Author: oddball

It’s a bit late, but I’ve been a bit busy.

ASM826 has tested for, and received, his second degree black belt in Wadoki Aikido.

He’s had some commenters that have clearly gone down the path of “I don’t need no fancy Jui-Jitsu, I’ve got a gun!”  This has always been something that has puzzled me in the gun community.  So many of us on the pro-gun side have fought hard to dispel the “magic talisman of death” belief that some anti-gunners clearly have, that it’s frustrating to run into the “magic talisman of protection” that some on our side have.

I’m not saying that a martial artist can deflect or dodge bullets.  A deployed gun is a hell of an advantage.  Especially if there’s some distance between you and your foe.  Of course, for several reasons, wandering around with a gun in your hand at all times is neither practical or a good idea.  Hell, there’s the always ongoing debate about whether simply having one strapped to your hip wear others can see it is a good idea or not.  This isn’t even taking into consideration the fact that there are many places where you’re not allowed to go strapped.

I think it’s important to ask the question “if you’re already up close in personal and/or being physically attacked/grabbed/whatever, what do you do?”  Sure, “draw and shoot” works if you can manage it, but I can think of a lot of scenarios where that would be a difficult option to pull off.

Remember that a gun is a tool, and martial arts is a bag full of tools.  Don’t be the guy that says “I’ve got a hammer, I don’t need anything else.”

*EDIT* Bah, I did something that I know annoys the heck out of me and forgot to check to see who actually wrote the post.  It was ASM826, not Borepatch that made 2nd degree.  I’ve fixed the post to reflect that.

This past weekend, I was helping run a local scifi convention.  Among other things, my martial arts instructor and I ran a self-defense seminar.  It seems like every time you run one of these things, there are at least one of two types of guys that show up that let their egos get in the way of training.  We had both of them.

The first type is the Macho Guy.  The macho guy doesn’t seem to understand the fact that we practice things at half speed and not at full force for a very good reason, often for their safety.

The examples (there were 2) were doing their best to resist anything we demonstrated on them.  Since they came in late, they were right on time for wrist locks.  This pretty much means that, instead of being nice and gentle, I had to be a bit meaner and cause them more pain.

The second type is the Know-It-All.  This guy is the one that apparently already knows everything better than the instructor and tells people “well, I would do this instead…”  Basically, he tries to hijack the class.

We had one of these in our class.  He was an older gentleman that resembled George R.R. Martin and studied Akido sometime in the past.  I know, because he made sure to tell me a few times.  In particular, when we were teaching a way to escape a headlock, he said he would rather drop to a knee and send an uppercut to the balls.  While this is effective if it connects, it puts you in rather bad situation if you fail.  Add to that the fact that he, like most older folks with weight issues, had bad knees and had to struggle to stand back up, and I wouldn’t really recommend it.  Of course, he refused to see how that technique had some issues.

Remember that you’re there to learn.  There are probably reasons that the instructor is having you do things a certain way.  If you don’t know why, it’s perfectly ok to ask, but saying “this is stupid, I’d do this,” is not ok.  Also, remember that the instructor cares about your safety (or at least should), and that’s why they don’t start off with full force.  In my case, that’s to avoid broken bones, in a gun class it’s to avoid extra holes in people.  Recognize that this is a courtesy to you, and give them the same.

TLDR version: You can learn a lot more if you check you ego at the door.

Had one of those “fun” experiences last night.

We had a buddy of mine over last night for some bad movies and dinner.  This particular friend has never bothered to get a driver’s license, which means that I picked him up and dropped him off at his place.

He lives in a lower income neighborhood.  I don’t think I’ve ever felt worried about being in that neighborhood, but it’s also not exactly the best part of town.  His house is near the end of a dead end street in a fairly quiet sub-division.  While there are street lights, they’re few and far in between.

I’m driving him home sometime between 10:30 and 11pm.  As we were driving down his street, we pass a guy (I’ll refer to him as idiot #1) walking down the middle of the street with a big wheel slung over his back.  He doesn’t really seem to pay much attention to the fact that there’s a car coming up behind him, and starts twirling the big wheel around and generally acting like a goofball as we pass him.  I conclude that it’s probably some idiot teenager that’s decided to ride his kid sister’s (it was pink) big wheel down the hill and is walking back up for another go.

As we’re driving up the hill, we pass another guy about the same age (idiot #2) standing in middle of the oncoming lane of the road.  Doesn’t seem to really give a shit whether I’m there or not, and is looking at idiot #1.  Something in the back of my head tells me to keep an eye on this one.

About half a block or so later, I pull over in front of my buddy’s house and let him out.  All the time watching the rear view mirror to keep an eye on the two idiots.  As my buddy gets out and heads for the house, idiot #1 meets idiot #2, and they start walking down the middle of the street in our direction.

I try to keep them in site as I turn the car around while also keeping an eye on my buddy entering his house.  As I finish turning the car around, I notice that idiot #2 has slung his backpack around and is reaching into it for something.  And this is where all sorts of warning bells start screaming in my head.

Quick assessment time.  There are kids playing in the street about half a block behind me (yes, it’s late for that, but it’s the Friday of Memorial Day weekend), my buddy has opened the door to his place and is walking in, idiot #1 is still acting like a goof ball, and idiot #2 has his hand in his backpack and a very serious expression on his face.  The street in front of me is clear and straight, and I’m in a big ass Cadillac with damn near 300HP under the hood.

The thing running through my mind at the time “looks like I may have to run over someone tonight.”

I slowly drive by the two idiots, and I swear idiot #2 and I were staring at each other.

They kept walking and I kept driving.  Never did see what idiot #2 had in his bag.  Oh… and I called my buddy up to tell him to be on alert.

Everyone stay safe out there, and keep your eyes peeled.

Looks like Linoge is at it again with the funny T-shirts.  Seems to be leveled at about my level of blogging.

I’ve just sent an email out to folks that have shown interest in coming to the shoot.  If you want to come and haven’t seen anything in your mailbox by this afternoon, check your spam filter and then let me know.

This year marked the first year that I’ve attended one of NRA’s yearly conventions.  It also marked the first time I’ve ever been to a convention where I was part of the media.  It felt kind of weird, but the NRA and the vendors in the exhibitor’s hall really do seem to like us bloggers and understand that we’re getting information (both good and bad) out faster and further than traditional media.  It was one thing to be told “oh, I love your blog” by other bloggers, but to have a vendor recognize my blog?  That was one of those “holy shit!” moments.

• I’d like to thank The Jack for giving me crash space, carting my ass to the con, and the great get together he had on Friday night.
• Similarly, thanks need to go to OldNFO for putting together a get together on Saturday.
• I’ll try to put together a proper report on the Shooter Self Care class that Ambulance Driver put on, but in the mean time, you should read DaddyBear’s report on it.  The short answer is that it was a great class, and everyone that shoots on a regular basis should take on like it.  Warning: Ambulance Driver being an EMT, he has access to graphic pictures and videos and isn’t afraid to show them.  More than one person had to leave the room at various points.
• Speaking of the class, thanks to Brownell’s for supplying donuts and coffee for the class.  Good to know that they support education even if it doesn’t directly put money in their pockets.  There are lots of online dealers out there, and this will definitely influence my decisions in the future.
• It was good to meet so many fellow bloggers in meat space.  I wish I could name you all, but, frankly, if I started the list, I know I would leave out a large percentage simply because my memory sucks.

The convention itself was a good time.  While the big events that they were charging for didn’t interest me (I’m not a fan of country music, and, frankly, I tend not to be impressed by the politicians that they tend to have speak), the exhibitor’s hall was a great opportunity to chat with manufacturer reps about their current and upcoming products.  Everyone was friendly.  The big guys had knowledgeable personal out on the floor, and the folks manning the smaller manufacturers’ booth often included heads of marketing, or even the president.  It’s pretty impressive to be talking to a guy a realize that the company carries his last name.

• KelTec was showing off some interesting new stuff, including a bullpup .223, and a carbine version of the PMR (designated CMR) that really caught my attention.  I was also told that they are in the mists of greatly increasing their manufacturing capability, and are even delaying the release of the CMR until after they finish the expansion in hopes of not repeating the supply issue they had with the KSG.  They also gave me a flashlight that I will be doing a review of in the near future.
• Speaking of bullpups, I stopped by the Tavor table.  After handling their rifle for a couple minutes, and being instructed on the rather nifty locations of the magazine release and bolt release, I had to hand it back to the gentleman before I ran off with it.
• On similar note, the Mossberg booth had their new .308 MVPs on display.  I was especially impressed with the one that had a stock that incorporated their Flex system.  The representative informed me that the Flex system is universal across all their platforms, so the Flex butt-stocks that are already out for their shotguns will work with this rifle and the .22 rifle that will also have the Flex system as an option.
• While I was unable to talk to anyone at the Beretta booth, I was able to check out what they had out.  Their Pico .380 is tiny.  I could only wrap one finger around the grip, and it somehow holds 6+1 rounds.  It’s interesting as a pocket gun, but I’m guessing it’s pretty punishing at the range.  I was also able to check out the AR-100.  While I have absolutely no need for another .223 EBR, this one does keep calling my name.  I was surprised at the fact that, even though it’s bulkier than the AR, it’s a very light rifle.  I would guess lighter than most AR-15 configurations out there.   The extra bulk makes holding it very comfortable.  Basically, I think it’s what MagPul was trying to achieve with their AFG.  Add to that that it has a folding stock, and this is a very interesting AR-15 substitute indeed.
• Stopped by the Remington booth and checked out the R51.  I really want to like this gun, but, if the display guns were any indication, their quality control is currently all over the place.  One had its slide stick in the full rearward position without the help of the slide stop, another had a nice crisp trigger… just with a 20lbs pull, and another had a much lighter pull, but gritty and with lots of slack.  Nothing seemed to be consistent.
• Heizer’s coming out with a longer barreled version of their 9mm, and .45cal version of their pocket pistol where you load the rounds in backwards.  Their slides are insanely easy to pull back considering the size.
• Coonan is coming out with a 4″ version of their .357mag 1911s.  Also, I’m a sucker and bought one of their “Triple Threat Apocalyptic Kits“.  Figured it would be good for my gaming room.
• Cold Steel had some interesting stuff in their cases.  They also had a demo going which was… um… going. 🙂
• The gentleman at Boker informed me that one of their customers buys their knives and converts them to autos.  Apparently they don’t have a facility here, and current import laws stops them from bringing them in.  That said, he told me the law has recently changed and they should be importing automatics this fall.
• A.G. Russell was showing off both some truly beautiful high end knives and some cheap light weight ones.  Look for a review of some of the cheap ones in the near future (I would review the high end ones, but, sadly, the budget isn’t there).
• Speaking of high end knives, TOPS knives had some damn interesting stuff.  I had a chance to quickly chat with the designer about his take on the kukri.  While a rather hefty departure from the traditional design, it was clear talking to him that each departure was thought out and tested.  I could see this being a series survival knife that would do a pretty good job at everything you would need to do from batoning wood to cutting food.
• EZE Lap had a number of wonderful things to make sharp things sharper.  They also had a few of the more modern Mora knives on hand and I couldn’t resist picking up a couple of these excellent inexpensive knives.
• Celia Crane over at LaserMax was a truly wonderful person to talk to.  She worked really hard to find me one of their laser sight guide rods that would work with one the pistols I own.  Unfortunately, we had no luck.  While they do make one for the Beretta 96, apparently the 96 Brigadier is just different enough that it won’t work.  Fortunately, they also have a good selection of lasers that hang off rails, and I may test one of them in the future.   I laughingly asked about my Bersas and she actually said that they get a lot of requests for them.
• I stopped by the Knife Rights booth to thank them for their hard work in Tennessee for the past couple years.  I need to remember to pester WizardPC about putting up a banner link to their site.  Their cause is just as important to a free society as the NRA’s.  We need to remember that the 2nd amendment is not just about guns.

I know I’m probably forgetting several things, but that’s what I get for not blogging every day.  I promise to do better next year when the convention is in my home town.

Oh.  One last thing.  Apparently wearing kilts at the NRA convention means getting a lot of compliments and positive comments and zero grief.

EDIT: Oh hell, how could I forget?  I talked to Dennis at Dragon Leather, which further drove in the point that I *need* to order some things from him as soon as the cash flow starts moving the correct way.  Not only does he do beautiful work, he’s also a great guy.

I know a bunch of folks are getting ready to head to Indy for the NRAAM (myself included), but I thought I’d mention the Bidet Shoot 2 again.

We are definitely on for June 20-22.  I think the hotel we stayed in last year worked out well, so we’ll be there again, and I believe that Roadkill is securing us a place to grill out for dinner on Saturday.

If you need info on where this hotel is, leave a comment and I’ll put you on the list for the email I need to shoot out to everyone.  Hell, just leave a comment if you want in on the mailing list at all.  Those that showed up last year know about my amazing organization skills, so… umm… yeah…

Anyways… back to packing.

Oh… and I may actually have media credentials at NRAAM.  It’s almost like I know what I’m doing with this blogging thing.

And if you want to find me at NRAAM?  I’ll be one of two guys wearing kilts.  (hint: I have never had mutton chops a glorious as the other guy)