Trebuchet Mugger Defense at the Wal-Mart

[MasterPain]

This is my first article, so be nice. Not really give me feedback.

Traditional weapons are fun to practice, have a cultural heritage behind them, a certain beauty in their form and use in motion. But, why are they traditional?

Because at some point in time they were the choice instrument of killing or defense to a group of people. Several factors went into the choice of weapon. Swords were often carried by soldiers or noblemen, as they were to expensive, took too much time to learn or were banned outright to the common person. Swords however, were often a sidearm in battlefields as they lacked the range or spears and polearms. The naginata would be used in battle before a katana was ever drawn. This is downplayed in movies because SWORDS ARE JUST COOLER. Archery is downplayed in films generally too, unless your an elf. Once again, FIGHTING IN THE SHADE IS COOL. So back in the day, wars were fought with blades on a stick, hand-held blades, archery, and the often ignored shield. Why? Because nobody had an AK or a tank.

Let's look at some of the non-military traditional weapons. Kamas and nunchuku were farming implements that the common person would be allowed to have and were able to use a defense tool when needed. Staffs were often carried by clergy or as a simple walking stick. Walking sticks were everywhere when most people couldn't afford a horse and cars weren't invented yet.

The military weapons were the best the world had to offer in terms of killing the enemy. Even when they were common, anyone but a soldier probably couldn't walk through the town carrying a sword or spear in most places. So everyone else had tools or a staff or cane.

While the traditional weapons have their place in modern times, they are not very practical today. The one exception I give to this is home defense. A katana is a reasonable weapon to defend yourself with at home. That is if you don't have a gun loaded and easily accessible, as many people are not comfortable with doing. A gun would be much better ,but like I said, many people don't like to keep a loaded gun around the house. A gun locked in a safe or kept unloaded is of absolutely no use to defend yourself. Also many states do not allow concealed carry of a firearm for civilians, so away from home you need something else anyway. And here lies my issue with traditional martial arts weapons, they are all illegal to carry in most places. Or at least make you very suspect, a healthy person with a walking stick is only normal in a woods or such. The weapons that became traditional because of their being the best a person could carry are now recognized as weapons and are illegal to carry. Try telling a cop that you were harvesting grain with you kama or threshing with your nunchuks. If a person wants martial arts for self defense purposes it makes the most sense to train mostly with weapons that are likely

to be encountered. Usually a handgun, knife and some sort of club, be it a bat, crowbar or hammer. And the most time should be spent with whatever weapon you carry, which should be checked for legality. Only law enforcement can carry guns in this state, but most knives are fine. Technically they are supposed to be under 3 inches to be concealed, but this is not always enforced, although it probably would be in Chicago, attitudes are different here in the southern part of the state. Pepper spray is a good option, but all too often blows back, and should not be relied on too heavily to stop someone. Tasers aren't good for much but torture and rape, and are highly restricted. In the idea of kamas and such, a fine modern equivalent is a screwdriver. It's legal to carry just about anywhere. The TSA website even says you can carry a screwdriver up yo seven inches in length on a plane, but a kubaton is restricted. Explain that one.

Don't expect many of these from me, as my 2 finger typing method leaves much to be desired.

[Groinstrike]

I love how you refer to walmart, as "the walmart" sorry just funny to me. In this same vain, practicing with hand held tools such as hammers, brooms, dowel rods would be the equivalent of japanese farmers realizing that a crank handle could be taken off and used as a club(tonfas)

[MasterPain]

Not to mention mounted archery has been replaced with drive-bys, which usually cause nothing but collateral damage, that's Euphemism for death of innocent people. Also, the true modern equivalent of kamas would be vehicular manslaughter with a combine. (I think they are called harvester tractors in some places. You English people use funny English, ya oughtta learnta talk American)

[Jeffrey]

I really enjoyed that. I LOL'd.