Samurai swords for home defense
Much has been made of a Johns Hopkins student protecting himself with a samurai sword against a home intruder in the local Maryland media (including this story at the Washington Post).
I’d like to take a few moments to say that while the student certainly made effective use of his katana that a katana isn’t exactly the ideal home defense weapon. Here’s why: it’s a really big weapon indoors. Outdoors (where, according to some accounts the confrontation took place, others putting it in the house or in a garage), a katana is a fine weapon. Its length, edge, and relatively lightness (compared to heavier European swords or even older Japanese tachi swords) make it a formidable amplifier, and against a skilled practitioner, it’s extremely hard to overcome.
Indoors…
You see the general problem. Unless you’ve had a great deal of practice using a sword indoors, chances are your home, apartment, or office will be working against you with a weapon designed for use on a battlefield.
Please accept these bits of unsolicited advice from a guy who’s practiced with swords a lot and studied self defense a lot:
1. If someone’s in your home and you have the option to do so, run like hell and call the police. No piece of property is worth risking your life for, and virtually everything except maybe sentimental items can be replaced.
2. If running like hell isn’t an option, get yourself and anyone else you care about together inside, lock and bar an interior room, and call the police.
3. If you have no other choice, meaning that either someone you love or you are directly in harm’s way with no other resort, then and only then should you attempt confrontation, and probably not with a sword unless you’ve got nothing else or you’ve got an awful lot of training under your belt. That can of fake lavender air freshener or toilet cleaner under your sink will probably work better to confuse and disorient a home invader long enough to let you escape, rather than a sword.
Other views will differ, of course, but at least in what we teach at the Boston Martial Arts Center, your very best bet is always self preservation, escape and evasion, then defensive tactics, then as a last resort, offensive tactics. Not only does this order of priorities give you the best chance of coming out of a self defense situation safely, but it also is most likely to protect you legally if the case goes to court. If, in your testimonial, you explain to the authorities, the judge and jury, and legal counsel that you made every effort to escape and evade, to defend, and only when you were given no other choice and you believed serious or mortal harm was imminent did you take a life, you are likely to be cleared of any charges of excessive force.
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Sage advice, Sensei.
I suspect that your last paragraph's addition of legal advice will probably cause more people to think twice than the photographs will.
A can of air freshener might work. A can of Easy Off Oven Cleaner *will* work.
Sage advice, Sensei.
I suspect that your last paragraph's addition of legal advice will probably cause more people to think twice than the photographs will.
A can of air freshener might work. A can of Easy Off Oven Cleaner *will* work.
What about self defense with a nail file?
You have the right and obligation to defend yourself with whatever you can. I'm not saying NOT to defend yourself, just that a katana is probably not the most ideal tool. For the average untrained person, getting to minimal competent proficiency with a firearm will likely take less time than with a sword, especially if you use a shotgun loaded with non-wall-penetrating ammunition, like birdshot.
I would encourage anyone and EVERYONE to learn at least the basics of self defense, both armed and unarmed. It's a good thing to know, and at the very, very least, at least you'll probably get a few decent workouts out of it.
I now feel compelled to buy a katana, just to say I have one.
If you seriously want one, I recommend the Hanwei/Paul Chen Practical Katana line. They're made to be actually used, rather than for decoration. I'd also strongly, strongly recommend enrolling in a school that can teach you how to safely use it.
Chris – I'm going to make the leap to Social Media on this one. Basically, your Samurai sword home defense example got me thinking…
Maybe it *is* about the (SM) tools we use. Hmmm.
Wonderful post. Juices flowing.
DJ Waldow
Director of Community, Blue Sky Factory
@djwaldow
It is about the tools to a lesser degree. It is about skill to a greater degree. The right tool for the right job, yes. The right training to make the tool effective in the job, more so.
What about self defense with a nail file?
You have the right and obligation to defend yourself with whatever you can. I'm not saying NOT to defend yourself, just that a katana is probably not the most ideal tool. For the average untrained person, getting to minimal competent proficiency with a firearm will likely take less time than with a sword, especially if you use a shotgun loaded with non-wall-penetrating ammunition, like birdshot.
I would encourage anyone and EVERYONE to learn at least the basics of self defense, both armed and unarmed. It's a good thing to know, and at the very, very least, at least you'll probably get a few decent workouts out of it.
I now feel compelled to buy a katana, just to say I have one.
If you seriously want one, I recommend the Hanwei/Paul Chen Practical Katana line. They're made to be actually used, rather than for decoration. I'd also strongly, strongly recommend enrolling in a school that can teach you how to safely use it.
Chris – I'm going to make the leap to Social Media on this one. Basically, your Samurai sword home defense example got me thinking…
Maybe it *is* about the (SM) tools we use. Hmmm.
Wonderful post. Juices flowing.
DJ Waldow
Director of Community, Blue Sky Factory
@djwaldow
It is about the tools to a lesser degree. It is about skill to a greater degree. The right tool for the right job, yes. The right training to make the tool effective in the job, more so.
Great illustrations, Chris. You could just thrust though. A smooth quick extension to the throat or groin, and your troubles are over. But… then you would have a really big mess to mop up. That means new carpet or flooring, having to repaint the walls and the ceiling… And then there's the risk of contamination if any of your assailant's blood gets on you. None of these things are very nice.
So I have a better solution:
Chihuahuas are very compact, completely self-powered, 100% motivated, and capable of coordinating attacks on their own. I highly recommend keeping 2-3 of them around the house as a) an early warning system and b) the centerpiece of your home defense system. They can distract an intruder and even trip them up, and I have seen some chihuahua bites actually break the surface of the skin (almost painful on the ankle bone).
Just a thought.
Great illustrations, Chris. You could just thrust though. A smooth quick extension to the throat or groin, and your troubles are over. But… then you would have a really big mess to mop up. That means new carpet or flooring, having to repaint the walls and the ceiling… And then there's the risk of contamination if any of your assailant's blood gets on you. None of these things are very nice.
So I have a better solution:
Chihuahuas are very compact, completely self-powered, 100% motivated, and capable of coordinating attacks on their own. I highly recommend keeping 2-3 of them around the house as a) an early warning system and b) the centerpiece of your home defense system. They can distract an intruder and even trip them up, and I have seen some chihuahua bites actually break the surface of the skin (almost painful on the ankle bone).
Just a thought.
The question is, will Yum Brands be a subsidiary income source from them?
The question is, will Yum Brands be a subsidiary income source from them?
Great sword for home self defense. Its great to learn some form of self-defense especially if you are living with all girls house.
Great sword for home self defense. Its great to learn some form of self-defense especially if you are living with all girls house.
Great sword for home self defense. Its great to learn some form of self-defense especially if you are living with all girls house.
My personal preferences: a wakizashi with a 21″ blade and a katana-sized tsuka (handle) – possible to use 2-handed, but easier blade length to use in tight quarters – and a tanto with an 11″ blade, razor edge, and needle-sharp point. I use these when my kids are here (I share custody of them every other week with my ex), as the walls of my house are so thin (1×2 studs and thin wallboard, rather than 2×4′s and drywall – older, cheap kit house) that even “non penetrating” ammo could blast right through them. My state has a “castle doctrine” law – I am under no duty to retreat from a criminal, ANYPLACE I have any business being (not just my home), and further laws preventing the criminal or the criminals family from suing me if the crook is injured or killed.