[TML] correlation is not causation (was Propagation times fornews services in Imperium)

[Tom B]

On Tue, Apr 1, 2008 at 3:29 AM, Michael Jenkins <darvedd at gmail.com> wrote:

> On 01/04/2008, Knapp <magick.crow at gmail.com> wrote:
> > I do have a home protection weapon. For most of the past it was a
> >  antique samurai sword but now is a 3 foot stick. I would not want to
> >  face a gun with it but I would and my chances would be good unless the
> >  in house attacker had his weapon out and was a long ways away from me
> >  ie over 10 feet (3 meters) away (hard to do in my German house). My
> >  friends and I have tested this out with water guns and some others
> >  with paint guns. Naturally, running away first is the way to go if you
> >  can.
>
> <Mode: Monty Python - aka [humour, explicit]>
> What about a point-ed stick?
> </Mode>
>

That would be the short-shaft assegai. Probably about as dangerous as a
katana or a wakisashi in close quarters fighting. In really constrained
areas, a Fairburn Sykes knife with the conical locking nut would be a good
choice - double sided, can strike with pommel as well as the blade, can
slash either direction or stab.

My old Sensei (Nidan Rev. William "Bill" Bickford of Kingston) used to say
that a sword was a good option for home defense. Inside of 10', probably
more lethal than a pistol (especially if the sword wielder is trained and
the pistoleer probably not so much). It had, as he put it, the added
advantage of being quiet enough not to disturb the neighbours. Of course,
Sensei bill would probably talk the intruder down or just use an Kotagaeshi
or Shihonage to drop the fellow gently to the ground and disarm him without
causing him more than some discomfort.

If you want to have a gun at home, some of the modern security methods that
require ring keys or various biometric access mechanisms to allow the weapon
to be fired could be quite an advantage as far as safety goes. Removes a lot
of the risk of accidental shootings or being shot with your own gun. And
even with what I said before about sword or spear, a Glock 30 in the hands
of someone trained in firearms retention and CQB would probably be more
dangerous. It's just that most of the sorts who'd invade your home aren't
trained or in top form (thankfully). If you've got ERT or JTF2 folks kicking
down your door, you've got some serious problems.

TomB