| | Daniel,I have spent my life in Law Enforcement Duncan, and if I have learnt anything, it is don't for a second believe the Police and the Justice system will protect you or defend you. +1 to that. I've been through the justice system a few times after some vehicle thefts from my property, and didn't come out particularly impressed.
If , and statistics show that you won't - you won't even make it to the personal alarm the Security company sold you The panic switch is actually mounted above our bed - well, where our bed will be once I've finished sanding & polishing the bedroom floor. In the meantime we're sleeping in the sunroom, and there's no way we'd make it.
, but if you wake up to find some thug inside your house, be prepared for a fight to the death. I kid you not. Particularly in New Zealand, where I once wore the Police badge with pride, you are better off to shoot them dead. I'll do whatever it takes to protect my family and my property, with whatever tools come to hand. I wouldn't be trying to kill, I'd be trying to stop - and if that involved lethal force, so be it.
And sorry, but unless you are prepared to train for the rest of your life, martial arts are next to useless. Which is why I'm more interested in combatives than traditional martial arts. Simple things like palm heel strikes, knees, low kicks and edge-of-hand strikes that can be learned in weeks and honed over years. My main goal is to learn from someone who's big, strong, aggressive and used to fighting men like himself - in other words if I'm used to functioning while being knocked around in a training, I should be better equipped to handle myself in a real fight.
Do not present a weapon at an attacker unless you are absolutely versed in its use, you will become the victim otherwise.
Interesting - I've seen many cases of totally untrained people deploying weapons in self-defense and having surprisingly good luck with them (in one example, a man fought off a gang attacking his wife, killing one of them, with a pocket knife with a 2 inch blade). Sure, the more you train the less likely you'll be disarmed, and the more likely you are to incapacitate your attacker - this is why I'm training. But the old "take the weapon off the victim and use it against him" is very often untrue.
Joe Average is no match for the sociopaths and borderline psychopaths that inhabit your environment, and even less for the mind boggling morass that passes for Justice in New Zealand. Do I sound cynical enough for you? I'm sorry but 27 yrs of dealing with these thugs, and the Justice system, has dulled my sense of humour on this point.
You don't sound cynical to me - it sounds like you've seen The System from the inside as a Policeman and know what you're talking about.
The alarm system is your best defence, make sure it is monitored and has a guard response (it will cost more but then what price do you put on your most precious)- and check the response times of the guard, you will find they should be twice as fast as your average Police patrol, get into a daily lockdown routine, and if you feel the urge start training. The problem with this is the best security firm in the area has a mean 8-minute response time. Now that's bloody good compared with the local Plod, but a bunch of goblins can do a lot of bad things to me & mine in that time. The way I look at it is that any responder, be it a private security firm or the Police, is going to be good for filing reports, cleaning up blood (probably both mine and the intruders), and not a lot else.
Neighbourhood watch is useless unless you are surrounded by retired single women. :-)
Mind you the biggest thief is probably snoring her head off in Vogel House right now so you should be safe till the morning!
Only for a few more weeks now ...
Lance,
Duncan, everything you are doing makes sense. What is the crime like in your area? Do you consider the break-in at your place somewhat of a fluke? Or are there a bunch of thugs runnin' around? Thanks :-) The crime rate where I live is actually fairly good by NZ standards (which IIRC has a higher rate of all violent crime than the U.S.A., except murder). The main problem, at least where I live, is young people wandering over into Onehunga from the poorer southern areas of Auckland, stealing stuff, and taking it back with them. I had the same motor scooter stolen twice from my property, and both times it was by 'juveniles' from south Auckland. Where I live, the odds of actually having to fight (rather than scare) off an intruder is pretty slim. About as slim as having a scooter stolen twice, and being burgled once ...
Ross,
How did you feel about that new haka last week? I quite enjoyed it. Scarily enough, I didn't see it - I don't follow the rugby.
Max,
I have heard that Kick-Boxing can help a bit, but the training is too extreme for me From what I've heard of some Krav Maga schools (particularly those catering to military clients) Kick-Boxing shouldn't be any harder.
Scott,
Letting people conceal-carry handguns would solve 90% of the problems, while probably increasing some others by about 5%. But you'd better learn to shoot, and be willing to pull the trigger if and when. Sure - like any other tool, the onus is on the user to learn how and when to use it. The statistics show that firearms are the most effective tool for self-defense - it's a shame we're not allowed to carry here in N.Z.
Rich,
Thanks :-)On top of keeping my homefront secure (which usually presents additional difficulties if you have kids), I've just spent the last year working in an extremely tough and dangerous neighborhood. Ouch - hope your pay reflects it. I guess having children would impose some changes - no more easily-accessible sharp or loud weapons, and I imagine you'd be watching for a much wider range of threats (traffic, things to fall off etc.)
Edited to correct formatting.
(Edited by Duncan Bayne
on 9/04, 3:05pm)
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