While I’ve earlier mentioned training, that’s not always financially or logistically possible. Sometimes, a basic investigation of some concept will show that no training is needed – perhaps you consider some facet of self-responsibility and decide that a particular idea just won’t work for you. I would not pay anyone to teach me how to throw a spear, because I don’t own a spear and have no plan to carry one around with me. There are plenty of other topics where my money is better spent. Recognizing that there are some things you need to learn, others you really need proficiency with and some that can be discarded already increases your knowledge. You’ve thought about threats and what it would take for you to avoid or stop them, so now it is time to begin gathering that knowledge.

Put some time aside for reading and get some books. Decided you need to learn some kind of unarmed self-defense technique? Run around on the internet and pick out a few styles or types of fighting. No research is a waste of time, some part of an article may point you in a new direction that might have remained undiscovered. Shotokan Karate is a great skill set to have, but it takes years of practice and uses many full force techniques, meaning you need to be in good shape and be able to throw extremely hard blows into an opponent. An interesting alternative is Krav Maga, developed in Israel. It uses basic movements to get an opponent off of you so that you can get away. For many people, this could be a perfect alternative to one of the more traditional martial arts. A book on Krav Maga is inexpensive, available from Amazon.com, and allows you to practice until you have enough experience to decide whether to move toward formal training or go to something else entirely.

I’m a big proponent of carrying large knives. By “large,” I mean a folding knife with a 6” blade. Recently, though, I have been giving more and more credence to comments by Mike Sastre who says he can carry a Bowie knife (10 ½” + blade) concealed. One of his comments was “In my experience, there are more people out there that will challenge you to shoot them, than are going to challenge you to cut them ....... especially with a knife that can remove body parts.” That alone is a fine argument for carrying a giant knife. Yes, I have many times heard the tired adage that one should not bring a knife to a gunfight. That always has the ring of sage and too obvious to dismiss "truth," while the fount of such advice eyes you with disdain and a sense of superiority. The problem is, of course, that these self-perpetuators of such dubious information haven't been to a gunfight, and since most gunfights start at very, very close range, if the bad guy gets a knife out, you are going to have to fight your way back to gain enough space to get a gun running. This may be problematic while having pieces of your anatomy slashed off. My point is that offhandedly dismissing knife or close combat skills because you have a gun is a good way to get stabbed or beaten to death.

Please overlook the digression - back to the subject. While I could immediately go find a big butcher knife and consider myself well armed, I do occasionally have moments of lucidity. So, off to Amazon for a couple of books on using a Bowie knife (the books were also recommended by Mr. Sastre and the author is Dwight McLemore). Those two books should give me enough basic knowledge to make some decisions on whether to pursue what is for me a completely new direction regarding personal weapons. You may find that some things you become involved with will evolve in a similar fashion. 

You may have some concerns that you lack knowledge in so many things, or in a few that may be overstated, you’ll not ever be able to catch up with where you believe you need to be. Start reading – it’s the least expensive thing you can do and knowledge will follow. With things that you tend to overstate, as in you feel you must know how to handle whatever it is, I say that is not necessarily true. This is where that “some that can be thrown away” part comes in. For example, I really dislike snakes. I have no rational basis for this. So, I could decide that I really should know all about snakes and how to deal with them.

No. I already have a skill that will take care of snakes. I can get away from them. This can be applied to a lot of things found to be personally threatening. You can always try to just get away from whatever it is. I’d rather spend my time learning about how to deal with threats that I may not be able to avoid. You don’t have to have a lack of knowledge as long as you start investigating what you want to learn. Once you are committed to being responsible for yourself, almost everything you do will gain you knowledge and personal growth.

"Study strategy over the years and achieve the spirit of the warrior. Today is victory over yourself of yesterday; tomorrow is your victory over lesser men." - Miyamoto Musashi