20'. You can easily position yourself to ambush the home invader as he comes around a corner, and at contact range a trained martial artist is much more dangerous than the guy with the handgun who has no training and shoots sideways on a good day.

Guns are great, but it's a bad idea to be totally dependent on anything....

Well, I realize the bow is unpopular, but I'd always prefer ranged to close quarter combat. And, if I can do that, I will. And, I'm better than your average archer with a stickbow after more than two decades of practice.

And, if someone gives me the bum's rush, I reckon they won't like a broadhead in the eye anymore than I would.

I've also studied AiKiDo (and continue to) so I'm not bad at joint locks and such.

Up close and personal, I'd likely want a blade or an impact weapon like a stick.

John Shirley's comments about the spear are right on. I would feel very well defended with a spear in hand.

Carl's right: think sticks.

If they totally ban guns and get away with it, they'll keep going, with swords and other medieval weapons being banned as well. Look at the UK, where some members of Parliament have suggested banning pointy kitchen knives!

If I were picking a non-firearm for home defense, I really like the madu -- a double-ended spear with a small shield in the middle. It's a parrying weapon from India, that was usually made with two antelope horns joined at the butts and with the tips often sheathed in steel. I would use it with a short sword in the primary hand, but that lower spear point is the real weapon: it's great for going after feet, legs and even the lower abdomen. It's light and quick, and the edge of the buckler would also be dangerous for an opponent. I've faced the madu in the SCA, and it was a beast to deal with in the hands of someone who knew how to use it.

Away from my home, however, I'd be back to the stick. If anyone wants a quick, basic intro to stick fighting, I generally think of John Styers' classic book: Cold Steel. His chapter on the stick is very well done and focuses on the two-handed use of the stick. I can speak from experience that a two-handed blow from a stick, with the person's body weight behind it, is very, very unpleasant to receive. I was fortunate not to have been seriously hurt.

I found that Steyrs' book is still available from Amazon, or you can ask your local librarian to get it for you from another library, if they don't have it.

Regards,
Dirty Bob

Especially around the home, a great protective everyday device is a golf club - specifically, a good iron. A trip to the local thrift store can get you a couple for a few bucks. As you swing, lunge, or just jab with it, the mass is at the end and impact can be over a small area, inflicting significant injury. Easier/safer to use than a baseball bat, too. As my favorite and only way to 'golf' involves holes with windmills, pirates, and clown faces, you must blame my watching TV's 'Burn Notice' for this idea.

Stainz

,,,

I´m with JShirley.

Get a nice hard stick and practice with it.

You can keep the two "extensions" in a pouch
to improve the stopping power when needed:
http://www.museumreplicas.com/p-536-300-spearhead-and-butt-cap.aspx

a martial artist with a spear is almost unbeatable without
a ranged weapon....

Perhaps buying up a pile of machetes would be a good idea.
You can get them cheaply army surplus.

Night stand becomes the defensive weapon + shield.

An ax would be a very effective offensive weapon. If your defense is a strong offense, an ax w/ a 36" handle would be nasty.

No comment on chemical deterrents? Seems like a can of crowd blaster pepper spray would be good on multiple assailants while keeping some distance.

Red Metallic,

Welcome to the High Road!

Do you have a link to that table? That's awesome, and would make a great conversation piece...

That table is just funny, but it's good just the same. I might make one for my converstion van.

I'd go with a machete. They've been used effectively as weapons countless times and don't require much training.

Click to expand...

I second that. The most popular weapon in the world after the firearm is the Machete. Every third-world peasant has one. I'm sure there are good reasons for this.

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Muay Thai Kickboxing
Wrestling
Eskrima

Balisong
Barong
Panabas
Karambit
Sticks/Rods

The table / club would be a British design of course. What you get when you've lost your guns and now knife carry gets you locked up as well.

Cowering behind his locked hollow-core door James readied himself for the barbarians........

I am actually in a country right now that bans the possession of pistols as well as most forearms. Because of my status, I am not allowed to own anything.

What I have around the house is just about every other weapon ever used by man.

Sticks are good. Sticks can be laid anywhere in the house and not attract attention. They also are not going to be as big a problem if kids pick them up. The sword, spears and other bladed objects are not as at hand.

When I go out, I always have a Surefire flashlight modified to be a "Te no Uchi." I carry the damn thing not because I want a weapon, but because it is so nice to have a flashlight when things get dark. I also sometimes carry a pocket knife. If I suspect trouble, pepper spray. I am trained in the use of all of these weapons. If I did not have an interest in combat arts and spent as much time as I do training with them, I am sure I would probably carry something easy to use.

If we didn't have firearms . . .

We'd be screwed as a Nation. How many armed foreign troops could you drop with a drop-point folding hunter? Socialized Socialistics might come to our rescue in true Communistic fashion, but would it be instantaneously? cliffy.

I've got something similar beside the seat in my truck, but it's called a "tire checking tool" and is labled as such (I picked it up at a truckstop for $5). It has a steel band around one end and a leather lanyard on the other. And because it's technically a "tool", I can even bring it onsite in my vehicle at work, where "weapons" are outlawed.

Click to expand...

I actually asked a trucker at a truck stop if those were just a lame excuse to carry something that could potentially beat the snot out of someone.

He replied "Pretty much."

cliffy said:

How many armed foreign troops could you drop with a drop-point folding hunter?

Click to expand...

Depends....all you'd have to drop is one & then you'd have his weapons....kinda like the philosophy behind the Liberator pistols of WWII....

If only the military & LEOs (& criminals) have firearms, then finding one won't be as much a problem as some think....

I like the idea of one of those huge cans of bear spray, the kind that says caution expremley flamible and a zippo. A small yappie dog and a large quiet dog. And my framing hammer, in the hands of a guy who swings a hammer alot it could be effective. can't go wrong with machatte.
one mind any weapon, semper fi