Urban Survival-Every Day Carry

More often than not I encounter women who have their concealed-carry permit yet leave their gun at home. During the first six months after receiving my permit I did too. Just like so many, I was almost more fearful of being under-prepared to bring the gun than I was about my own safety. I had the gun, holster, belt and more than a few hours spent down range, but had no idea how to transition from the range to carrying every day. What was missing? The tools and the knowledge to address the moments before, during and after the critical seconds when shots are fired. I had never heard of an EDC (every-day carry) kit until the desire to be fully prepared brought me back to the store to accessorize appropriately.

For many women, having an understanding of what key tools and skills are essential to avoid, survive and thrive past a deadly-force encounter makes the difference in living the concealed-carry lifestyle.

Selecting the essential items for your EDC kit is about choosing purpose-specific, quality, functional items that give you as much advantage in a fight as possible. Tools that help you avoid or evade an attack are a good place to start.

Without proper vision you are compromising your situational awareness and therefore giving your potential attacker a significant advantage. Simply put, what you can’t see can hurt you. This goes for dark places as well as extremely bright ones. A carefully chosen handheld light source and polarized glasses allow you the most visibility and the greatest opportunity to avoid a potential attack.

Selecting a light from the hundreds on the market can be a bit overwhelming. Choose a quality metal light that fits comfortably in your hand and in a coat pocket. How bright does it need to be? The highest lumen output you can afford is the best option to go with. The goal is to simulate high-noon daylight in the darkest of places so you can avoid a problem as far away from it as possible. A handheld light with an aggressive crenulated bezel can also serve as a less-lethal striking tool if things get up close and personal. Read the rest of the story here.

I like to mention a story from old China about the origins of a martial art.

Buddhism doesn’t have just monks, it also has nuns. And these Buddhist nuns faced a predicament. Often attacked and sometimes raped by men, typical martial arts didn’t work very well for them, because they had been grabbed with a bear hug. They were just too close to their attacker to punch or kick.

So they came up with a new martial arts technique for very close infighting, called the “iron hand” techniques. This involved training the fingers to be used like knives, and the entire hand to be used like a stabbing sword. And at very close range.

It is very ritualized training so fingers and hands can do this without being damaged in the process, but the results are extraordinary. For example, a small woman could jam a finger or two through an attackers rib cage into a lung, or stick her hand deep into his abdomen. Which really puts a damper on rape.

In any event, I mention this in regard to women’s self defense, and the vital nature of having a very close range weapon *as well as* concealed carry.

In the article, the woman did carry a knife, but it was a folding knife, most of which are difficult to quickly brandish, at least compared to a sheath knife. This matters in very close range fighting, because a gun can be deflected, but it is extremely hard to get past a knife.

This is not to disparage guns at all, just to point out that knives can be very complimentary to guns in a self defense situation, so it is a good idea to think of the two together as a team.

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