Weapons Awareness
I was watching football yesterday afternoon when I suddenly heard sirens. I live in a quiet residential neighborhood but there is a major arterial a couple of blocks away so we tend to hear an emergency response or two from time to time. They’ve historically passed on by rather then stopping nearby, but this time it turns out that a man was knifed a few of blocks away. The 22-year-old victim was stabbed in the stomach, rushed to Harborview Medical Center, and listed in critical condition according to press reports. Police reported that another man drove a getaway car, but didn't give a description of the vehicle that I could find.
While this incident was disturbing, it also brings up an important lesson. Despite what you may have learned in martial arts class, unarmed civilians who tangle with weapon-wielding attackers invariably get hurt. Often quite badly. Armed assaults are far more dangerous to the victim than unarmed ones, more than three times as likely to result in serious injury. In fact, some 96% of all homicides involve a weapon. Since hand-to-hand combat against an armed assailant is often a losing proposition, it is important to learn how to spot a weapon and avoid it before it can be used against you.
With few exceptions, civilians who carry a weapon need to do so in a manner where it cannot be seen by those around them yet can be drawn in very big hurry should the need arise. After all, you wouldn’t want to be stopped every five minutes by a police officers summoned by panicked bystanders who report that you are armed. Bad guys also conceal their weapons, though more often then not to maintain the element of surprise. Either way, accessibility is key. After all, a weapon does you no good if you cannot get to it rapidly when you need it.
Most carry techniques center on or around the waist. Most law-abiding civilians who own a gun use a holster. Holsters make the most reliable carry systems because they rigidly affix the weapon to a specific spot on the body. That way it can always be found it when it is needed, even under extreme stress. Many folding knives come with belt clips designed to hold them firmly against the side of your pocket where they are easily located by touch.
Criminals, on the other hand, rarely use a holster. The two most common ad hoc carry positions for firearms are in inside the pants, either in the front alongside the hipbone or in the small of the back. Because the weapon has a tendency to move around when carried in this fashion, you can often spot a bad guy touching himself to assure that it is in the proper place or adjusting the weapon to get it back into the proper carry position.
Pants or jacket pockets are always a handy choice as well. Like the inside-the-pants carry, they are not as reliable or easy to get to as a holster when you need rapid access. Weapons can also be palmed, hidden behind an arm or leg, or held out of sight beneath a covering object such as a folded jacket or newspaper. These methods facilitate rapid access but can be easier to spot than other methods. That’s the good news. The bad news is that if the weapon is already drawn and held in a concealed position, you will be in extremely serious trouble if you do not spot your adversary’s intent. He has already decided to attack and is maneuvering into position to do so.
Weapons can also be “hidden” in plain sight too. A hot cup of coffee tossed into a bad guy’s face can make an effective deterrent. A solidly built pen can operate much like a martial arts kubaton or even like a knife. A cane, walking stick, heavy purse, or laptop computer can be used as a bludgeon. Heavy keys on a lanyard can work much like a medieval flail, albeit far less effectively. A beer bottle, pool cue, baseball bat, or mug can be just as effective in a pinch as a weapon designed for combat.
Pay particular attention to a person’s hands and midsection, looking for unusual bumps, bulges, out-of-place items of clothing, or odd movements. Also look for concealing clothing that may be covering a weapon. Examples include a jacket worn in hot weather, a vest that covers the waistline (especially the hips/lower back), or a loose shirt that is only buttoned high.
Just because a weapon is not in use at the beginning of a fight doesn’t necessarily mean that it won’t be by the end, particularly if the other guy thinks he’s in danger of losing. Before, during, and even after a fight, watch for the upward or sideways motion of withdrawing a weapon from its sheath, holster, or hiding place; a weapon cannot be used until it is deployed. While you will frequently rely on your eyes to spot a concealed weapon, you can use your ears too. Listen for the sound of a weapon being drawn or readied for action as well.
Weapon awareness is relatively easy to practice. Take an outdoor seat at a restaurant in a high foot-traffic area, hang out in a mall, or take a walk through a public place and carefully watch passersby. Count how many knives, guns, and other weapons you can spot. Who is carrying them? How are they concealed? What subtle clues did you notice that helped you spot the weapon? Once you get good at consciously finding these devices, you can begin to pick them up subconsciously as well. Honing your intuition in this manner builds solid survival skills.
