Tactical flashlights giving false sense of security?

[phoneguy]

no shame losing your cool if the #(%^(*@ grabbed your wife man, not being trained in any martial art, i woulda still attempted to kick the living daylights out of any man who touched my wife, THEN call the police.

There was no need to call the police... I knocked him out on my best friends feet who is a cop in the city that we were in. It was all caught on video by the security cameras...no charges for me. Looking back on it now I should have let it go. I am pissed at myself for losing control which could have affected my family had I accidentally killed him.

Bryan

 

[nikon]

Great advice here, but I'd like to add a couple of things.

Your first obligation was to protect your girlfriend from danger. That means getting her to a safe place instead of throwing the first punch. She did the smart thing by leading you inside the gate.

Most girls, in my experience, don't like guys who carry dangerous looking knives, especially when they pull one out to use as a weapon.

 

[arjay]

Thanks for the tips mdocod, will try to remember those the next time I'm out.

There are a lot of good points raised here that I can learn from.You guys have transformed a bad experience into a good one. I know I'm still young and still have a long life ahead, this has been a good learning experience that I can apply to everyday life.

@nikon
you are right that girls don't want guys who carries/pulls out weapons since they think that it's dangerous and could make matters worse. But there are situations where it is good to have a weapon like if there is a person out to hurt random people, its good that can defend yourself and those around you. One just has to have the good judgement when to pullout/use such weapons. There are people that just can't be reasoned with words.

 

[Officer Thompson]

I would agree that you did the right thing. I have had to use my flashlight on duty before to take people down and I will tell you that when people are drunk or high it takes all of damage for them to stop, you could break bones and they will just keep coming. So YES you did the right thing be leaving and getting your girl friend out of the area and from make the situation a lot worst.

In any situation keeping cool and not letting your emotions control all of your acts are key in my opinion.

I would also recommend a small personal carry stun gun, they work very well without inflicting damage as an alterative to the knife.

 

[Guy's Dropper]

The fight didn't happen and nobody was hurt. Since nothing happened, you won. You obviously made the correct decision.

 

[VillageIdiot]

mexican judo.

...Brazilian jujitsu?

 

[dudemar]

...Brazilian jujitsu?

I was thinking the same thing, lol.

 

[woodrow]

I am glad everything worked out OK. It is never a good thing to be in a fight. Even if you would have had your knife (or a gun) with you.... it still would have been really bad to get into a fight. If you loose, it could be really bad...and if you win, with the courts being what they are, it could be really bad.

Don't get me wrong, if the need really comes up, I hope you use every advantage to defend yourself and those you love.... but I hope you never have to. Good story!

 

[rantanplan]

A "tactical flashlight" could be useful too at the point where you choose "rapid fallback" as your best option. Full Power or Strobe in his eyes should give you some additional meters headstart ... at least in a dark environment.

Hopefully I never have to try this ... I´m not the fastest runner, so I would need definitely the biggest "retina burning" light available

 

[isc]

A tactical flashlight, a firearm, a knife - none are magical trouble evading talismans.

I can see several issues with your conduct. First, if you sense trouble, why invite it by staring back? Why not move inside the dorm?

Next... why would you allow him to close the gap on you? Your invisible 'fence', your reactionary gap, is compromised. If you get close to me, you'll be asked to back off. If you proceed, you will be told with profanity, loudly, and outstretched arms, to "Back the **** off!". Once is typical, twice is coincidence. If you attempt to close the gap on me a third time, despite being warned, you are going to the floor, hard.

A tactical light is your first port of call. If you're being stared at, blast them in the face. Your either going to catch him off guard and cause him to back off, or get him going - and you will have the element of surprise. Its a light, nothing more.

Finally... you continued to perceive an active threat - regardless of the fact you were being pulled away by your female friend, you turned your back on an active threat. Here's a question... had he had a knife in his hand, would you have turned your back? No, you wouldn't have. How do you know the knife didn't come out as soon as your back was turned?

Much to ruminate on. Take it as a lesson.

 

[ampdude]

I agree 100% with you guys.. a cool head is your best defence. You did the right thing... that guy was just waiting for you to make the first move. Oh and don't feel bad that you didn't "stand up for your girl" or anything like that, those days are gone now. It might have worked in the past, but these days... if you pull out your knife, then he'll probably pull out his gun, and If you pull out a gun then him, And his friend, will be back later with Bigger guns. I know this isn't always true... but its Always a possibility... It's just not worth it.

Then don't pull out a knife or a gun, fight like a man.

 

[divine]

I carried a knife for a few years, and recently I've stopped.

The way I picture a situation unfolds after a knife is pulled.. is not one I want to be in. It only takes one person to pull a gun, and you started it by pulling your knife. That or if you lose the advantage, your weapon can be used against you.

I will take my chances, but I don't invite people to fight with me, either.

 

[cerberuss]

Then don't pull out a knife or a gun, fight like a man.

Well thats possible in other countries

..I was talking out of a different context. Where I am, recently I heard on the news that a Chinese guy, while walking in the street in broad daylight, was shot in the face because he resisted somebody trying to steal his empty lunch box.... such things don't happen often ofcourse... but theres always that possibility. Rather play it cool :sweat:

 

[ampdude]

Ya, you never know what to expect with criminals nowadays. It's best to be prepared.

 

[Monocrom]

The only way a flashlight can give a false sense of security is if you rely on the beam to stop an attacker. Or, if you just carry it with you; without having trained to use it properly as an impact tool.

If you know the limitations of your tools, you don't have to worry about a false sense of security.

 

[Justin Case]

Tools without skill are of limited utility. Skill without the knowledge of when it is appropriate to use the skill is also of limited utility.

If you are asking if you should have hit the guy, then perhaps first you need to study and understand the legal and moral use of force in your locale.

If all you are thinking about with your flashlight is hitting, then you also need to consider getting some training in armed and unarmed self-defense.

Finally, it appears that you never really thought about realistic scenarios and your responses. Coming up with responses on the fly in a split-second, stressful decisionmaking situation is not a good time for winging it. You may need to study up on mental conditioning.

Bottom line is that flashlights, knives, and guns are not talismans. The priorities of survival are awareness (you seemed to do well here), tactics (seems like there were some critical gaps), skill, equipment.

 

[Outdoors Fanatic]

Tactical flashlights giving false sense of security?

Only if it's not attached to your loaded gun.

 

[Joe Talmadge]

mexican judo

...Brazilian jujitsu?

No, he means Mexican judo. Ju don' know if he's got a knife, ju don' know if he's got a gun, ju don' know if his homies are standing behind ju.

 

[Joe Talmadge]

To the original poster, if the light gave you a false sense of security, and you had had the knife instead, would that have been any better? Would you have drawn when he came up and asked what you were looking at? Do you think you would have been legally and ethically okay in shanking him? Replay the scene in your mind, at what point would you have drawn your knife? It's easy to think that a different tool would have been the answer, and in many cases it can be, but often to correction comes from within.
There are some obvious mistakes -- turning your back on him when your friend pulled you is one, that could have been a permanent mistake if he'd really been after hurting you.

The really key moment is when he gets close enough to you to hit you, and you decide not to draw your flashlight lest it provoke an attack. Really, here is where your instincts come in -- given your read of the situation, is it more likely you'll talk your way out of the situation, or is it more likely the bad guy has decided you're his victim and he will attack you regardless? In the first case, you might not draw; in the second, you'd better. The thing is, bad guys know and use this feeling we good guys get of, "oh poop this can't be happening, what do I do?" to get close enough to us to blitz us.

Anyway, I wasn't there and your read proved to be the correct one. But I'd advise you to take this as a lesson learned -- his approach to you is EXACTLY the kind of street "interview" that criminals employ to get close to and intimidate their victims, and they RELY on you not drawing and not quite knowing what to do, and just blitzing you. Did you really read the situation right, or are you just lucky that this was some punk vs. a criminal looking to jack you? This is a good time for some honest introspection! I went through a vaguely similar situation a couple of years ago, no harm came to me, but in retrospect my read on the situation was bad and more active measures were solidly warranted -- it's just luck nothing happened. Now I know what I would have done differently and am mentally more prepared.

 

[M@elstrom]

The OP achieved a win-win outcome, the best possible IMHO :thumbsup: