If you know a person is a threat, then you do not let them approach you at all.
However being in crowded areas, you can’t help but have people get close to you that you do not know are threatening. Of course no one would carry around a two headed battle axe.
A sturdy walking cane just might beat a gun or knife at close quarters if you have learned to use it well. One heavy enough to break an arm or crack a skull.
True that. In medieval/renaissance times, they called the staff the "prince of weapons". First you'd learn ringen, then longsword, and sword and buckler... And then they'd teach the staff. Used properly a staff is a formidable weapon. My walking stick, curiously enough, is a six-foot length of 1.25" hickory. :-) I have a couple of eight foot hickory staffs, but they're a little unhandy for walking purposes. I'm thinking about making one of them into a boat hook.