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Kubotan: The Ultimate "Unarmed" Self-Defense Tool?

The Lovely Mrs. Snake (then 7 months pregnant) and I were certified in Kubotan in 1989 by my friend Booya Sam*. She chose a red one, and I chose a blue one. I've carried mine, with all my common keys on it, every day since. I don't remember the last time I saw hers. Might be in her purse, I honestly don't know. I'll have to ask her.

I'll be honest and admit I've forgotten most of the training, except the part about using the keys as a flail. I'm sure TLMS has forgotten all of it.

Every time I've been in any kind of security line (courthouse, etc.) since about the mid-90s, the Kubotan has been (temporarily) confiscated. Security people know exactly what these things are these days, and have for quite a while, now.

*Read it backwards. ;)
 
I was issued and trained on kubotans and yawara sticks in the 70's. As an agent in plain clothes you had to carry an alternative to deadly force when armed. They are easily concealed. People who are expert with it can leave an aggressor wondering why he all of a sudden hurts all over. I didn't use it a lot and was not that proficient. There are some restraining holds that I never mastered. But I did discover a strike to the sternum will cause an aggressor to back pedal and strikes to wrists, elbows, or shoulders will cause a subject to re-think resisting or release grip.
 
They tell me that a roll of quarters inside an old athletic sock works well in a pinch.
In my "More rowdy" days, I have made good use of a penny roll wrapped in electrical tape. I had an old graphite guitar slide that worked well too. Anything that puts weight in your closed fist works.

I learned from the old movie "Bad Boys" ( the one with Clancy Brown and a young Sean Penn, not the one with Martin Lawrence) that a pillow case filled with full 12 oz soda cans can be devastating as well. In a pinch.
 
Carbineers come in handy as an impromptu brass knuckle.

48GR75_AS02
 
Carbineers come in handy as an impromptu brass knuckle.

48GR75_AS02
Good idea! Now give us a valid reason why you'd be walking around a typical American town/city with one of those in your pocket, if you don't rock-climb or camp or do anything "outdoorsy."

I'm not being a smartass here. I'm legitimately asking.
 
Good idea! Now give us a valid reason why you'd be walking around a typical American town/city with one of those in your pocket, if you don't rock-climb or camp or do anything "outdoorsy."

I'm not being a smartass here. I'm legitimately asking.
No good Boy Scout leaves the house unprepared! :) Joking aside, back in my college days lots of us lived off campus, and had to rely on bicycles to get around. I had a friend that used a heavy duty chain and big lock to secure his ride to the bike rack. One night while going home after class he had words with a couple of guys in a car and one of them decided to turn it into a physical conflict. My friend swung that chain and the lock caught the guy up against the side of the head. He left the guy laying on the sidewalk and didn't look back.
 
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My knees are a wreck. You guys are scaring me
I had a double meniscus tear in my left knee about 4 years ago. It gave out on me twice today. It's been a rough couple days and it's been working overtime. I probably ought to get it taken care of. You know, since the surgery worked so great last time.:rolleyes:


I was back at work 7 days later, but I couldn't bend my knee for a very long time. The anesthetic was supurb though.
 
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