Posted on 06/12/2010 8:34:14 AM PDT by bgill
Several of us are sending our children off to college in the fall and are concerned about their safety. Since most campuses have a no carry policy, what are some suggestions on how to "arm" them?
be aware of your surroundings
walk with friends - power in numbers
pepper spray
kubotan
don't accept drinks from friends or strangers without watching it being poured.
Since a trebuchet isn’t practical in this situation,,,I’d opt for a knife like the one I have. Tell her to jab it in low sharp edge up, and rip it up high through the vital organs.
(Oh sorry, I’m a bit crabby today)
#1 advice I give parents of college kids:
***Warn your kid about alcohol poisoning. Be sure she knows, and don’t assume she does, that beer is not the same as Jack Daniels. Many innocent kids die from alcohol poisoning.
2)Self-defense course, not taught by a pansy liberal.
3)Stay away from boys, you’re too young to be a mommy.
My daughter also graduated and is going away to school next year. When she gets to come home it will be na 180 mile trip, about 80 miles of which don’t have cell phone coverage.
I have spoken with several LEOs and they suggested 1) a good quality pepper spray and 2) a Monkey Fist.
First - the pepper spray. Get a high quality spray from a gun shop or online. One that will shoot 20 feet or so. Preferably one that also contains CS tear gas. One guy suggested the big canisters carried by hikers and fishermen in grizzly bear country. They will shoot a thick stream for quite a distance, have a high concentration of “pepper”, and contain 5-6 ounces rather than 3/4 ounce. The big problem with pepper spray is blowback, and I’m not sure what you can do about it.
The monkey fist is essentially a 1 inch steel marble wrapped in parachute cord with a short (12-18 inch, perhaps) piece of the the same cord connecting it to a ring similar to a large key ring. To use it, lock the ring between 2 or 3 fingers and swing for the fences - like a mace. The officers said it could be deadly if you connect with a skull, and break ribs and fingers if you connect elsewhere. Google Monkey Fist and see what you come up with.
She has had some martial arts training, and I thought I might contact her former instructor to see what he suggests.
My daughter is a fair shot with a handgun, and I would feel better if she could carry it with her, but unfortunately her school has a “zero tolerence” policy for weapons.
Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)
On a college campus, for other than a shooter on campus, a handgun is a less desirable weapon, unless the gun owner is very experienced.
In such a circumstance, I would prefer a knife. Since often the legal limit is a 3” blade, I would select a 3” serrated kitchen knife with a hard sheath. Here are the advantages.
1) It is convenient. They can always have it on their person without discomfort. It is also expendable. Dip in bleach before discarding.
2) It gives the tactical advantage of concealment, which should not be underestimated. The rule of thumb is to hold the knife in the hand with the blade hidden behind the wrist.
3) Most conflicts on campus are short and very short range. A big plus for knives over guns.
4) Even a blind drunk will notice a gash on the hand.
The best part is the training. Give them a watermelon and tell them to cut it up—slashing only. Tell them to alternate hands. By the time they finish that watermelon, they will understand that knife. N.B.: have some spare knives in case the blade breaks.
The advice about making your own drinks and never leaving your drink unattended is a good one. Add to that, that “vodka is not precious”, so if someone gives you a glass of it, find the nearest sink and replace it with water—nobody will know.
Despite all else, if you drink too much, make yourself throw it up before you have to throw it up. Keep Tums or baking soda water handy so you don’t burn your throat with stomach acid.
See how others behave when someone passes out. That shows you how they will behave if *you* pass out. The “nicest” thing for someone else who passes out is to leave them face down in a drain so they don’t choke. This should give you some idea about what “not nice” could mean.
>>Instead of Mace, buy two Spectracide Wasp/Hornet spray cans for $5 and keep one in the room, one in the car... stream shoots 20+ feet and will disable the attacker while you get away, and looks innocent until needed!!<<
Check to see if the chemical t will permanently blind someone. That would be a tough lawsuit these days. You’d be better off to kill him.
Walther
And if they see someone passed out cold on their back, roll them onto their side, so they don't drown if they puke.
I used to do that for my dorm, escort girls home so they never walked alone. Ever.
The techniques are not very difficult. The first thing to understand is that you have to get really close, so it is a weapon of desperate circumstances, and that it is best if your opponent doesn't know that you have a knife until it is way too late. There are a couple of simple techniques that work very well.
Once I started studying the subject, It was interesting to find how much has actually been written on the subject. Knife “fights” are almost never as depictied on television or the movies. It is very rare for two people with knives to fight each other with full knowledge. Usually it is a person with a knife up against someone without or someone with something else, and the primary advantage of a knive user is surprise.
In fiction, the Matt Helm series is recommended for knife usage.
I'd reverse that statement. TV has people who brandish the weapon before using it. What little reality I've seen was followed by "where the heck did the knife come from?"
Would be curious if students could carry a black powder pistol on a “no carry” campus? Any lawyers here?
A black powder pistol is tecnically not a firearm but will do as much damage as a cartidge based pistol.
Sage advice in a dangerous world.
I went to college in the middle of a very dangerous city. Looking back, I would not have taken the chances I did. To be young and naieve.......
I told my kids that “sex” is not the proper term for the act; “mating” is......the act is designed to produce babies.
The important thing is instilling the proper mindset in your kids, many grow up absolutely incapable of self defense, they only know how to cower and whimper.
Krav-Maga is a martial arts system developed for the Israeli Defence Force on the principle that they could quickly teach it to anybody. It’s not dedicated to pretty moves or karate flicks. It’s for ripping people in half if they try to hurt you.
Other than that, you’ll find that pretty much any useful defensive weapon is banned on campus. Your son or daughter will be expelled and prosecuted for posession of such, particularly if he/she uses the weapon in self defense. They can prosecute for unlawful weapons posession on campus, and they will. She’ll still get expelled if she gouges some rapist’s eye out, ruptures his testicles, and shatters one of his kneecaps.
They’re totally insane in that regard. They can’t prosecute for fighting back, and the threat of a lawsuit against the administration might even get them to shut up and refund the tuition.
Thanks, I checked krav-maga out and there’s a couple places near here so I’m leaning toward those classes. It’s maddening that colleges go to such extremes in NOT protecting our children. It’s no wonder there’s so many crimes on campus and mass shootings. It’s like apples in a barrel and the admin couldn’t care less.
The most powerful thing I ever learned is that you don't just have to "find" a job, you can make your own, and be much better off for it.
Everyone travels a different road. Surgery is one of those businesses that require a formal education.
Aye. Didn't know that being a surgeon was the goal. The question then becomes "How will they feel being a government employee via Obamacare after all that work and expense"? I ask that question in all honesty.
I myself was aiming towards a medical career, starting as a Navy Corpsman with the USMC. But even by the early 1980s the legalistic aspects of medicine were becoming so insanely burdensome that I just "went Galt" on the whole idea, before I ever heard of Atlas Shrugged. Don't mistake me, as I age I become ever aware of how essential the existence of good doctors are to my own, but it is something one must consider.
We live in interesting times. Unfortunately.
So if I was to go to college, I would carry and not say a word to anyone. It's the ace up your sleeve that wins that particular game. That's "going Galt" in a different way, I suppose.
Good luck to you and yours.
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