Almost had to draw last night

[TTUchris]

Thanks for sharing your experience.

Question: Could you tell if the aggresor was high? Was his speech slurred and incoherent, or was he articulate and calculated? Did me move in an odd way or did he seem to be in control? If he was doped up, then there isn't much communication that will work. He might not be able to process your commands or even understand that you were taking defensive measures. THAT's what scares me. If he's on drugs and oblivious to your repeated shouts and his brain is fixated on the idea of following you, it could be very difficult to stop him without using some sort of force.

How about running away as an option in similar situations? I know you have an injury slowing you and you were with women, so this is more of a general question. I think that if I'm in an open area and I don't see any BG accomplices, running would be one of my first instincts. I'm not very well-versed in self defense tactics, so I don't know if that's a bad choice or not. I don't like the idea of turning my back to potentially dangerous people, but I'm pretty young and more mobile than most. I wouldn't necessarily run in a straight line away if that was my only option, but in an urban environment, I like the idea of darting around corners, through parking lots, etc, rather than letting a confrontation continue. Obviously a LOT depends on the exact circumstances, but are there any general rules about sprinting away?

[Excaliber]

Thanks for sharing your experience.

Question: Could you tell if the aggresor was high? Was his speech slurred and incoherent, or was he articulate and calculated? Did me move in an odd way or did he seem to be in control? If he was doped up, then there isn't much communication that will work. He might not be able to process your commands or even understand that you were taking defensive measures. THAT's what scares me. If he's on drugs and oblivious to your repeated shouts and his brain is fixated on the idea of following you, it could be very difficult to stop him without using some sort of force.

How about running away as an option in similar situations? I know you have an injury slowing you and you were with women, so this is more of a general question. I think that if I'm in an open area and I don't see any BG accomplices, running would be one of my first instincts. I'm not very well-versed in self defense tactics, so I don't know if that's a bad choice or not. I don't like the idea of turning my back to potentially dangerous people, but I'm pretty young and more mobile than most. I wouldn't necessarily run in a straight line away if that was my only option, but in an urban environment, I like the idea of darting around corners, through parking lots, etc, rather than letting a confrontation continue. Obviously a LOT depends on the exact circumstances, but are there any general rules about sprinting away?

The primary objective is to come out of the encounter alive and preferably unhurt, and the secondary one is to minimize the legal and financial repercussions by using as little force as possible while still keeping yourself safe. However you manage to accomplish these things is by definition a good tactic if it works. That being said, in a given situation, the least possible required force to accomplish the primary objective may be deadly force.

I see nothing wrong with "rapid tactical repositioning" as you suggest (this sounds better than running away, but it's the same thing). It won't always be possible or practical, but if you can make it work for you in a given situation, it may be your best option at that point in time and space. (Warning: this tactic won't meet the manly standards of the chairborne commando community, but I'd still opt for ridicule over injury, death, or having to shoot someone any day. Your critics won't have to live with the real world aftermath of your encounters like you will.) I would have mentioned it as an option for the OP in this thread, but his injury precluded that. If a subject like the one he described then responded by pursuing you at a run, it would be a further indication of his criminal intentions and another element in your use of force decisions and your defense of your actions afterward.

[Excaliber]

Thanks for sharing your experience.

Question: Could you tell if the aggresor was high? Was his speech slurred and incoherent, or was he articulate and calculated? Did me move in an odd way or did he seem to be in control? If he was doped up, then there isn't much communication that will work. He might not be able to process your commands or even understand that you were taking defensive measures. THAT's what scares me. If he's on drugs and oblivious to your repeated shouts and his brain is fixated on the idea of following you, it could be very difficult to stop him without using some sort of force.

How about running away as an option in similar situations? I know you have an injury slowing you and you were with women, so this is more of a general question. I think that if I'm in an open area and I don't see any BG accomplices, running would be one of my first instincts. I'm not very well-versed in self defense tactics, so I don't know if that's a bad choice or not. I don't like the idea of turning my back to potentially dangerous people, but I'm pretty young and more mobile than most. I wouldn't necessarily run in a straight line away if that was my only option, but in an urban environment, I like the idea of darting around corners, through parking lots, etc, rather than letting a confrontation continue. Obviously a LOT depends on the exact circumstances, but are there any general rules about sprinting away?

The primary objective is to come out of the encounter alive and preferably unhurt, and the secondary one is to minimize the legal and financial repercussions by using as little force as possible while still keeping yourself safe. However you manage to accomplish these things is by definition a good tactic if it works. That being said, in a given situation, the least possible required force to accomplish the primary objective may be deadly force.

I see nothing wrong with "rapid tactical repositioning" as you suggest (this sounds better than running away, but it's the same thing). It won't always be possible or practical, but if you can make it work for you in a given situation, it may be your best option at that point in time and space. (Warning: this tactic won't meet the manly standards of the chairborne commando community, but I'd still opt for ridicule over injury, death, or having to shoot someone any day. Your critics won't have to live with the real world aftermath of your encounters like you will.) I would have mentioned it as an option for the OP in this thread, but his injury precluded that. If a subject like the one he described then responded by pursuing you at a run, it would be a further indication of his criminal intentions and another element in your use of force decisions and your defense of your actions afterward.

[03Lightningrocks]

I was not saying that a guy with a cane is defenseless. I am saying a guy with a cane is MORE likely to be picked by a bad guy. I don't care if you put a bazooka on the end of a cane, it still makes you look weak and feeble walking around with it. If you have no choice, well than so be it. But to walk around with a cane pretending to be wounded as an excuse to carry a stick...LOL...makes no sense at all. Instead, it makes the predator want to eat you. It is much better to never get picked in the first place. Look tough...look confident...look strong. Try not to look like you need to be put out of your misery.

Thinking about it, the perp may have picked the OP because he spotted him limping around favoring his hind leg.

The object of the game is to make criminals pick the other guy. Watch a few episodes of Animal kingdom and notice which animals get ate...LOL. It is always the ones that look weak and feeble.

[03Lightningrocks]

[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=S_WSI1KX6R4[/youtube]

... That is a serious stick for sure. The trick is getting the bad guy to just stand there while you whack him with it.

[Liberty]

Kythas further stated that he himself was recovering from a knee injury and surgery which caused him to limp visibly and which would certainly impair his ability to successfully defend himself from even a body force robbery without serious injury or worse.

I completely forgot one of the best pieces of advice I have for anybody with a knee injury: get a cane. Not some aluminum toy, but a solid chunk of wood you can put your full weight on without the slighest creaking. Not only is it quite comforting to already have a club in hand when things go wrong, it's nice to be able to lean on the darn thing from time to time.

I would be a bit hesitant to walk around with a cane....unless I had to. It makes you look like a "cull buck" in the eyes of a predator....meaning....easy target.

Having had my share of bad backs and knee surgurys I believe for some ofd us our gait would mark us as a "cull" long before the cane was visible.

[03Lightningrocks]

Kythas further stated that he himself was recovering from a knee injury and surgery which caused him to limp visibly and which would certainly impair his ability to successfully defend himself from even a body force robbery without serious injury or worse.

I completely forgot one of the best pieces of advice I have for anybody with a knee injury: get a cane. Not some aluminum toy, but a solid chunk of wood you can put your full weight on without the slighest creaking. Not only is it quite comforting to already have a club in hand when things go wrong, it's nice to be able to lean on the darn thing from time to time.

I would be a bit hesitant to walk around with a cane....unless I had to. It makes you look like a "cull buck" in the eyes of a predator....meaning....easy target.

Having had my share of bad backs and knee surgurys I believe for some of us our gait would mark us as a "cull" long before the cane was visible.

No doubt...not much you can do to change that. Get one of those canes that becomes a sword.

[Keith B]

No doubt...not much you can do to change that. Get one of those canes that becomes a sword.

Except those are illegal

[casingpoint]

LOL, I may look weak and feeble and signal easy pickings, but then they're looking down the barrel of my 357 MAGNUM, they'll see nothing but true inner strength. And six out of seven 135 grain Gold Dot hollow points.

[03Lightningrocks]

No doubt...not much you can do to change that. Get one of those canes that becomes a sword.

Except those are illegal

Oh...well then maybe not.

[howdy]

IANAL, but if you do shoot, you have legal rights. Say nothing except, "I was so scared, I thought he was going to kill me"

Let your Lawyer do your talking for you.

[flynbenny]

Great thread, and Kythas did really well. This was a very difficult situation, and the way you handled yourself was a credit to your training and common sense.
Addison is not my favorite area of town period. Let me elaborate: It is the only place where I have ever had to point a firearm at a person. A few years ago, pre chl, I was coming out of my hangar at the airport where I worked, 0130 hrs, some bum tried approached me after I ordered him away. My old Walther PP convinced him to retreat, and I escaped back into my hangar. Later, as a pizza driver I learned never to take deliveries there after dark, one of my coworkers was robbed at Addison Circle. I also know a few folks who have had their vehicles burglarizied while in Addison. I think Addison attracts the crooks because of its affluent status and close geographical proximity to some 'declining' neighborhoods. The BG's see a lot of well-to-do folks drinking and living it up, and must think it is a victim-rich environment. I still have to go there for some things, but I endeavor to stay away after dark. Just my $0.02.

[KD5NRH]

I would be a bit hesitant to walk around with a cane....unless I had to. It makes you look like a "cull buck" in the eyes of a predator....meaning....easy target.

Limping does that far more effectively than using a cane will. Also, it's quite possible to walk confidently with a cane and a limp. Just maintain a constant air of "I'm well acquainted with pain. Don't make me introduce you."

[carlson1]

I use a Cane almost all of the time and I do not have any feelings of vulnerability. My cane is solid would from handle to tip. I think of it a a use of force before deadly force. I am now on a Walker and to be honest I do feel a little vulnerable now.

[Mithras61]

... That is a serious stick for sure. The trick is getting the bad guy to just stand there while you whack him with it.

Maybe time for a little Krav Maga with a focus on cane tactics would help.