Chris Fry of MDTS explains the finer points of presenting the folding knife under duress during a recent “small knife skills” seminar.
TheYankeeMarshal put all of his ” do not do” advice for concealed carry in one place. Check out the video.
A couple of months ago I took Steve Tarani’s Anatomy of Edged Weapons Defense Course at the Sig Sauer Academy in Epping, NH. I used to carry a knife in the military and occasionally I carry one when I’m hiking outdoors. Even though I don’t carry a knife on a regular basis I’m still a firm believer of getting training in everything that you would use in a self defense situation. I took the class mostly for blocking and disarming techniques and I left the class with a great deal of knowledge regarding knife fighting in general.
My trip up to Epping, New Hampshire was pleasant since it’s a beautiful part of the country. When I got to the Sig Sauer Academy I was greeted by the staff and directed to the class room. The class compromised of 16 people including myself. The class participants were varied and ran the gamut from a criminal prosecutor to a retired cop to a truck driver and several doctors. We started the weekends worth of training going over different states of mind, knife shapes and tips, graphic pictures of knife wounds and several stories of Steve Tarani’s training over seas. Steve was very personable and happily answered any questions that we all had.
After the class room training we went to a large indoor space and warmed up before drills. The first day was spent practicing with fixed blades and folders. Steve had the Sharkee Dagger training knives for us on the first day and also an aluminum karambit trainer for the second day. The second day we trained with the karambit and we practiced escape techniques from single and multiple attackers. Overall I had a great time and the training went by too quickly as it usually does when you are enjoying yourself. After only one day of training with the karambit I can tell you that I was apprehensive about carrying one on my person. The karambit is a vicious knife and I didn’t want to cut myself while practicing with it so I purchased one of the aluminum trainers Steve had for sale. Steve also had his specially designed karambit for sale at cost which is distributed by 5.11.
Here is the equipment list, a summary of the things we went over during the two days of instruction and some pictures of the equipment.
Equipment List
Day One
Day Two
Spyderco Endura Training Knife
Steve Tarani Karambit Training Knife
Steve Tarani Karambit
I haven’t had a problem with crime in NYC for over 15 years. The place was cleaned up by Mayor Giuliani. A lot of people complained that he was too harsh and a dic(k)tator. I look at it in a different way. You have to be a mother fucker to get anything done in this city. I’m talking about just getting in the subway every morning. He stepped on a lot of toes and he got things done. Ok enough about the former Mayor.
On the rare occasion that I feel that I’m in danger I whip out my trusty flashlight. That’s right a flashlight. Not just any flashlight it’s relatively inexpensive, comes in NYC’s favorite color (Black), it has a 35 hour plus life span on 3 triple AAA batteries and you are not going to get grief from the police about it. The flashlight is made by Coast and the model is V2 LED Lenser Power Chip Flashlight. I’ve never had to use it against an attacker but when this light is turned on the beam is blinding, even on a sunny day. The aggressor is temporarily blinded which gives you a few precious seconds to get away to get help and call the police.
I personally do not recommend getting into a physical confrontation if you can help it. There is no shame in running away. I have several friends who are in the NYPD and they regale me with stories of people getting caught in the maw of the justice system trying to protect themselves or their loved ones. The law doesn’t look at circumstance it only see’s a crime and if you are arrested the prosecutor is going to press charges. Call the police and let them do their job. Keep alert and stay safe.
I attended the Rochester Personal Defense – Defensive Rifle/Carbine Operator 101 course a couple of weeks ago at the Square Deal Sportsman’s Club in Maine, NY. I’ve been toying with the idea of doing a carbine class for about a year. I thought about going for a week long course at the Gunsite Academy but decided to take a local course instead.
I got to the club a early and mingled a bit before class started. There were a total of 6 people in the class including myself. The class instructor was Loring “Tink” McDaniel. Tink brought a variety of AR-15′s and one AK to show us some of the many different combinations of accessories that were possible on a rifle platform. He said that we should try to find what works for us and talk to our fellow students and handle their rifles. The topics covered in the class portion were.
We went over the topics in a little less than three hours since everyone had a military background and was familiar with handling firearms. The most important lesson that I took home with me from the morning portion was to think about where in your home you would stand your ground against an intruder. Tink said that it would be different for everyone and that your choices were dependent on the situation. The decision would be simpler for a single person at home then it would be for someone with children and a panicked spouse. He also said that if you could avoid shooting anyone that would be your best bet. So in an ideal situation once you hear an intruder you would call the police and keep them on the phone. Since the police record all 911 calls you would announce to the intruder that you have called the police and that you are armed and they should leave immediately. Make sure not too curse or use any racial slurs as that would be used against you in court if you did have to shoot the person(s).
After a 30 minute break for lunch we went out to the range. The range portion of the class was about 5 hours long. The topics covered in the range portion were.
We started off with shooting targets at about 5 yards to see the height difference between the point of aim and the point of impact. We practiced adjusting our aim so that the rounds would impact the center of the target at close range at different distances. After this initial familiarization we started doing drills. I was pretty excited about doing the drills and I tried to explain them as best as I could below.
Drill # 1 – We were broken up into pairs and one person fired a single shot anywhere on a target. The second person was then going to take two shots and try and hit within a quarter of the first person’s bullet hole. After the second shooters attempt the first shooter tried hitting as close to the original bullet hole as possible with two rounds.
Drill # 2 – We started shooting at the targets from the low ready. We concentrated on getting a good sight picture and then firing off 1 round. We quickly transitioned to two well placed rounds in the center of the target.
Drill # 3 – We took a few steps back and started vocalizing commands to a potential home intruder. We practiced by keeping our carbines in a low ready position and bringing the rifles up with the safety on while saying clearly but loudly “put the weapon down” if the intruder did not comply then the safety was flicked off, the command repeated and two shots were fired center mass. If an assailant were to try and get up then we would shout “stay down, stay down” and then fire another two in the chest if they did not comply.
Drill # 4 – We started shooting at multiple targets. The training term used was “turkey dinner”. Everybody gets a serving before getting seconds. The instructor would yell out how many targets we would be engaging. We fired at multiple targets quickly giving every target one round, the last target received two and then each previous target received an additional one. We were also instructed to look to one side and the other after neutralizing the targets to identify any additional threats and to break the tunnel vision that is associated with high stress situations.
Drill # 5 – Was firing behind cover at one target and then multiple targets. We were told to watch our feet and our elbows because they will stick out from cover and provide early warning to our aggressors and potentially get shot by them.
Drill # 6 – Was engaging multiple targets from behind cover, taking cover and reloading and then reclaiming your space and neutralizing targets. It was pointed out that if you have to reload and there are multiple threats still up then you should get behind cover to reload. The downside is that you have to reclaim your territory.
Drill # 7 – Was engaging multiple targets from behind cover, reloading, engaging the same targets and then running over to a new location and engaging targets from behind cover, coming back behind cover to reload and then engaging the targets one final time.
Overall I had a great time during the course and I am looking forward to attending more classes by Rochester Personal Defense.
My daily travels take me through a variety of neighborhoods and I come across a wide range of people. 99 percent of the people I encounter are completely reasonable. About 1% are not. They are the few who make others lives miserable and they are best avoided. Depending on your state of awareness or disposition towards other people you might not notice them until it’s too late.
Having common sense and street smarts is a big part of living in a city. I take both of these for granted and it’s hard to instill this knowledge into friends and family who do not live in the city. I have a completely different mental perspective when I walk out my door than someone in the suburbs or the country. You always have to be on point and be careful.
I have a couple of nephews that are growing up in the city and I am concerned about them and the mistakes they may make to learn what they have to before becoming responsible adults. When they get a little bit older I’m putting this book in their hands. The Little Black Book of Violence: What Every Young Man Needs to Know About Fighting.
It would seem that I was lucky growing up in the city and God was watching over my shoulder when I was doing stupid kid stuff. Hopefully this book could prevent my nephews from learning some of these lessons the hard way.
A couple of people who read my previous post were wondering how well the full size TDI knife compares against the smaller TDI Law Enforcement Knife. Since it was brought up I thought I should do a side by side comparison.
The smaller TDI knife has a slightly thinner handle and is a bit more comfortable. The downside is that the blade is smaller. The best feature about the smaller knife is that it has a larger finger groove that will help prevent your fingers from sliding across the blade. The larger TDI knife has a longer blade and a thicker handle that is slightly less angled. The larger TDI knife is slightly easier to conceal because the handle doesn’t stick out at a more extreme angle.
Both knives conceal really well and are very light. The construction of the knives is excellent and I did not see any sloppy machine markings on either of them. Considering they are both under $60 each, depending which options you get, you can eventually buy both and not regret it. If I had to choose between the two I would select the smaller one for daily carry because of the more secure grip. As always there are pictures below.
Small TDI on the Left – Large TDI on the Right
I bought the Kabar TDI straight edge knife a couple of weeks ago. I kept putting off writing a review due to laziness. I purchased the Kabar TDI metal belt clip separately because I ordered the ankle version of the knife accidentally. So the knife and belt clip sat there on my table staring at me begging to be put together but I was too busy / lazy to put in four screws.
I have owned Kabar products since I was 17. I’ve purchased far more expensive knives as I have gotten older but I keep going back to their product line. The quality is pretty good and the knives are always sharp. I don’t feel bad about abusing them because they are inexpensive. The Kabar TDI was my latest purchase. I wanted to have a straight edge knife that I could carry that was discreet and readily accessible. I tried a few pocket folders but they did not suit my tastes.
The Kabar TDI is a simple knife with a Zytel handle. It’s pretty darned sharp and conceals really well. The angled grip is comfortable but a little small for my above average hands. I think of it as a back up knife so it’s not meant to be really comfortable. I recommend the blade for the price and I have a hard time recommending something better for about $60 dollars. Here are some pics below.
I attended the Rochester Personal Defense – Defensive Rifle/Carbine Operator 101 course this past weekend at the Square Deal Sportsman’s Club in Maine, NY. There will be more about the class in a future post. Prior to the class I bought a pair of Proflex Knee Pads that I thought I might need during the course. It turns out that I did not need the knee pads for the Carbine 101 Operator course but they should come in handy for the intermediate course.
Since I did not want to put a brand new pair of knee pads to waste I took them out to a range along with my Stag Arms Model 2 rifle and did some target practice from a kneeling position. Luckily for me the night before it snowed so they were put to good use. I’ve used knee pads with velcro straps in the past and they tended to be too tight but they did not slip off. The Proflex knee pads have a lower strap that is a non elastic band that rests below the knee and an elastic band with a buckle above the knee cap. The knee pads fit well but they became slightly undone often and needed to be tightened regularly. They did not become overly loose but enough so that they might slip down too far and have you bang your knees when you least expect it.
The price for the Proflex knee pads was $20 plus free shipping using Amazon Prime. They were a reasonable purchase and the price was not that high. I would prefer the knee pads not come loose so frequently but they will do for mild range work and the occasional training class. I think they would be more appropriate if you were laying wood flooring then if you were running and gunning.
My house is pretty darn close to a nuclear power plant. It makes me uncomfortable but I can’t just move out to the middle of Wyoming to error on the side of safety. It’s a nice thought but I’ve gotten used to a salary and all the nifty bobbles it allows me to buy. In the mean time I bought some anti radiation pills mentioned in a previous post and I have my fingers crossed.
I know it seams like wishful thinking but the reality of the situation is that you can only do so much to prepare. Thinking about all the things that can go wrong can be crippling. If something happened and several million people started to panic trying to get out of a city would be a horrific experience. I’m preparing as best as I can for the worst and hoping for the best. In the mean time here is a website that can get you started on worrying about your future or if your lucky not at all 
