In 1991 I was in San Francisco training in Wing Chun for my usual Saturday workout. That was the day Rodney King riots took place. I remember the crowd of several hundred suddenly arriving in the area of the school while the police watched from a distance. At some point a "protester" broke the window of the Radio Shack next door and from then on chaos reigned. The mob went into a frenzy and took out every last TV, wire, and battery. The eight or so of us training that afternoon simply stood in front of our school to make sure "protestors" didn't feel like breaking those windows too. The police just watched. It was a total break down of societal norms and something I hope never to see or experience again. And now it's happening across the country in multiple cities.
This is a time to reconsider 2nd Amendment Rights at a time when these rights are under immense scrutiny. I have some reservations about the debate. Are there some measures we can take to help tackle the fact that as a society we are swimming in weapons? Probably. And then there is the "slippery slope" argument which also has merit. But in any event, when society is breaking down and law enforcement stands idly by or is incapable of restoring order, then now is not the time to reduce 2A rights. Because your first line of defense is you.
And that concept applies to firearms and unarmed combat alike. While I conceal carry, I don't have a firearm on my person 24/7 and there are some instances where a forearm to the neck is the only timely option; or a knife; or a rolled up magazine; or...
And as violence occurs when we are least prepared, it's incumbent upon each of us to consider how we would react in the worst 15 seconds of the worst day of our lives. In the realm of fighting with our hands especially, never stop learning and studying. As practitioners of Injury Dynamics, we continuously study how to injure the human body. It may seem cold, impersonal and asocial-and that is exactly what it is. Fight like a predator to defeat a predator. Get the first injury. Because when everything is on the line the only thing that matters is winning.
