A recent video out of Tucson, Ari., shows us the right way to respond to a man threatening you with a sword. But, if you’ve never thought too much about how you’d respond to such a thing, it’s worth taking a few seconds to mentally run through that scenario, because misconceptions about blades and guns are all over the map in society.
But first, let’s look at the video:
Obviously, this guy isn’t the sharpest tool in the shed, and his connection with reality wasn’t very solid. He decided to do some emotionally intense sword practice in a hotel parking lot, screaming and waving his sword around, probably not unlike the Star Wars Kid. When hotel management told him to stop, he ignored them. So, the sheriff’s department had to come out there to let him know that he couldn’t keep doing that.
When deputies arrived, he refused to put the sword away (which he had sheathed by then). Why? Because he was “trying to achieve greatness with the katana”. Then, of course, he had to ask the rhetorical question of whether katana practice is allowed in the United States. That’s an obvious “yes”, but it’s generally not tolerated in a parking lot. Instead of seeing that maybe he should have gone out to some forest or BLM land, he kept arguing the issue with deputies, telling them he’s “hella responsible”.
He then tried to explain that he’s related to a Greek god, and that if anyone wants to kill him, he’s going to be hard to kill. Then, he drew the sword and advanced on deputies with predictable results.
While the guy’s idiocy is pretty funny, you do have to feel bad for the guy because it ended up costing him his life. But, it doesn’t help you much if you find yourself explaining your empathy for the guy’s mental shortcomings if you’re doing that explaining at the pearly gates (or whatever you think you’d find after getting killed).
The fact is, a sword or even a knife can be more deadly than getting shot by a gun. Worse, it takes 1-2 seconds to draw a pistol from its holster and fire it (the above video is a fancy version of the Tueller Drill), allowing a person with a blade to inflict a fatal injury on you before you can draw. So, the police were right both to back away and increase the distance, draw and fire on him as soon as he advanced on them. There’s just no spare time to “shoot it out of his hand” or “shoot him in the leg” (things idiots think police should do in such situations).
So, if you ever see someone acting crazy with a knife or a sword, don’t get too close. In fact, leave if you’re not being paid to deal with the guy. Such a confrontation can cost you everything. But, if you have to deal with such a person, don’t assume that you’re invincible because you have a gun, because the distance you can shoot from can disappear quick when someone’s running toward you.
“In fact, leave if you’re not being paid to deal with the guy.”
Sorry, if they’re threatening someone else with imminent bodily harm or death, I couldn’t look myself in the mirror for the rest of my life if I just left because I wasn’t being paid, even though I had the means and willingness to stop the threat. Maybe that’s just me, though.
A coconut with a knife could walk through a thick crowd casually gut stabbing people and go unnoticed for quite some time. A gun usually announces the start of hostilities.
I EDC the glock survival knife. Same size as the glock bayonet. It’s great for hacking weeds as I walk my dog.
And I do get some stares from strangers. The Cops don’t seem to care. But where I live most men EDC a large knife. But not as big as mine.
big(smile)
It’s always amazed me just how many on TTAG dismissed the bayonet. And agree with the government.
The importation of long guns with a bayonet lug is banned by the 1968 gun control act.
Very nice, it seems civil discourse is considered taboo here. 2nd Amendment is great, but the 1st? Not so much. I get that this isn’t a public forum, but I mean, it kind of is. Comment was removed simply stating how I wouldn’t simply leave if someone was threatening another’s safety.
I too prefer echo chambers in lieu of even the smallest of dissenting viewpoints, no matter how trivial. /s
To whomever is moderating: hypocrisy is not a good look on anyone.
Since the article didn’t mention it…………
23-year-old Devon Lewis, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Ranged weapons have a significant strategic advantage.
Available only if you maintain your range advantage as these deputies did.
Katana Boy achieved greatness and immortality via the sword and internet.
On the other hand, stupid is as stupid does.
Tueller Drill…nuff said.
When seconds count the police are minutes away…
https://youtube.com/watch?v=QbVN2HalbCE&feature=shared
I’ve said it before. I’m more afraid of edged weapons than firearms. Well, handguns anyway. I knife can inflict terrible wounds. I would have shot that guy quickly and often. The only difference is I wouldn’t have had to draw. It would have been from the low ready.
Are you better off today than you were 4 years ago…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7VX2IYcO0E
The sharp edge is mankind’s 3rd oldest weapon behind the beater (rocks and clubs) and the poker (sharpened pointy stick) and was the primary weapon on the battlefield for millennia. Don’t underestimate weapons with that kind of staying power.
His only mistake was not having his fedora of invincibility on.
Arkansas seems to be a little upset with the atf…
https://youtube.com/watch?v=l0PTR6AIJkM&feature=shared
“So, if you ever see someone acting crazy with a knife or a sword, don’t get too close.
…
But, if you have to deal with such a person, don’t assume that you’re invincible because you have a gun, because the distance you can shoot from can disappear quick when someone’s running toward you.”
Pro Tip:
A text-book perfect heart shot from a handgun can easily take more than 10 seconds to physically incapacitate a determined attacker. Now imagine how far away an attacker with a knife could be and still manage to close that distance and inflict a fatal stab wound in 10 seconds.
In case your brain isn’t “firing on all cylinders” (a gasoline engine reference by the way), I will spell out the implication of my Pro-Tip above: an attacker could be 50 feet away when you shoot him/her in the heart, easily close that distance, and inflict a fatal stab/slash wound upon you before passing out from low-blood pressure within that 10 second window of time.
there can be only one…..
come on guys. that movie can’t be that old.
I searched Emerson La Griffe and was surprised by its $127.95 price tag, Mine was $35 delivered when purchased on eBay a good while back. I expected to see a redesigned sheath but no its the same fool trap…sheath requires bench grinder modification to form a quillion/ears, keeps grip below blade.
https://emersonknives.com/shop/knives/every-day-carry/la-griffe-the-knives/la-griffe/
The smart cop would have asked the guy if he knew the Greek Sleekeum sword sluce slicer slice, and then ask for the sword to demonstrate how to do it.
with a fixed barrel exposed like a rifle two automotive hose clamps and something sharp serves an emergency need.
If you guys never saw it this guy just got convicted in Wisconsin for fatally stabbing a teenager. Watch how quick this turns from a shoving match into a fatal stabbing.
LOTS of things not to do here for everyone. Him messing with a person that gets a mob after him, the guy who incited a mob saying he was photographing girls who later says he didn’t see any of that, and so on. Any and all of them would have been wise to break this off, yet no one did.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYMGcLRtqn4
“Hella responsible”. That made me laugh
Are we sure Greek Ninja God isn’t this tub of lard all grown up?:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPPj6viIBmU
“I’m related to Dionysus”.
I’d have started backing away right there. I already suspected serious mental illness based on behavior and dude just confirmed it as far as I’m concerned (unless he happens to know my dog… and be a canid himself in which case I’m probably the one who needs a mental health hold).
Anyone who’s going to tell you that in a serious manner is about 95% sure to believe that they’re one of the satyrs. Satyrs, contrary to what most people seem to believe thanks to sanitized stories, are not just “mischievous”. One of the key aspects of this creature is that they party hardy until they get to a point of ecstasy, at which point they like to tear/cut people apart as a portion of their celebration. Dismemberment is kinda their thing. It’s also a weird sex thing too. (Oh, you think modern society is weird? The ancient Greeks would straight up freak you out.)
Any crazy person who’s latched on to this idea and is carrying a blade isn’t someone I want to be anywhere near.
OTOH, I’d trade this type of edged weapon encounter for the ones I’ve actually had. They actually had the time to draw and shoot.
“There’s just no spare time to “shoot it out of his hand” or “shoot him in the leg” ”
Wouldn’t those results be the likely average from multiple cops shooting simultaneously at the same target?