Possession of OC/Pepper Spray along with good threat management skills and the ability to timely and appropriately deploy it provides concealed carriers (and even those who are firearms-adverse) a means of less lethal self-defense for encounters with others in which attempts to disengage or de-escalate are not successful but use of a contact weapon is not desirable, warranted, or even possible. Much of the same is true when it comes to small impact weapons like saps and blackjacks where the skills to use them effectively combined with a firm understanding of the law as it pertains to use of force gives concealed carriers both a less lethal and lethal (if a lesser force use of force is insufficient) defensive capability that may bridge the gap between OC spray and a knife or handgun. Concealed carriers who live in states where carry of saps and blackjacks is prohibited may find several tools available at the closest hardware store that can serve as a makeshift small impact weapon. A small defensive knife that is readily accessible from under a cover garment is perhaps the only defensive tool a concealed carrier can use effectively if entangled with one or more violent criminal attackers and the odds are unacceptably high that an attempt to access a concealed handgun will result in it being taken away from and used upon the defender. In addition, there are places in which persons need to go to from time-to-time in which possession of a knife is legal but possession of a firearm is a felony.
Topics Covered
Required Equipment
Students should wear loose-fitting clothes. Optional equipment would be training knives and blue guns/SIRT guns with holsters.
Topics Covered
- OC Spray Selection
- Carry Methods and Positioning
- Pre-Assault Indicators
- Managing Unknown Contacts
- Immediate Actions if OC Deployment Fails
- Sap and Blackjack Selection
- Improvised Small Impact Weapons
- Carry Methods and Positioning
- Ready Positions
- Strikes and Footwork
- Default Cover/Empty Hand Counter and Escape
- Default Cover/Small Impact Weapon Counter and Escape
- Defensive Knife Selection and Positioning
- Stand-off Ready Positions (Small Defensive Knife)
- Pre-emptive Thrusts and Slashes
- Defensive Use of Knife and Escape When Mounted
- Defensive Use of Knife and Escape from Guard Position
Required Equipment
Students should wear loose-fitting clothes. Optional equipment would be training knives and blue guns/SIRT guns with holsters.