The other evening I was working a knife fighting drill and it reminded me of something I once heard someone say: “I prefer to be a weapon than to need one”. When I first heard that it sounded like the most awesome badass proverb that had ever touched my ears, but as the years went by, it took on a deeper meaning with its own truth. Especially in this gun culture, this phrase should hold significant value.

First, this is not a pro or anti gun post. This is just my feelings on the importance of being able to defend yourself, even when no weapon is near. Second, these are purely my opinions and you can take or leave them as you wish. And third, you should ALWAYS HAVE A KNIFE ON YOU. Ok, now that that is out of the way…

I find it interesting that our culture act as if guns are “the way” to defend yourself. Look, guns jam, they get rusty, ammo gets old – there are so many variables when it comes to them. You then find yourself scrambling to find another way to defend yourself when, if that gun was just a layer of the many ways to defend yourself, it would be merely a thought. Following that gun could be a taser, Black Jack or something else! The point being that whoever had a gun in their methodology, would not rely on it solely.

I am of the opinion that it is wise to be able to defend yourself in a variety of ways. How about the next time that you walk in someplace fairly innocuous, like a church, think about how would you defend yourself up to the point of someone shooting out the windows and all of that glass become shuriken for you to treat like you’re a ninja at Dollar Dayz at the local martial arts store?! Do it! Want something harder? How about a video game store that’s being robbed?

As you can see, the benefits of being a weapon greatly outweigh the ability to wield one. Plus, the time investment in training such a skill develops into an investment in oneself. So aren’t you worth the time it takes to become a weapon?