Armed and Safe: When martial arts skills are not enough

Ms. Emerson was tough as nails, a skilled fighter ("120 pounds of pure tough," as described by her self-defense instructor--who, by the way, acknowledges the fact that martial arts skills constitute but one facet of a complete self-defense preparedness program), gutsy to a degree beyond my ability to even fathom, much less hope to emulate--and she was still subdued, raped, and eventually brutally killed (bludgeoned to death with a tire iron), by a 60-year-old man of less than imposing physical presence, whom she had already disarmed.

Again, I am not trying to discourage women, or anyone else, from seeking instruction in unarmed combat skills, and I do not mean to imply that the course offered by St. Louis Self Defense and Fitness is the wrong place to acquire those skills. My point is that unarmed self-defense skills should be considered an adjunct to armed self-defense training, rather than a substitute. [More]

That's today's St. Louis Gun Rights Examiner column. It's a bit of a departure from my typical stuff, in that it's not, strictly speaking, really about gun rights. I still flatter myself with the idea that I made, as best I can, a valid point. Please give it a look, and spread the word.

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