What’s In Your Go Bag?

In prior articles we’ve emphasized the importance of preparedness when it comes to effective self defense. Protecting yourself from a hostile human being is just one aspect of self defense. It’s at least as important to think of other kinds of emergencies that arise from extreme weather, getting lost and other incidents that don’t involve a violent individual but can affect you just as adversely.

One handy concept is the go bag (or “bug out bag”): a gym back or backpack filled with everything you need for short term survival. The go bag has become a more prevalent idea since the rise of regular, extreme weather in the southern US. Hurricane Katrina made it obvious that it pays to have the necessities of life on hand, and the ability to take them with you to a safe place.

Here’s a set of guidelines for an effective go bag:

Food and Water: Prepare enough food and water to last for 72 hours. For water, one gallon per person per day is a good guideline. For food, goods that won’t spoil and don’t require heat or water to prepare are the best choice. In addition, pack water purification tablets, cutlery and cooking equipment. Camping supplies are a good source for these.

Medical Gear: Pack a first aid kit along with a supply of any medications you regularly take.

Radio and Lights: Get a radio and light with a fresh, ready supply of power. Our safety light is one compact option. In any emergency where you have to retreat from your home, you need access to the radio for important announcements, and enough light to get you through power interruptions.

Bedding and Clothing: Carry enough bedding for your family and three sets of clothes per person. Clothes and bedding should be appropriate for the worst weather the region has to offer.

Money: Store cash, because in an emergency, ATM and debit may be unavailable.

Tools: Your go bag should include a compact set of tools, including a knife. This category also includes self defense products. This isn’t just to deal with people; you may encounter wild or feral animals in a severe emergency. A can of bear spray is not out of the question. Finally, make sure you have a way to easily make fire. We recommend strike-anywhere matches and a set of lighters. Each of these excels in different situations.

Once you’ve gathered the required materials, pack them neatly and make sure it’s light enough that you can lug it around for a few hours without any trouble. If necessary, split an overly heavy bag into two, or more, but make sure that each one includes every item, so that if you lose a bag, you don’t lose an entire category of necessary items. Check your go bag for expired components (such as food or medicine) every few months. If you never need to use it, that’s great! Take it camping in the summer, restock it when you get home and remember that preparedness is never a waste.

C3: Get the Best Out of Self Defense Products with Command, Control and Communications

Modern militaries use a doctrine called C3 to effectively direct entire armies. C3 is short for Command, Control and Communications. This concept may seem rather lofty for the average person but if we view it as an allegory for managing personal protection, you’ll see how it can help you get the most out of your self defense tools.

Command

In the military, command refers to the ability to issue clear orders to your troops. In basic self defense you only have one soldier: yourself. Nevertheless, you should make sure that you have some “standing orders” to prevent and handle dangerous situations. First off, whenever you go to an unfamiliar place, make sure you have a clear plan. When I go hiking, for example, I always plan my route and a timetable for visiting various spots. I give myself enough flexibility to have fun, of course, but I don’t wander off into unfamiliar places impulsively. My friends and family know when to expect me, and where to look if they need me.

I also have some “standing orders” about the equipment I take with me, including self defense tools. When I go on a hike, I carry an animal repellent like bear spray or dog spray, along with a knife. The knife isn’t necessarily for a fight, but it’s an extremely handy outdoor tool. Self defense isn’t always about people or animals. Sometimes, it’s about being ready for simple accidents.

Control

Military control is the power to act effectively. It grows out of command, because you only get practical results from workable orders. For the individual, control is the power to successfully protect yourself in an emergency. This extends from having the proper tools and training to get the job done. If you’ve commanded yourself properly, you have the right tools. These might include pepper spray, a stun gun or a knife. Training means you have a regular physical fitness regimen, you’ve practiced drawing and using your tools and you’ve given serious thought to what you will and won’t do in an emergency. Self defense DVDs can help guide your personal training. Finding a fitness regimen that works for you, getting familiar with your tools and knowing your limits is 90% or preparedness.

Communications

This is straightforward: the ability to talk to who you need, when you need it. For the individual, this means that you have a charged cell phone and whenever you have a choice, you stay close to populated, public areas. If you can call 911 in an instant it means that no matter what happens, trained people will go to your location. If you stick near public areas, it dissuades potential attackers. They don’t want to be seen.

Think about these ideas when you order self defense products and you’ll have a clear idea of what you need, and when you’ll need it.

Knives: Dangerous Personal Protection Gear

We sell knives. They're one of the most popular self defense products, and also among those most rarely used by their purchasers - and thank God for that. Knives are dangerous!

Our catalog features two different kinds of knives: self defense pen knives and what knife enthusiasts call tactical folders. These knives can be used as tools but they're primarily designed to cut somebody who poses a serious threat to your well being. They're pretty, too. There are plenty of knife enthusiasts out there who appreciate a good blade's craftsmanship and aren't bracing themselves for the worst. Make no mistake, however: Carrying a knife is one of the most extreme measures you can take to protect yourself.

A Knife is a Lethal Weapon

Don't carry a knife believing you'll use it to scare someone away or just cut them "a bit" if they get too close. It takes very little force to mortally wound someone with a sharp knife and in the right spot, a cut can cause a fatal "bleed out" in seconds. Do not assume you'll be able to control the amount of force you use. In fact, knives are not any less lethal than many handguns. In other words, a knife is for scenarios just as serious as the ones you'd reserve a firearm for - situations where you're prepared to kill an attacker.

Knives are Unpredictable and Hard to See

To understand how knives work, you have to know how they're used in criminal assaults. Throw away visions of the wide, sweeping motions and threatening gestures you see in action flicks. You will never, ever see people "duel" with knives, either. Assailants conceal knives right up to the attack -- then they hit fast, and often. Many knifing victims don't even know they've been stabbed until the assailant's long gone and they start bleeding heavily. That's when they discover that each "punch" was a knife blow. Tap the bottom of your fist lightly but firmly against your desk ten times. That's how quickly someone can stab you ten times.

In a Fight Against a Knife, You'll Get Cut

You can see, then, that a knife is less of a deterrent than a way to protect your life from someone who will not be stopped with nonlethal means - a larger and/or armed attacker determined to do something terrible to you or your loved ones. If the attacker has a knife too, expect to get cut. Remember: he's probably already stabbed you a few times before you can even start protecting yourself. This is why a gun can't protect you from a knife, either. Police studies (specifically, the Tueller Drill) show that within 21 feet, an assailant can close and stab an officer before he has time to draw his gun. Training to defend against a knife is about maintaining as large a safety zone as possible and if that fails, receiving the cut in a way designed to minimize injury.

So Are You Ready?

Assuming you don't just want to buy a knife because you're a collector or martial arts enthusiast, let's use the above facts to help you decide whether or not you should buy a knife. Do the following points apply to you?

• Are you willing to kill someone in an extreme situation - to save your life, or that of a family member, for example?
  
• Are you willing to "ambush" someone instead of passively waiting for an attack?
  
• Will you keep fighting after being cut instead of freaking out at the sight of your own blood?
  
• Do you understand that carrying or using a fighting knife is as serious as carrying and using a firearm, and that the authorities will likely see it this way as well?

If you can accept the above, then by all means, exercise your rights; buy a tactical folding knife or a pen knife. If not, have you considered an alternative, like a stun gun?