Carl Levitian
member
We all have them, sisters, wives, daughters, some of us even granddaughters.
I've been following the Annie Le story in the news, and its a never ending repeat of history. A replaying of ancient news reports of like stories. It seems like every other week there's a story about some young woman/girl getting abducted and/or killed. It's time we do something.
If every American who has a daughter, sister, wife, or live in partner, got serious and provided some training on how to use a weapon that is comfortable for her to use, there'd be a heck of a lot less of this kind of stuff. I can't help but wonder if little Annie had been raised with a little different mindset, and had just a little something to fight back with, a box cutter, Spyderco dragonfly, small screwdriver, anything,, if she'd still be alive and going through with her wedding, and a normal ever after life.
It's surprising how having something, sometimes gives the inspiration to fight back. I've seen the difference a little tool can make when some training went with it. Something to hang onto in time of trouble. Even in the wild, chimps have been seen to pick up rocks to throw, sticks to swing at an opponent. Are we capable of less?
I remember my dad taking my sister Ann down the basement and teaching her to use a little Christy knife to damage an attacker. It took place right after an attempted sexual assault on her while walking home from school. Dad drilled her well to have a plan, practice that plan, and if need be, follow through on that plan. Even if that meant cutting somebody really good. It was many years later, while Ann was in her 20's and out in the working world, she needed a plan. It was another attempted assault on her at night as she left her office building. Walking to the side parking lot, she had to pass a little fenced in alcove where the dumpsters were, and a man who had been stalking her, did a quick grab and pulled her in out of sight. But it was 'the plan' that saved her, and her attacker went to jail. She was saved by a ridiculous little slip of a knife blade, and the well rehearsed tactic of using it that saved her. One can only wonder what chance otherwise a 5 foot 4 inch 120 pound 23 year old woman would have had against a 6 foot plus male in a dark confined place.
When my daughter got to her teen years, I did the same as my dad. Jess got trained in how to damage with a wide array of objects. We went over knives, screwdrivers, kitchen knives, pens, sticks, as well as guns. To this day Jess is a fanatic on carrying her little Spyderco, to the extent of it being clipped on her underthings when she was bridesmaid at her friends wedding. My granddaughter has went the same way. My wife Karen, I don't worry about, her Uncle took care of that many years before I met her. To this day, she still carries a sliding blade Stanley. Her friend Kate is a lifelong fan of the box cutter, with hands as the target.
It's been said clothes make the man, I can only wonder if the weapon makes the victim a would be victim? Having something to strike back with can make all the difference. Knowing what to do with it is gravy on the meatloaf. Maybe I'm nuts, but I think it should be mandatory to teach defense to the girls before they get out of high school. Since it's not, it should be a family member to teach her about using common everyday objects to inflict damage so as to disengage and break off the contact.
I'm not sure, but if Annie Le was in a lab, there must have been stuff around. Pens, glass tubes, tools of some kind, scissors. Gypsy women are taught at an early age what can be done with a pair of scissors. Something to grab. I can only surmise that she didn't, because she was never taught to. Nobody ever taught her to shove that pen into the mastoid gland, or up the nose or into an eye, and run. Nobody, so she had no plan, nothing to fall back on when things were dark and she was in mortal danger. Because of lack of an option, she died.
Tonight, or sometime real soon, sit down with that special lady in your life, be it wife, daughter, sister, even mother, and have a real good heart to heart talk about how you don't want anything to happen to them. Find out what they would consider carrying and learning to use as a weapon. For those of you in the 38 of the 50 states that let you CCW, great! firearms are the leveler of playing fields. But for some of you, like us living in the peoples Republik of Maryland, guns are not an option. Besides, you can't take guns everywhere. But there has to be something that they will be learning to use as a non-firearm option. Something small and lightweight enough so they will always have it on them. Go with them to check out any martial arts schools in your area. Get them into some kind of training. They don't have to be able to take out a Russian Spetznatz, just present some teeth and claws like a cornered cat so they can get out of there.
If they think it not a ladylike thing, point out both Annie Le and Meredith Emerson as examples of not being prepared to defend oneself. As for ladylike, actress Yunjin Kim of TV show Lost is as beautiful an example as one can get, but from what I understand, you don't want to take her on lightly. She's expert in the use of quarter staff and broadsword, as well as a Tae Kwon Do champ.
Gentlemen, lets get busy on arming and training our women not to be victims like Annie Le.
I've been following the Annie Le story in the news, and its a never ending repeat of history. A replaying of ancient news reports of like stories. It seems like every other week there's a story about some young woman/girl getting abducted and/or killed. It's time we do something.
If every American who has a daughter, sister, wife, or live in partner, got serious and provided some training on how to use a weapon that is comfortable for her to use, there'd be a heck of a lot less of this kind of stuff. I can't help but wonder if little Annie had been raised with a little different mindset, and had just a little something to fight back with, a box cutter, Spyderco dragonfly, small screwdriver, anything,, if she'd still be alive and going through with her wedding, and a normal ever after life.
It's surprising how having something, sometimes gives the inspiration to fight back. I've seen the difference a little tool can make when some training went with it. Something to hang onto in time of trouble. Even in the wild, chimps have been seen to pick up rocks to throw, sticks to swing at an opponent. Are we capable of less?
I remember my dad taking my sister Ann down the basement and teaching her to use a little Christy knife to damage an attacker. It took place right after an attempted sexual assault on her while walking home from school. Dad drilled her well to have a plan, practice that plan, and if need be, follow through on that plan. Even if that meant cutting somebody really good. It was many years later, while Ann was in her 20's and out in the working world, she needed a plan. It was another attempted assault on her at night as she left her office building. Walking to the side parking lot, she had to pass a little fenced in alcove where the dumpsters were, and a man who had been stalking her, did a quick grab and pulled her in out of sight. But it was 'the plan' that saved her, and her attacker went to jail. She was saved by a ridiculous little slip of a knife blade, and the well rehearsed tactic of using it that saved her. One can only wonder what chance otherwise a 5 foot 4 inch 120 pound 23 year old woman would have had against a 6 foot plus male in a dark confined place.
When my daughter got to her teen years, I did the same as my dad. Jess got trained in how to damage with a wide array of objects. We went over knives, screwdrivers, kitchen knives, pens, sticks, as well as guns. To this day Jess is a fanatic on carrying her little Spyderco, to the extent of it being clipped on her underthings when she was bridesmaid at her friends wedding. My granddaughter has went the same way. My wife Karen, I don't worry about, her Uncle took care of that many years before I met her. To this day, she still carries a sliding blade Stanley. Her friend Kate is a lifelong fan of the box cutter, with hands as the target.
It's been said clothes make the man, I can only wonder if the weapon makes the victim a would be victim? Having something to strike back with can make all the difference. Knowing what to do with it is gravy on the meatloaf. Maybe I'm nuts, but I think it should be mandatory to teach defense to the girls before they get out of high school. Since it's not, it should be a family member to teach her about using common everyday objects to inflict damage so as to disengage and break off the contact.
I'm not sure, but if Annie Le was in a lab, there must have been stuff around. Pens, glass tubes, tools of some kind, scissors. Gypsy women are taught at an early age what can be done with a pair of scissors. Something to grab. I can only surmise that she didn't, because she was never taught to. Nobody ever taught her to shove that pen into the mastoid gland, or up the nose or into an eye, and run. Nobody, so she had no plan, nothing to fall back on when things were dark and she was in mortal danger. Because of lack of an option, she died.
Tonight, or sometime real soon, sit down with that special lady in your life, be it wife, daughter, sister, even mother, and have a real good heart to heart talk about how you don't want anything to happen to them. Find out what they would consider carrying and learning to use as a weapon. For those of you in the 38 of the 50 states that let you CCW, great! firearms are the leveler of playing fields. But for some of you, like us living in the peoples Republik of Maryland, guns are not an option. Besides, you can't take guns everywhere. But there has to be something that they will be learning to use as a non-firearm option. Something small and lightweight enough so they will always have it on them. Go with them to check out any martial arts schools in your area. Get them into some kind of training. They don't have to be able to take out a Russian Spetznatz, just present some teeth and claws like a cornered cat so they can get out of there.
If they think it not a ladylike thing, point out both Annie Le and Meredith Emerson as examples of not being prepared to defend oneself. As for ladylike, actress Yunjin Kim of TV show Lost is as beautiful an example as one can get, but from what I understand, you don't want to take her on lightly. She's expert in the use of quarter staff and broadsword, as well as a Tae Kwon Do champ.
Gentlemen, lets get busy on arming and training our women not to be victims like Annie Le.
