Tag Self Defense

The Combative Mindset and Self-Defense

There are literally thousands of websites, martial arts schools, and “self-defense” instructors, that preach the old axiom, “To survive violence, you must become violence.”  They would have their students and admirers engage in conflict with the mindset of hardened warriors, only to end up in jail, a hospital bed, or in the ground.  Their advice appeals to the angry, the scared, and the overly imaginative, but not to reality.
posted by Silver Sentinel @ 8:50 PM

So just now Ladyhero Rlsh gets home & I go out front to greet her & I hear “You fat F765ing whore! I hope you die! You’re gonna die anyway!” :/ It’s some guy on a bicycle yelling at some car …The car pulls up & stops about 70 yards from me The guy pulls up next to the window, stops and the verbal exchange continues. I watch…they quit…go their separate ways. Why didn’t I feel the irresistible urge to run up to them screaming ” BREAK IT UP!” & soak them both with pepper spray? Something must be wrong with me.
OSH
(Maybe I just didn’t want to get beaten with a shoe? I don’t know…)
 

Originally posted: http://uscombatsports.com/index.php?option=com_flexicontent&view=items&cid=241&id=9516&Itemid=336
By: Peter Lampasona
Date: 19 August 2011
In the last installment of the Problem with Self Defense editorial series, I started to discuss the recent surge in discussion over the Real Life Superhero trend in New York. Last week, HBO aired a documentary called Superheroes following members of the recent phenomenon of private citizens dressing in costumes to engage in everything from from charity work to vigilante justice. Among the groups featured in the documentary is a make-shift team of Avengers who operate out of the New York boroughs known as the NY Initiative.
In part one of this two part series*, I discussed the charity work and general positive side of these adventurous cosplayers. But the obvious problem with trying to be a Real Life Superhero comes from the part where they have to be super.
*Editor’s note: Part one can be view here.
The practice of crimefighting, as the term is used by Real Life Superheroes, is the actual intervention by one of these masked vigilantes on a violent crime in progress. Crimefighting tactics can vary from reckless self-delusion to actions that can, themselves, be defined as violent crime.
A particularly active yet relatively sane neighborhood watch can film a criminal act, call the police, and submit the video as evidence. And, to be fair, a minority of Real Life Superheroes use this tactic. This is somewhat more sensible as the police are not omniscient, but are equipped and trained to handle potentially volatile incidents with a minimal of casualty on both sides.
Members of the NY Initiative have publicly expressed negative attitudes towards local police as justification for trying to perform jobs the police are much better suited for. The sentiment that the police are either spread too thin or just don’t care is a thin veil placed over what crime fighting really is: looking to start a fight with someone no one likes so they take the blame while the trouble seeker gets to simultaneously get out his aggressions and feel like he did a good deed.
I used to do the same thing as a maladjusted youth (going in to maladjusted adulthood) with surly drunks at public gatherings. And even though I was also intentionally putting myself in situations where someone with an itch to do something violent would appear to be the aggressor, it didn’t make me a hero so much as an asshole who would one day get shot going down that road.
The most egregious example of this danger seeking was featured both in the documentary and on multiple articles about the NY Initiative. It is a practice they refer to as “bait patrol.”
One member of the team, usually a woman known as T.S.A.F. or an openly gay man who goes by Zimmer, will intentionally dress like a victim. T.S.A.F. will dress provocatively with an exposed purse or Zimmer will assume another identity of a hilariously offensive gay stereotype. They will then walk the streets of Brooklyn at 3 A.M. hoping to have a run in with a mugger, rapist, or gay basher.
When this violent encounter comes, or so goes the plan as I was unable to confirm if they ever got their wish of being attacked, they signal the rest of the team who are riding a block away on skateboards to come to the rescue.
There are so many problems with this practice it’s upsetting to have to put it in print. First, if the real intent was to deter violent crime, the Superheroes would come out in full regalia, let everyone know they are there, and hopefully make anyone with the thought of committing a violent crime view the neighborhood being patrolled as too hard a target.
Bait patrols are not crime prevention. They are spoiling for a fight.
Whether or not the bait patrol is technically entrapment is up for debate. However, it is certainly violent vigilantism and even more demonstrably stupid.
How long does it take for a team of Superheroes to skateboard a city block? How long can the physically smallest and weakest member of the team, dressed in clothes that intentionally restrict movement and ability to protect oneself from harm, fend off an unknown number of potentially armed attackers without serious injury?
I’d wager the answer to those questions are two different numbers.
It seems purely a side note at this point, but the two common people used as bait are really bad at fighting. Not that any amount of martial skill can guarantee safety in the bait scenario, but what sparring video and open-mat accounts of their training exists indicate that T.S.A.F. and Zimmer are terrible at unarmed violence.
Though, the existence of open-mat accounts show that they’re not above trying to convince themselves that they are fighters for a few hours a week at various gyms.
That is where the worlds of Superheroes, “self defense,” and martial arts cross: the ass kicking fantasy.
Visualizing the physical destruction of generic evil doers to either right wrongs or feel like the world is a safer place is a smooth and sexy feeling. It is a feeling of control: that the hero is the one imposing his will on the situation rather than the bad guy. And, like all control, it is a fantasy.
In my career as a sports writer I have had the privilege of meeting and sometimes training with some of the best athletes on the planet. These people’s skill, physical prowess, and dedication have turned them into something that seems more than a mere human. And all those athletes are killed just as dead by two bullets in the chest and one in the head.
Even the most intelligent and practical means of self protection, which are almost always absent from self defense fantasy, are playing a numbers game. The best methods are all built around avoiding trouble or recognizing and quickly escaping from it. And, if someone takes the most sensible measures to avoid harm, there’s a better than average chance he will lead a safe and happy life, free of violence, until disease or old age eventually kills him.
Or he could be killed by a stray bullet from an incident too far away for him to have possibly observed.
If you are reading this article the odds are that you are alive. This also means that there is a chance, no matter how small, that at any given moment you can die. And so can anyone you know who is also alive.
Playing the odds is the best you can do. And no amount of costumed gallantry used to disguise impotent rage at this fact can change it. Certainly beating up some malnourished crack head feels awfully potent, but in the end there will always be more danger.
A watchful and protective community group is only working if it is deterring violent crime from happening in its neighborhood, not provoking it or trying to physically fight it.

Originally posted: http://uscombatsports.com/index.php?option=com_flexicontent&view=items&cid=241&id=9512&Itemid=336
By: Peter Lampasona     Date: 18 August 2011
Last week, HBO aired a documentary called Superheroes following members of the recent phenomenon of private citizens dressing in costumes to engage in everything from from charity work to vigilante justice. Among the groups featured in the documentary is a make-shift team of Avengers who operate out of the New York boroughs known as the NY Initiative.
Since the release of the documentary, the Real Life Superhero movement has become a hot topic for conversation among both the New York and martial arts communities. So much so that, when asked for a statement by US Combat Sports, a representative of the NY Initiative said that they were currently engaged in a “media blackout” because too many stories are about them and not the issues that they wish to bring to light.
In previous installments of the Problem with Self Defense editorial series, I’ve gone so far as to call everyone who trains in martial arts specifically for the purposes of the increasingly nebulous term “self defense” to be engaging in some degree of delusion. Whether that delusion is harmful or not tends to vary on the situation.
In the context of negatively evaluating delusions of seemingly average people, taking on those who dress up in full costume complete with alternate identity in order to participate in their neighborhood watch seems like dynamite fishing in the local pond.
But, perhaps to the surprise of long time readers, the actions of Real Life Superheroes are not all dangerous or pure fantasy. Those things that are bad ideas are monumentally bad for everyone involved and the natural conclusion of all the silliness attached to “self defense.” For once, though, I’d like to start with the positive.
In this two part article series I will be evaluating both the charitable and crime fighting efforts of Real Life Superheroes, as they seem to be separate and distinct pursuits. For part one, I will look at the charitable.
From what I’ve been able to glean, the majority of Real Life Superheroes spend their time in costume doing humanitarian efforts. This includes charity work, distributing supplies to the homeless, or even acting as a social link for drug addicts through simple conversation. Every example of purely humanitarian efforts, that is those not directly interacting with violent crime, both showcased in the documentary and what I’ve been able to find going on locally, are good things that help the community.
A common response to those positives Real Life Superheroes can have is to point out that none of these good deeds require a costume. But, for some people, they do.
New York City, as evidenced by the fact that 1/3 of all American films are set there, is an important place that sets the tone for the culture of the surrounding area. It’s also got so much going on that paying attention to any of the people or information outside of an individual’s immediate cone of concern can be very overwhelming. As a result, most New Yorkers in the southern part of the state are trained to focus on what’s in front of them and let the rest of the world just walk on by.
Playing long-distance psychological examiner to people you barely know is not as exact a science as most sports writers make it out to be. But, if someone needs to wear costume and become a different person in order to put in the effort to help his community as best as a private citizen can, at least someone’s putting in that effort.
The unfortunate side of Real Life Superheroes is the part that everyone thinks of first when they picture masked vigilantes. The physical act of crime fighting is where the whole practice starts to get insane. It also represents the terminal stop in the logic of the self defense crowd. More on that tomorrow in part two.

Originally posted: http://www.defenseproducts101.com/statestatutesummary_page2.html
TASER® Guns are not considered firearms. They can be legally carried in most states. Below you’ll find a summery of the state laws concerning the possession and use of TASER® Guns.

DETAILED CITY, STATE AND COUNTRY RESTRICTIONS SUMMARY
STATES WHERE STUN GUNS ARE RESTRICTED: HAWAII
MASSACHUSETTS
MICHIGAN
NEW JERSEY
NEW YORK
RHODE ISLAND
WISCONSIN
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CITIES WHERE STUN GUNS ARE RESTRICTED:
ANNAPOLIS, MD
BALTIMORE, MD
BALTIMORE COUNTY, MD
CHICAGO, IL
DENSION / CRAWFORD COUNTY, IA (*According to Sheriff Tom Hogan*)
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
PHILADELPHIA
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COUNTRIES THAT STUN GUNS ARE RESTRICTED:
AUSTRALIA
BELGIUM
CANADA
DENMARK
HONG KONG
INDIA (POLICE USE ONLY)
ITALY
JAPAN
NEW ZEALAND
NORWAY
SWEDEN
SWITERLAND
UNITED KINGDOM
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PENAL CODES AFFECTING TASER® DEVICES, STUN GUNS & STUN BATONS.
STATE RESTRICTIONS:
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: Illegal
District of Columbia Law. DC Code Ann. Title 6, Chapter 23. Firearms Control. Subchapter I. General Provisions 6-2302.
(7) “Destructive device” means:
(B) “Any device by whatever name known which will, or is designed, or may be readily converted or restored, to expel a projectile by the action of an explosive or other propellant through a smooth bore barrel, except a shotgun.”
(D) Any device designed or redesigned, made or remade, or readily converted or restored, and intended to stun or disable a person by means of electric shock.
Subchapter II. Firearms and Destructive Devices. General Provision 6-2311. Registration requirements:
(a) Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, no person or organization in the District of Columbia (“District”) shall receive, possess, control, transfer, offer for sale, sell, give, or deliver any destructive device, and no person or organization in the District shall possess or control any firearm, unless that person or organization holds a valid registration certificate for the firearm.
Subchapter V. Sales and Transfer of Firearms, Destructive Devices, and Ammunition. General Provision 6-2351. Sales and transfers prohibited. No person or organization shall sell, transfer or otherwise dispose of any firearm, destructive device or ammunition in the District except as provided in *** 6-2352, or 6-2375.
SUMMARY: Possession and sales of Stunning Devices are banned in Washington, DC.
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HAWAII: Illegal
Hawaii State Law. Rev. Stats. Title 10, Chapter 134. Firearms, Ammunition and Dangerous Weapons. Part 1. General Regulations. Chapter 134-1 Definitions.
“Electric gun” means any porTABLE device that is electrically operated to project a missile or electromotive force.
Chapter 134-16 Restriction on possession, sale, gift or delivery of electric guns.
(a) It shall be unlawful for any person, including a licensed manufacturer, licensed importer or licensed dealer, to possess, offer for sale, hold for sale, sell, give, lend or deliver any electric gun.
(b) Any electric gun in violation of subsection (a) shall be confiscated and disposed of by the chief of police.
SUMMARY: Possession and sales of Stunning Devices are banned in Hawaii.
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MASSACHUSETTS: Illegal
Massachusetts State Law. Ann. Laws of Massachusetts. Chapter 140. Sale of Firearms. Section 131J: Sale or possession of electrical weapons; penalties. Section 131J. No person shall sell, offer for sale or possess a porTABLE device or weapon from which an electric current, impulse, wave or beam may be directed, which current, impulse, wave or beam is designed to incapacitate temporarily, injure or kill. Whoever violates this provision of this section shall be punished by a fine of not less than five hundred nor more than one thousand dollars or by imprisonment for not less than six months nor more than two years in a jail or house of correction, or both.
SUMMARY: Possession and sales of Stunning Devices are banned in Massachusetts.
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MICHIGAN: Illegal
The Michigan Penal Code Act 328 of 1931. Chapter 750.224a PorTABLE device or weapon directing electrical current, impulse, wave, or beam; sale or possession prohibited; testing.
(1) A person shall not sell, offer for sale, or possess in this state a porTABLE device or weapon from which an electric current, impulse, wave or beam is designed to incapacitate temporarily, injure, or kill.
(3) A person who violates this section is guilty of a felony.
SUMMARY: Possession and sales of Stunning Devices are banned in Michigan.
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NEW JERSEY: Illegal
New Jersey State Law. New Jersey Stat. Ann. Title 2C. New Jersey Code of Criminal Justice. Chapter 39-1. Prohibited weapons and devices.
(Section “r” summarized from Chapter 2C:39-1) “Weapon” means anything readily capable of lethal use or of inflicting serious bodily injury. The term includes, but is not limited to all (4) stun guns; and any weapon or (this section refers to tear gas and has been updated in 1995) other device which projects, releases, or emits tear gas or any other substance intended to produce temporary physical discomfort or permanent injury through being vaporized or otherwise dispensed in the air.
(t) “Stun gun” means any weapon or other device which emits an electrical charge or current intended to temporarily or permanently disable a person.
Senate, No. 2871 — L.1985, c. 360
Senate Bill No. 2781, as amended by the Senate Law, Public Safety and Defense Committee, prohibits as a crime of the fourth degree the possession of a stun gun by any person, including a law enforcement officer. A crime of the fourth degree carries a penalty of imprisonment for up to 18 months, a fine of up to $7,500, or both. Prior to being amended the bill classified possession of a crime in the third degree. {Editor’s Note: According to Len Lawson of NJ Legislative Council, (609) 292-4625) NJ does not classify crimes in felonies versus misdemeanors. The highest crimes are in first degree on down to fourth degree. A fourth degree penalty is a serious charge and is generally considered a misdemeanor in common terms. It is however an indicTABLE offense. A fourth degree crime does contain “a presumption of non-custodial sentencing,” meaning that there is not imprisonment if there are no prior convictions. In some cases the sentencing is obviated from one’s record if there is a period of good behavior following the charge.}
The committee amended the bill to include a provision authorizing the Attorney General, at his discretion, to exempt law enforcement officers from the prohibition against possession stun guns.
The bill also was amended by the committee to include stun guns in the definition of “weapon” in paragraph r. N.J.S. 2C:39-1.
(Chapter 2C:39-1)
(h) Stun guns. Any person who knowingly has in his possession any stun gun is guilty of a crime in the fourth degree.
SUMMARY: Possession is banned of Stunning Devices in New Jersey.
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NEW YORK: Illegal
New York Consolidated Law (McKinney’s) Book 39. Penal Law.
Article 265. Firearms and Other Dangerous Weapons 265.00
15-a. “Electronic dart gun” means any device designed primarily as a weapon, the purpose of which is to momentarily stun, knock out or paralyze a person by passing an electrical shock to such person by means of a dart or projectile.
15-c. “Electronic stun gun” means any device designed primarily as a weapon, the purpose of which is to momentarily stun, cause mental disorientation, knock out or paralyze a person by passing a high voltage electrical shock to such person.
Article 265.01 Criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree. A person is guilty of criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree when: (1) He possesses any firearm, electronic dart gun, electronic stun gun ***; or ***
SUMMARY: Possession is banned of Stunning Devices in New York.
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RHODE ISLAND: Illegal
General Laws of Rhode Island. Title 11, Chapter 47. Statute Subsection 11-47-42. Weapons other than firearms prohibited. – (A) No person shall carry or possess or attempt to use against another, any instrument or weapon of the kind commonly known as a *** stun gun ***. Any person violating the provisions of this subsection, shall be punished by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars ($500), or by imprisonment for not more than one (1) year, or both such fine and imprisonment, and the weapon so found shall be confiscated.
SUMMARY: Possession and use of Stunning Devices are banned.
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WISCONSIN: Illegal
Wisconsin Sta. Ann. Chapter 939. Crimes – General Provisions. Chapter 939.22 Words and phrases defined. (10) Dangerous weapon” means any firearm, whether loaded or unloaded ***; any device designed as a weapon and capable of producing great harm ***; any electric weapon, as defined in s. 941.295(4); or any other device or instrumentality which, in the manner it is used or intended to be used, is calculated or likely to produce death or great bodily harm.
Chapter 941.295 Possession of electric weapon. Subsection (1) On or after July 1, 1982, whoever sells, transports, manufactures, possesses or goes armed with any electric weapon is guilty of a Class E felony. Subsection (4) In this section, “electric weapon” means any device which is designed, redesigned, used or intended to be used, offensively or defensively, to immobilize or incapacitate persons by the use electric current.
SUMMARY: Possession and sales of Stunning Devices are banned.
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CITY/COUNTY RESTRICTIONS:
CHICAGO: Illegal
Publisher’s Note: The following jurisdictions require waiting periods or notifications to law enforcement officials before weapons may be delivered to purchasers:
Chicago – application approval/denial for:
(1) Registration : 120 days
(2) Re-registration: e.g., by an heir, 365 days)
SUMMARY: Possession and sales of Stunning Devices are banned in Chicago. (More information required on City of Chicago Ordinance)
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ANNAPOLIS: Illegal
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BALTIMORE: Illegal (Including Baltimore County)
Baltimore City Code 115. Stun guns and similar devices. (e) It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation to sell, give away, lend, rent or transfer to any individual, firm or corporation a stun gun or other electronic device by whatever name or description which discharges a non-projectile electric current within the limits of the City of Baltimore. It further shall be unlawful for any person to possess, fire or discharge any such stun gun or electronic device within the City. Nothing in this subsection shall be held to apply to any member of the Baltimore City Police Department or any other law enforcement officer while in the performance of his or her official duty (Ord. 385. 1985).
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HOWARD COUNTY, MD: Illegal
Sec. 8.404. Sale or possession of electronic weapons prohibited. It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation to sell, give away, lend, rent or transfer to any individual, firm or corporation an electronic weapon within the limits of Howard County. It further shall be unlawful for any person to possess, fire, discharge or activate any electronic weapon within the limits of Howard County. (C.B. 38 1985).
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PHILADELPHIA: Illegal
Philadelphia City Ordinance. Statute 10-825 Stun Guns. (1) Definitions. (a) Stun Gun. Any device which expels or projects a projectile which, upon coming in contact with a person, is capable of inflicting injury or an electric shock to such person. (2) Prohibited conduct. Nor person shall own, use, possess, sell or otherwise transfer any “stun gun.” (3) Penalty. Any person violating any provision of this section shall be subject to a fine or not more than three hundred (300) dollars and /or imprisonment for not more than ninety (90 days.)
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NEW YORK CITY: Illegal
Administrative Code of the City of New York 10-135 Prohibition on sale and possession of electronic stun guns.
a. As used in this section, “electronic stun gun” shall mean any device designed primarily as a weapon, the purpose of which is to stun, render unconscious or paralyze a person by passing an electronic shock to such person, but shall not include an “electronic dart gun” as such term is defined in section 265.00 of the penal law.
b. It shall be unlawful for any person to sell or offer for sale or to have in his or her possession within the jurisdiction of the city any electronic gun.
c. Violation of this section shall be a class A misdemeanor. [Exemptions under this section are provided for police officers operating under regular department procedures or guidelines and for manufacturers of electronic stun guns scheduled for bulk shipment. NOTE: The electronic stun gun is not a “firearm” under the Federal Gun Control Act of 1968 because it does not “…expel a projectile by the action of an explosive…”]
SUMMARY: Possession and sales of Stunning Devices are banned in New York City