My wife and I are walking out to our car following a movie one evening. As we enter the parking garage I pull up short -- there are five guys sitting on and leaning against my car. I'm not armed with anything. Oh yeah, I do have my car keys. I could put them between my fingers and scratch these guys. I bet I could even break the skin on one before they stomped me.One of the guys notices me stiffly standing there pondering my options. He juts his chin towards me and says, "This your car?" Uh-oh, here we go.I start looking for an escape route, then for the biggest one to fight while I send my wife off to get help. The guy looks at me again and says, "Sorry". They jump off the car and walk off, continuing their previous conversation. Whew.
You never know when it's going to happen. So you need to be prepared, because no one has as much a vested interest in your safety as you do. Unfortunately, most people don't have the will or the skill to help you much and the cops are at least two to three minutes away (in some jurisdictions it might be more like 20 to 40 minutes). Remember the acronym YOYO -- it means "you're on your own".
That means you will need to carry -- or have access -- to lifesaving and life-preserving self-defense tools. For operators and officers, this will invariably be some of the same tools you carry on-duty. For the prepared and safety-minded civilian, some of these tools will be new, but you should consider nonetheless.
Cops, operators, bodyguards and other professionals carry a staggering amount of "stuff". Many of these pros have what they call a "battle bag" which they can transfer in and out of their vehicles. I've seen these bags carry virtually an entire SWAT team member kit. I've also seen them packed with various tools for emergency auto repair, socks for the gym and old forms from the office. So the contents can be widely disparate.
But here's what most professionals carry:
We are invariably talking handguns here. Secondary weapon (after a suitable handgun) that should be carried in your car is a shotgun filled with slugs. The slugs provide superior stopping power and penetration in the typical urban and vehicle environment. Others like buckshot in their 12 gauges.
I would also contend that the .380 you have in your pocket is vastly superior to the .357 you left at home. Don't be afraid to look at .38 Special snub nose revolvers as well as the smaller .380 and .32 automatics. The point is, when you need a gun, you desperately need a gun.
A knife has a prime role in your self-defense kit. It can be used for combat or for any one of the crazy scenarios you can come up with for a cutting tool.
A knife does not necessarily have to a combat folder. There are hooked knifes designed specifically for safely cutting seat belts. There are many Knives designed for police and rescue personnel with different blade and a windshield punch for freeing trapped car accident victims.
FlashlightMostly I'm talking about the small, personal flashlights. Most professionals don't carry a gun without carrying a flashlight since most shootings happen in reduced light situations.
Besides illuminating your target, light can be used to temporarily blind or disorient an attacker. If you are forced to fight, a small personal flashlight makes a great weapon. You use the crown of the light to hit attackers vital targets while it is firmly clenched in your fist. A larger C or D-cell flashlight like the MagLite also makes a great baton. When the power goes off and you're forced to evacuate from the 87th floor, you'll be thankful that you have your flashlight.
Off-duty officers need to carry pepper (OC) spray for the same reasons they carry it on duty. If you have to defend yourself, the court will want to know why you didn't have an intermediate force tool available instead of just deadly force weapons. For many civilians in certain regions of the country, pepper spray might be one of the only weapons they are allowed to carry.
If I would have had my canister of pepper spray with me I would have been in a much better position to deal with the five guys sitting on my car.
The bigger canisters provide more reach, more duration and more chemical, but you'll never carry one. I don't have a problem with recommending you carry one of the smaller canisters that fit on your key ring or your belt. The rule is to have one with you.
Cell Phone
You shouldn't go anywhere without your cell phone. Soon most 911 systems will be able to track your cell phone to within a 100 yards should you not be able to give police dispatchers your location. I've also seen some remarkable retreats by bad guys when they see their intended "victim" dialing a cell phone -- presumably to the police. By having a cell phone and letting the bad guys see you talking on it, you've tapped into their second biggest fear: the fear of getting caught. Your cell phone is a top priority piece of equipment.
You need it to write down license plate numbers, descriptions, phone numbers; anything important. When you are under stress important information tends to evaporate quickly from your memory. You get on the phone to the police and you suddenly cannot remember anything. Write it down before you call.
If you don't want to write it down on an old-fashioned pad, I've found two new methods that work great. One is to dictate the details to yourself. Besides any of the plentiful models of pocket tape recorders, you can now do this on many MP3 players and even some cell phones. The second method that works well is to scribble the notes on your PDA. Some of them, like the Palm, have an option that lets you write freehand on the screen. Some PDAs also have a dictation option as well. Dictating the information seems to work the best for me as I can continue to drive without having to jot down the info. In a jam I've even used my cell phone to call my own voice mail and dictated the info quickly knowing that I could retrieve it later if need.
Gloves
You will encounter more medical emergencies on a daily basis than violent acts that need to be stopped as you watch them unfold. If you help, you will need to "defend" yourself against potentially harmful blood borne pathogens. Gloves help protect you from contact with someone else's fluids and they help protect the patient as well from any bacteria you might have on your hands.
Another item which is often recommended that I can only put down here as a secondary item is handcuffs. Some pros carry their regular handcuffs and some carry the plastic flex-cuffs that look like giant zip ties. If you are in a position that entails holding someone for a long time before authorities arrive, then you might consider them. If you are a flight crew member and you need to subdue and detain a passenger until the plane can land, then you need handcuffs or similar restraining devices. If you are a loss prevention officer taking shoplifters into custody for a long period of time, you need them.
However, if you are the average guy on the street, there are very few scenarios where you actually want to detain someone. Most of the time you want distance from the bad guy. Drive him off, let him go.
Carrying all your stuff
Figure out a way to carry the most essential items conveniently so that you will make a habit of it.
Ever notice how you only get a flat tire when you don't have a spare? The same goes with your self-defense and safety tools. Most likely you'll never need them when you have them -- the balloon will probably go up when you decide to leave them at home because it is too much of a hassle to carry them or put them in your car.
Some people keep all their stuff in one place. Others spread it around.
Fanny packs and safari-type vests allow you to carry all your tools in "one" place. You can pick up your pack or your vest, put it on and you're set. You'll find yourself stashing your pack or your vest in your trunk as you go in and out of places where it is not legal to be armed like courthouses, schools and airports.
Spreading your tools around usually entails having some sort of holster for your firearm, pockets for other items and putting your spray on your key ring.
Your system
There is no one method that seems to work for everyone.
You'll probably find, as most of us have, that you'll switch back and forth to a couple of different modes of carrying all your tools depending on your dress and your circumstances. The key is to get serious and find a way that is fairly consistent so you will always have your tools with you.
God forbid you'll ever need them. But better to have them with no need, than to need them and not have.
