I've been carrying a folding knife clipped to my pocket for almost 20 years. My first was a spyderco with a crappy, non-removable plastic clip - super awesome for the time, not so great with all the amazing folders that are available these days. For all of these years, I have almost exclusively carried my knife tip down. It felt more comfortable, like I could get my knife out and deploy it more quickly that way.
Recently I've been watching some videos online and some videos by Michael Janich.
The Janich video Fighting Folders was excellent and showed me that I needed to give tip up carry another try. My deployment from the pocket had been all wrong. I had been grabbing at the exposed part of the handle (like my years of tip down draw) and then trying to choke my hand up on the handle while sort of hitching the knife down, an ineffective method - which is why I never used it. The correct way for fast deployment is to put my thumb deep into the pocket and use my index finger to pull from the end of the pocket clip. Pulling this way puts the knife in perfect position for an immediate opening, faster and much more comfortable than my tip down draws. Works amazingly well with my small hands and the relatively new knife I have been carrying, the super grippy, short-handled, very awesome Blackhawk Hornet II. Not sure if it would work as well for me with a longer folder, I don't have anything suitable to test though.
The only downside to the new carry method is the constant practice needed to get comfortable with it. I am constantly drawing the blade, trying to simulate drawing under stress, awkward positions, etc. Unfortunately, I got clumsy yesterday and took a piece out of my thumb on the edge - OUCH! I did a short video of my clumsiness that you can see here - feel free to laugh at me :)
How do you carry your knife?
Note added May 1, 2011 - After a bunch more test draws, I've figured out how I cut the hell out of my thumb - it's the dual thumb stud. On a very infrequent basis, the stud is catching on my jeans enough to actually open the blade slightly. When doing a fast draw, my thumb automatically moves into position and pushes on a slightly open blade, OUCH! I've never run into this problem before as I always carried my knives tip down. Not sure what I want to do here, can I grind the thumb stud down on the left draw side? That's the part that is catching....hmmm...this is such a shame, I love the knife but I'm going to have a hard time trusting it. That knife is VERY sharp, my cut could have been even worse with more pressure.
This gives a reason to consider a Spyderco blade - no thumb stud to catch on clothing. Except that I don't like that enormous spyderhole bulging out the blade.....more hmmmm.....I'm waiting for some mini AK-47's from Cold Steel to show up, going to try them out - they actually do this on purpose! At least I'll be ready for it!
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Cold Steel Recon Scout Knife Review
I finally received my Recon Scout (carbon sk-5) in the mail.
My first impressions:
This is a very solid knife, wow, incredibly thick blade. It looks like an excellent wood-splitting and chopping knife which is no surprise, I've seen many videos on it already. I find the handle to be very comfortable - unlike some, I actually prefer the grippy kraton style. It's a good size for my hands but I have small hands, I can see why some people may not like it. The knife feels surprisingly light and well balanced for such an enormous, thick blade.
The only real negative about the knife is that I absolutely hate the guard. Makes sense for a tactical/combat knife I suppose but detracts significantly from its usefulness as a survival blade. There is a small finger choil on the blade (too small for big fingers) that can't be used because of the large guard on the back of the knife. I can see why some people choose to cut off the back of the guard, only the front part needed for safety/combat and it makes the blade more functional. Even though the handle is adequately long, having that guard blocking my thumb makes it feel short and at in some grips, a little awkward in my hands.
I do wish that it had a bigger/more visible tang underneath, the same style as the Fallkniven A1 and others. I'm assuming the way Cold Steel did it is cheaper, I wonder how much tang is actually there. Hopefully that handle covering will be sufficient to keep water out....one of the disadvantages of not having removable handle scales.
The secure-ex sheath I give a mixed review on. I do like having a plastic sheath, it's pretty much a must for a carbon steel blade to reduce rust damage. The sheath has a quick detach belt loop, with a snap and velcro, and the belt loop can be put on either side of the knife which is great. However, it's not as sturdy or solid as a kydex sheath would be. Retention is good, you could propbably wear this upside down with just the sheath retention but I wouldn't trust it too much without added retention. If the guard was reduced in size you could have a sheath that is a lot more low-profile.
Overall I think this is a pretty great knife for the price. I like it so much that I bought two more. For someone that was getting a little down on carbon steel blades, I seem to be acquiring quite a few of them....
A quick comparison vs. the other knife I favorably reviewed, the Ka-Bar Heavy Bowie.
Price:
Ka-Bar $50
CS - $110
Blade length:
Ka-Bar - 9"
CS - 7.5"
Blade thickness:
Ka-Bar - .236"
CS - 5/16"
Sheath:
Ka-Bar - leather cordura, right hand side, dual snap retention, belt loop
CS - secure-ex, ambidextrous, sheath and snap retention, quick detach belt loop
The Ka-Bar Heavy Bowie is a longer blade but not as thick as the Cold Steel Recon Scout. I like the gaurd/handle better on the Ka-Bar for chopping and outdoor survival - the disadvantage is that I suspect that the Ka-Bar handle could be brittle if it takes a lot of impacts (I don't know this, it's just a suspicion) and I'm not sure if it could be easily replaced with something homemade. It's also an incredibly thick, bulky handle. I do like the thinner profile of the CS knife and I think it would be easier to replace the handle. The guard on the CS knife is awkward for my use and I may attempt to cut it smaller - there goes the warranty! :)
The CS knife has a better sheath but I would probably still replace it with a custom Kydex.
The CS knife is a good price but still twice as much as the Ka-Bar. Hard to say if it could be considered twice as much knife....there is also a San Mai version of the Recon Scout available at a higher cost, around $200.
I now own three large survival blades that I quite like (yes, that's too much money, I couldn't help myself): The Ka-Bar Heavy Bowie, the Cold Steel Recon Scout and the Fallkniven A1.
They all have a similar blade shape (bowie style) and similar functions - with vastly different prices. I would consider the A1, the smallest (6.3" blade) and most expensive of the three to be the best survival knife. The Ka-Bar is the best value and gives you an enormous blade. Where the Recon Scout seems to stand out is as an all-around blade. I can see it as an excellent choice for someone in the military, for woods use, for self defense (heavy to carry though) - knife begs to be used and abused. I wouldn't call it an inexpensive knife but it's not so pricey that you would hesitate to use it. If that guard was different I would probably rate it the highest as a survival knife, while keeping in mind that it doesn't have the A1's rust resistance and incredible edge.
Actually a 3-way comparison of those knives would make a good video. Might have to try that. Oh and for anyone that likes Fallkniven knives but wants a bigger blade, more in line with the other two, take a look at the beautiful - and EXPENSIVE - Fallkniven A2, with the 8" blade. If money was no object, that would be my knife of choice.
Note: I did some follow up comments here
Note 2 (added July 28, 2011): Finally made that comparison video - Large Survival Knife Comparison youtube video
My first impressions:
This is a very solid knife, wow, incredibly thick blade. It looks like an excellent wood-splitting and chopping knife which is no surprise, I've seen many videos on it already. I find the handle to be very comfortable - unlike some, I actually prefer the grippy kraton style. It's a good size for my hands but I have small hands, I can see why some people may not like it. The knife feels surprisingly light and well balanced for such an enormous, thick blade.
The only real negative about the knife is that I absolutely hate the guard. Makes sense for a tactical/combat knife I suppose but detracts significantly from its usefulness as a survival blade. There is a small finger choil on the blade (too small for big fingers) that can't be used because of the large guard on the back of the knife. I can see why some people choose to cut off the back of the guard, only the front part needed for safety/combat and it makes the blade more functional. Even though the handle is adequately long, having that guard blocking my thumb makes it feel short and at in some grips, a little awkward in my hands.
I do wish that it had a bigger/more visible tang underneath, the same style as the Fallkniven A1 and others. I'm assuming the way Cold Steel did it is cheaper, I wonder how much tang is actually there. Hopefully that handle covering will be sufficient to keep water out....one of the disadvantages of not having removable handle scales.
The secure-ex sheath I give a mixed review on. I do like having a plastic sheath, it's pretty much a must for a carbon steel blade to reduce rust damage. The sheath has a quick detach belt loop, with a snap and velcro, and the belt loop can be put on either side of the knife which is great. However, it's not as sturdy or solid as a kydex sheath would be. Retention is good, you could propbably wear this upside down with just the sheath retention but I wouldn't trust it too much without added retention. If the guard was reduced in size you could have a sheath that is a lot more low-profile.
Overall I think this is a pretty great knife for the price. I like it so much that I bought two more. For someone that was getting a little down on carbon steel blades, I seem to be acquiring quite a few of them....
A quick comparison vs. the other knife I favorably reviewed, the Ka-Bar Heavy Bowie.
Price:
Ka-Bar $50
CS - $110
Blade length:
Ka-Bar - 9"
CS - 7.5"
Blade thickness:
Ka-Bar - .236"
CS - 5/16"
Sheath:
Ka-Bar - leather cordura, right hand side, dual snap retention, belt loop
CS - secure-ex, ambidextrous, sheath and snap retention, quick detach belt loop
The Ka-Bar Heavy Bowie is a longer blade but not as thick as the Cold Steel Recon Scout. I like the gaurd/handle better on the Ka-Bar for chopping and outdoor survival - the disadvantage is that I suspect that the Ka-Bar handle could be brittle if it takes a lot of impacts (I don't know this, it's just a suspicion) and I'm not sure if it could be easily replaced with something homemade. It's also an incredibly thick, bulky handle. I do like the thinner profile of the CS knife and I think it would be easier to replace the handle. The guard on the CS knife is awkward for my use and I may attempt to cut it smaller - there goes the warranty! :)
The CS knife has a better sheath but I would probably still replace it with a custom Kydex.
The CS knife is a good price but still twice as much as the Ka-Bar. Hard to say if it could be considered twice as much knife....there is also a San Mai version of the Recon Scout available at a higher cost, around $200.
I now own three large survival blades that I quite like (yes, that's too much money, I couldn't help myself): The Ka-Bar Heavy Bowie, the Cold Steel Recon Scout and the Fallkniven A1.
They all have a similar blade shape (bowie style) and similar functions - with vastly different prices. I would consider the A1, the smallest (6.3" blade) and most expensive of the three to be the best survival knife. The Ka-Bar is the best value and gives you an enormous blade. Where the Recon Scout seems to stand out is as an all-around blade. I can see it as an excellent choice for someone in the military, for woods use, for self defense (heavy to carry though) - knife begs to be used and abused. I wouldn't call it an inexpensive knife but it's not so pricey that you would hesitate to use it. If that guard was different I would probably rate it the highest as a survival knife, while keeping in mind that it doesn't have the A1's rust resistance and incredible edge.
Actually a 3-way comparison of those knives would make a good video. Might have to try that. Oh and for anyone that likes Fallkniven knives but wants a bigger blade, more in line with the other two, take a look at the beautiful - and EXPENSIVE - Fallkniven A2, with the 8" blade. If money was no object, that would be my knife of choice.
Note: I did some follow up comments here
Note 2 (added July 28, 2011): Finally made that comparison video - Large Survival Knife Comparison youtube video
Monday, April 18, 2011
My EDC bag for work
Over the years I have spent a lot of time and a very stupid amount of money trying to find the "perfect" carry bag for work. I've been working basically the same job at the same location for 12 years so you'd think I'd have figured it out a little sooner.....
Part of the reason that it is hard for me to find the right bag (or other item) is that I have to do everything mail order due to my remote location. Also, there has been a lot of cool bags that have come out over the last year and I have to admit it, I'm a gear shopaholic. It's a bit embarrassing but I am getting it under control now.
One of the first mistakes I made was that I never sat down and make a list of what I wanted, what I might need, and what would be useful for my situation. Everyone's needs are different depending on where you live, where you work, your transportation methods, what reasons you want an EDC bag for, etc.
So, about 12 years too late, here is my list.
My situation:
- I work a full time shift work job, about 50 hours a week. I also do contract work at odd hours.
- I live in a small town and generally work out near the local airport, about 12 km out of town, just off the highway.
- I don't need to carry much (if any) work paperwork back and forth. Pretty much all my work stays at work.
- Transportation is a big issue. For the contract work I would normally use my own truck but, for my full time job, I always use a shared company vehicle that I can't store anything in. Frequently other people travel to work with me. That's a big part of the reason I have been looking for a perfect bag, I can't keep a large ready to go heavy pack in the back.
- I do have a locker at work, full size, that I can keep anything in. Has a lock.
What I need a bag or bags for:
- Carry textbooks back and forth (full time student) and occasionally my Dell mini laptop. Usually my netbook stays in one place but I do carry my books around a lot.
- Carry food back and forth, coffee thermos, nalgene water bottle. There is a fridge at work and I also keep a lot of food in my locker and the fridge to make meals but I usually bring out at least one small meal.
Yep, that's a pretty small need list and could be well served by a lot of cheap bags. I think it's a mistake to get too wrapped up in thinking of all the ways you are going to need to escape to the woods. Of course, then we get to my want list! :)
What I want a bag or bags for is to have something I can use as a "get home bag" in the event of a disaster of some kind. I am not looking for a so called "bug out bag" as there just isn't any way I can reasonably carry that much gear unless I was driving my own vehicle. Plus I have a family and my main focus would be getting back home to them.
Other features I want:
- Comfortable to carry.
- Lots of separated compartments.
- Some level of water proof, at least enough not to get soaked from snow melting on it when I bring it inside.
- Options for carrying a variety of safety and travel items (more on that later).
- Something I can carry for a 12km+ walk.
- Tough, able to take abuse.
- Easy to get in and out of a car with. Partly just because I'm going to be carrying this on my lap a lot but also in recognition of the high likelihood of vehicle accidents/roll overs. The road I travel is pretty bad, lots of steep drop offs, no real shoulder, a single lane highway. We also have 8-9 months of snow on the ground here and the road isn't maintained to a very high standard. People hit the ditch here all the time. There are a lot of spots where no one would notice and, even if they did, the road may not see another car for hours at night.
A list of some of the items I am carrying in my bag, in random order:
- first aid kit
- hand and foot warmers
- cell phone
- full face mask
- warm gloves/mitts (seasonal it is work gloves)
- 500 ml bottle water plus a 1L nalgene that is usually full
- water treatment tablets
- mora knife with keychain light, whistle, and compass on a neck cord
- AAA lights - streamlight stylus pro and a streamlight headlamp
- duct tape (removed from the roll)
- mini maglight LED (AA)
- spare batteries (in the plastic maxpedition volta battery case, not using the pouch)
- sunglasses in maxpedition molle case
- glass breaker
- box cutter
- mutli head mini screwdriver
- mini hacksaw
- pen, pencil, notepad
- spare set of keys
- USB keydrive
- bandanna
- some cash and change
- wallet
- eye drops, dental floss, gum
- two lighters, strike anywhere matches, tinder
- folding knife
- Cold Steel SRK knife
That list is sometimes expanded on and is seasonal. I might change the knives, I might add in spare socks, toque, additional first aid supplies, etc.
For my American readers, you might notice a very important item that is not there - a handgun or some other weapon/defensive item. It's illegal to carry a handgun in Canada without an ATT (authorization to transport) and those are only issued for transporting a gun to the range, to a gun smith, etc. It's essentially impossible to get one for personal protection. You can carry some long guns (with the correct license, paperwork and storage) but that's not possible for me, I'm not travelling in my vehicle.
Originally I used to carry a backpack to work, more of a daypack size but with proper waist and sternum straps. Those packs were usually too small and not really designed for what I wanted to do with them. Larger backpacks were too awkward, I'd get the straps tangled and larger packs tend to be very long making them hard to carry on my lap or fit into small spaces. Regardless, pretty much any camping pack isn't really going to have the compartments and attachments I was looking for. Another issue was carrying one in winter, I usually wear an enormous parka and it's tough to get them on and off. The final issue is that the stuff in a pack tends to get bounced all over the place when you are carrying the pack in a car. I've dumped my lunch a few times or had a leaky thermos that made a real mess.
Several years ago I got a Maxpedition tactical attache (operator?). I liked all the pouches and at that time, I used to carry a lot of paperwork back and forth so it was a good briefcase as well. The strap stunk, the cheap plastic snap attachment broke, but I put a better one on. I used to carry it and a bag for my lunch.
Once my job changed (same company, different position), I didn't need to carry paperwork around and so I went back to a backpack for a while. Later on I came across some other Maxpedition bags on...youtube maybe? I was quite impressed with the capabilities and my mom ended up buying me a Malaga Gearslinger for a birthday present (very nice of her).
Loved the bag at the time, loved the PALS webbing and went a little nuts buying all sorts of extra pouches. The problem with the bag was that once I started adding all those pouches it just got ridiculously enormous. Plus that bag actually had a molle strap tear and was getting a little worn on the carry strap - that did piss me off but I gave them another chance and bought a Kodiak gearslinger.
The Kodiak was a better option for me, more versatile out of the box without the need to buy a whole bunch of extra pouches. I could carry my laptop easily, textbooks, lots of pockets for stuff, etc. I wasn't totally sold on the length of it though. One thing I liked about the Malaga was that if you carried it in the front, it didn't block your arms. This way I figured I could carry it with my heavy BOB pack (which stays at home) or a standard pack that I keep in my work locker, with the Malaga slung in front. The Kodiak is too long for that. I could have gone back to the Malaga, I tried, but the carry strap on it is much less comfortable than the Kodiak and I just didn't like the bag anymore. The Malaga's carry strap is ambidextrous which is sorta nice (switch shoulders as it gets sore) but the Kodiak's one way only strap is much, much more comfortable. I searched for something that had the size I wanted (more or less) with the carry strap I liked and I again bought a maxpedition bag - got a very cheap price on amazon.com. My sister had sent me a gift certificate at Christmas and it paid for the bag, it was only $50!!! And yes, it was authentic.
The bag was yet another gearslinger (yes, this is getting ridiculous), I got the Noatak gearslinger. That's a very cool bag and it was such an amazing price I had to buy it. Was on the small side but I could still squeeze my Dell mini in there and I started carrying a separate bag for food and stuff. I figured that if some bad shit went down I would ditch the other bag and go with the Noatak. The problem with the Noatak was that with the same amount of items it actually felt heavier than the Kodiak. Too heavy to walk any serious distance, too sore on the shoulder. Turns out that Kodiak's length was the difference, it would sit low enough that my back and butt was actually taking some of the weight! Plus, I didn't really want to carry two separate bags around, too much crap all over the place.
The big problem is that I didn't clearly evaluate what I wanted and why and ended up with some very, very cool bags - that were useless to me. Why? Try and walk with a sling pack 12km with ANYTHING in it, then you'll see why. Youtube is riddled with guys that are talking about how they take these things in the woods on hikes. Either those are men of iron or they are completely full of BS. All I know is that I can't do it. I tried a couple of times and it is just way too sore. I encourage you to do the same, load up some water, some food, some of your favorite tools, and take that sling pack on a hike in the woods - or even across town. If it works for you, great, but I suspect it won't.
Now I have a Malaga that's a bit trashed that I don't want/need and can't even sell, a Kodiak that is now relegated to an airline travel bag (more on that in another post), and a Noatak I have no use for. If you have a CCW permit for a handgun, I think it would be a good bag for that, no use for me though.
What's left then? The backpack? Well, that's still not really what I want, nothing has changed there. Yes, I could look at at PALS-compatible pack, maybe one of the maxpedition ones, but all the same backpack annoyances still apply. However, once I finally made my wants/needs list, I had my (current, subject to change!) answer: a patrol bag. I used to use one regularly during my stint as an auxiliary police officer, very handy bag - compartments to keep things separated, the stiff rectangular design keeps it upright and keeps things from being jostled, easy to sit one on your lap as a passenger, TONS of space for something that you can sit on your lap. Good carry handle and a sling strap. But Jon, what about that sling strap? You said slings are no good for the distance you might have to walk?
I'm glad I asked me that!
Here's where maxpedition came through for me, with their Centurion Patrol Bag. It's similar to a standard patrol bag but has a lot more pouches and two features that made all the difference: 1L nalgene compatible pouches and PALS webbing, neither of which my old patrol bag had (I haven't seen any other brand that has it so far).
The water bottle pouches are important because they save room inside the pack. I like to carry a big water bottle back and forth, either a nalgene or a steel one, plus a large thermos and a small plastic water bottle (backup in case the nalgene isn't full). Other patrol bags don't have big enough pouches for large water bottles so they either get attached outside, banging around, or they go inside taking up space and potentially leaking all over your stuff.
Having PALS webbing allows you to attach pouches, which is nice, but it is those attachments that answer the long-dstance sling carry question. The answer is that I wouldn't carry this bag at all if I had to walk home, I'd ditch it. It's OK to carry for a short distance but would be terrible for a long hike. I have attached an Octa Versipack to the top of the patrol bag - the Octa has PALS webbing on the back which allows me to attach it securely. You could also put the Octa or a cheaper fanny pack in your bag but I like being able to attach it to the outside, leaving more room for my personal items (textbooks, laptop, etc) inside. This way I get my two bag system without having to struggle carrying two bags.
Most of the items (except the knives) that I view as essential are actually kept in the Octa. Duplicate or less important items are kept in the patrol bag. In the event I ditch the patrol bag, the very comfortable and long hike-friendly Octa will be my get home bag. The small plastic back up water bottle that I carry is kept on the top of the bag where most people would put a flashlight, and I have two mini rollypoly pouches on the side for carrying more water. Since all the weight is taken on the hips, it's no problem to use it for an extended hike - or walk home in my case. There is more than enough room to carry essential survival items, especially since I would carry my mora knife around my neck and the SRK attaches to the belt strap.
The drawback to this system? Cost. Both of those bags are VERY expensive. Of course, so were all the other bags that didn't work for me! Now you could probably find some cheaper ways to do this but these bags meet my needs and wants quite well. I think this will be a durable system that will last me for years to come. Though with my track record, I'll probably replace it next week! :)
So, what's your system?
Part of the reason that it is hard for me to find the right bag (or other item) is that I have to do everything mail order due to my remote location. Also, there has been a lot of cool bags that have come out over the last year and I have to admit it, I'm a gear shopaholic. It's a bit embarrassing but I am getting it under control now.
One of the first mistakes I made was that I never sat down and make a list of what I wanted, what I might need, and what would be useful for my situation. Everyone's needs are different depending on where you live, where you work, your transportation methods, what reasons you want an EDC bag for, etc.
So, about 12 years too late, here is my list.
My situation:
- I work a full time shift work job, about 50 hours a week. I also do contract work at odd hours.
- I live in a small town and generally work out near the local airport, about 12 km out of town, just off the highway.
- I don't need to carry much (if any) work paperwork back and forth. Pretty much all my work stays at work.
- Transportation is a big issue. For the contract work I would normally use my own truck but, for my full time job, I always use a shared company vehicle that I can't store anything in. Frequently other people travel to work with me. That's a big part of the reason I have been looking for a perfect bag, I can't keep a large ready to go heavy pack in the back.
- I do have a locker at work, full size, that I can keep anything in. Has a lock.
What I need a bag or bags for:
- Carry textbooks back and forth (full time student) and occasionally my Dell mini laptop. Usually my netbook stays in one place but I do carry my books around a lot.
- Carry food back and forth, coffee thermos, nalgene water bottle. There is a fridge at work and I also keep a lot of food in my locker and the fridge to make meals but I usually bring out at least one small meal.
Yep, that's a pretty small need list and could be well served by a lot of cheap bags. I think it's a mistake to get too wrapped up in thinking of all the ways you are going to need to escape to the woods. Of course, then we get to my want list! :)
What I want a bag or bags for is to have something I can use as a "get home bag" in the event of a disaster of some kind. I am not looking for a so called "bug out bag" as there just isn't any way I can reasonably carry that much gear unless I was driving my own vehicle. Plus I have a family and my main focus would be getting back home to them.
Other features I want:
- Comfortable to carry.
- Lots of separated compartments.
- Some level of water proof, at least enough not to get soaked from snow melting on it when I bring it inside.
- Options for carrying a variety of safety and travel items (more on that later).
- Something I can carry for a 12km+ walk.
- Tough, able to take abuse.
- Easy to get in and out of a car with. Partly just because I'm going to be carrying this on my lap a lot but also in recognition of the high likelihood of vehicle accidents/roll overs. The road I travel is pretty bad, lots of steep drop offs, no real shoulder, a single lane highway. We also have 8-9 months of snow on the ground here and the road isn't maintained to a very high standard. People hit the ditch here all the time. There are a lot of spots where no one would notice and, even if they did, the road may not see another car for hours at night.
A list of some of the items I am carrying in my bag, in random order:
- first aid kit
- hand and foot warmers
- cell phone
- full face mask
- warm gloves/mitts (seasonal it is work gloves)
- 500 ml bottle water plus a 1L nalgene that is usually full
- water treatment tablets
- mora knife with keychain light, whistle, and compass on a neck cord
- AAA lights - streamlight stylus pro and a streamlight headlamp
- duct tape (removed from the roll)
- mini maglight LED (AA)
- spare batteries (in the plastic maxpedition volta battery case, not using the pouch)
- sunglasses in maxpedition molle case
- glass breaker
- box cutter
- mutli head mini screwdriver
- mini hacksaw
- pen, pencil, notepad
- spare set of keys
- USB keydrive
- bandanna
- some cash and change
- wallet
- eye drops, dental floss, gum
- two lighters, strike anywhere matches, tinder
- folding knife
- Cold Steel SRK knife
That list is sometimes expanded on and is seasonal. I might change the knives, I might add in spare socks, toque, additional first aid supplies, etc.
For my American readers, you might notice a very important item that is not there - a handgun or some other weapon/defensive item. It's illegal to carry a handgun in Canada without an ATT (authorization to transport) and those are only issued for transporting a gun to the range, to a gun smith, etc. It's essentially impossible to get one for personal protection. You can carry some long guns (with the correct license, paperwork and storage) but that's not possible for me, I'm not travelling in my vehicle.
Originally I used to carry a backpack to work, more of a daypack size but with proper waist and sternum straps. Those packs were usually too small and not really designed for what I wanted to do with them. Larger backpacks were too awkward, I'd get the straps tangled and larger packs tend to be very long making them hard to carry on my lap or fit into small spaces. Regardless, pretty much any camping pack isn't really going to have the compartments and attachments I was looking for. Another issue was carrying one in winter, I usually wear an enormous parka and it's tough to get them on and off. The final issue is that the stuff in a pack tends to get bounced all over the place when you are carrying the pack in a car. I've dumped my lunch a few times or had a leaky thermos that made a real mess.
Several years ago I got a Maxpedition tactical attache (operator?). I liked all the pouches and at that time, I used to carry a lot of paperwork back and forth so it was a good briefcase as well. The strap stunk, the cheap plastic snap attachment broke, but I put a better one on. I used to carry it and a bag for my lunch.
Once my job changed (same company, different position), I didn't need to carry paperwork around and so I went back to a backpack for a while. Later on I came across some other Maxpedition bags on...youtube maybe? I was quite impressed with the capabilities and my mom ended up buying me a Malaga Gearslinger for a birthday present (very nice of her).
Loved the bag at the time, loved the PALS webbing and went a little nuts buying all sorts of extra pouches. The problem with the bag was that once I started adding all those pouches it just got ridiculously enormous. Plus that bag actually had a molle strap tear and was getting a little worn on the carry strap - that did piss me off but I gave them another chance and bought a Kodiak gearslinger.
The Kodiak was a better option for me, more versatile out of the box without the need to buy a whole bunch of extra pouches. I could carry my laptop easily, textbooks, lots of pockets for stuff, etc. I wasn't totally sold on the length of it though. One thing I liked about the Malaga was that if you carried it in the front, it didn't block your arms. This way I figured I could carry it with my heavy BOB pack (which stays at home) or a standard pack that I keep in my work locker, with the Malaga slung in front. The Kodiak is too long for that. I could have gone back to the Malaga, I tried, but the carry strap on it is much less comfortable than the Kodiak and I just didn't like the bag anymore. The Malaga's carry strap is ambidextrous which is sorta nice (switch shoulders as it gets sore) but the Kodiak's one way only strap is much, much more comfortable. I searched for something that had the size I wanted (more or less) with the carry strap I liked and I again bought a maxpedition bag - got a very cheap price on amazon.com. My sister had sent me a gift certificate at Christmas and it paid for the bag, it was only $50!!! And yes, it was authentic.
The bag was yet another gearslinger (yes, this is getting ridiculous), I got the Noatak gearslinger. That's a very cool bag and it was such an amazing price I had to buy it. Was on the small side but I could still squeeze my Dell mini in there and I started carrying a separate bag for food and stuff. I figured that if some bad shit went down I would ditch the other bag and go with the Noatak. The problem with the Noatak was that with the same amount of items it actually felt heavier than the Kodiak. Too heavy to walk any serious distance, too sore on the shoulder. Turns out that Kodiak's length was the difference, it would sit low enough that my back and butt was actually taking some of the weight! Plus, I didn't really want to carry two separate bags around, too much crap all over the place.
The big problem is that I didn't clearly evaluate what I wanted and why and ended up with some very, very cool bags - that were useless to me. Why? Try and walk with a sling pack 12km with ANYTHING in it, then you'll see why. Youtube is riddled with guys that are talking about how they take these things in the woods on hikes. Either those are men of iron or they are completely full of BS. All I know is that I can't do it. I tried a couple of times and it is just way too sore. I encourage you to do the same, load up some water, some food, some of your favorite tools, and take that sling pack on a hike in the woods - or even across town. If it works for you, great, but I suspect it won't.
Now I have a Malaga that's a bit trashed that I don't want/need and can't even sell, a Kodiak that is now relegated to an airline travel bag (more on that in another post), and a Noatak I have no use for. If you have a CCW permit for a handgun, I think it would be a good bag for that, no use for me though.
What's left then? The backpack? Well, that's still not really what I want, nothing has changed there. Yes, I could look at at PALS-compatible pack, maybe one of the maxpedition ones, but all the same backpack annoyances still apply. However, once I finally made my wants/needs list, I had my (current, subject to change!) answer: a patrol bag. I used to use one regularly during my stint as an auxiliary police officer, very handy bag - compartments to keep things separated, the stiff rectangular design keeps it upright and keeps things from being jostled, easy to sit one on your lap as a passenger, TONS of space for something that you can sit on your lap. Good carry handle and a sling strap. But Jon, what about that sling strap? You said slings are no good for the distance you might have to walk?
I'm glad I asked me that!
Here's where maxpedition came through for me, with their Centurion Patrol Bag. It's similar to a standard patrol bag but has a lot more pouches and two features that made all the difference: 1L nalgene compatible pouches and PALS webbing, neither of which my old patrol bag had (I haven't seen any other brand that has it so far).
The water bottle pouches are important because they save room inside the pack. I like to carry a big water bottle back and forth, either a nalgene or a steel one, plus a large thermos and a small plastic water bottle (backup in case the nalgene isn't full). Other patrol bags don't have big enough pouches for large water bottles so they either get attached outside, banging around, or they go inside taking up space and potentially leaking all over your stuff.
Having PALS webbing allows you to attach pouches, which is nice, but it is those attachments that answer the long-dstance sling carry question. The answer is that I wouldn't carry this bag at all if I had to walk home, I'd ditch it. It's OK to carry for a short distance but would be terrible for a long hike. I have attached an Octa Versipack to the top of the patrol bag - the Octa has PALS webbing on the back which allows me to attach it securely. You could also put the Octa or a cheaper fanny pack in your bag but I like being able to attach it to the outside, leaving more room for my personal items (textbooks, laptop, etc) inside. This way I get my two bag system without having to struggle carrying two bags.
Most of the items (except the knives) that I view as essential are actually kept in the Octa. Duplicate or less important items are kept in the patrol bag. In the event I ditch the patrol bag, the very comfortable and long hike-friendly Octa will be my get home bag. The small plastic back up water bottle that I carry is kept on the top of the bag where most people would put a flashlight, and I have two mini rollypoly pouches on the side for carrying more water. Since all the weight is taken on the hips, it's no problem to use it for an extended hike - or walk home in my case. There is more than enough room to carry essential survival items, especially since I would carry my mora knife around my neck and the SRK attaches to the belt strap.
The drawback to this system? Cost. Both of those bags are VERY expensive. Of course, so were all the other bags that didn't work for me! Now you could probably find some cheaper ways to do this but these bags meet my needs and wants quite well. I think this will be a durable system that will last me for years to come. Though with my track record, I'll probably replace it next week! :)
So, what's your system?
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Spring
Another lovely spring evening in the arctic. The moon is beautiful right now, a fairly clear night and a balmy -16 (that's 3F for all the Americans out there). This is a nice time of year, long hours of sun, reasonably warm temperatures - AND NO BUGS! The mosquitoes and various types of biting flies are truly awful up here. You'd have to see it to believe it.
I remember a summer several years back when a pilot from Texas was up here and stopped in to ask me a few questions about the area (I used to provide weather briefings). He said he wanted to do some fishing, was going to get a boat and go out on the water (even worse out there). I warned him about the bugs and suggested he get a bug jacket and face covering, at least one layer, and get a lot of repellent. He was a big man and crouched down a little to give me an incredulous look. He said, in his Texas drawl, "Son, I've been fishing in northern Ontario and Manitoba, y'all got nothing I haven't seen before."
Two days later he stopped in for some weather information and it was all I could do not to start laughing in front of him. His face was a swollen mass, I could hardly even make out his features. Seems he'd gone out with no protection, not even bug spray.
"Son, I ain't never seen something like that before. That just ain't right."
I heartily agree! :)
As beautiful as the summers are here and as awesome as the bush is, it's almost impossible to enjoy the area due to the bugs. If you travel up north, be very very very prepared for that!!! Invest in a bug jacket, wear layered clothing that covers your body and be able to close off clothing openings as needed. I'm really not kidding.
I remember a summer several years back when a pilot from Texas was up here and stopped in to ask me a few questions about the area (I used to provide weather briefings). He said he wanted to do some fishing, was going to get a boat and go out on the water (even worse out there). I warned him about the bugs and suggested he get a bug jacket and face covering, at least one layer, and get a lot of repellent. He was a big man and crouched down a little to give me an incredulous look. He said, in his Texas drawl, "Son, I've been fishing in northern Ontario and Manitoba, y'all got nothing I haven't seen before."
Two days later he stopped in for some weather information and it was all I could do not to start laughing in front of him. His face was a swollen mass, I could hardly even make out his features. Seems he'd gone out with no protection, not even bug spray.
"Son, I ain't never seen something like that before. That just ain't right."
I heartily agree! :)
As beautiful as the summers are here and as awesome as the bush is, it's almost impossible to enjoy the area due to the bugs. If you travel up north, be very very very prepared for that!!! Invest in a bug jacket, wear layered clothing that covers your body and be able to close off clothing openings as needed. I'm really not kidding.
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Women's Self Defense
I recently came across a very interesting person on the American Apocalypse blog. She had a made a very cool comment on being proud of her lifestyle and I checked out her profile and blog: My Path to Freedom.
Note: If you read this Jennie, I will remove your blog info if you'd rather not have it mentioned.
She has a lot of great information on homesteading and gardening.
She had also posted something on women and wrestling that caught my attention. I hadn't intended to write much if anything on martial sports or combat on here, I'm no expert, but it is a topic dear to my heart. Seems there was an effort to keep girls from competing with boys in wrestling in her home state. She made some great points:
And in the comments section:
I've seen a lot of women's self defense classes and I've known many women martial artists. Almost universally, the training that I've seen them receive is of little to no value for self defense purposes.
When it comes to wrestling, I think it's a great sport for women to be involved with. It's just a great sport period, an amazing emphasis on physical fitness and a lot of fun (yes, I am a former competitor and coach, rather biased). And considering the nature of assault on women, it's a lot more practical for them to have some idea of what it's like to physically struggle against a man then to practice punching someone with keys in their fingers!!! Or doing 10,000 katas.
A couple of years back a female friend asked my what I thought of women doing martial arts or self defense training. She was concerned about being attacked out a party for example. This is some of the comments I sent to her, I thought some might find it useful:
*What I've seen in Chinese/Japanese arts for weapons fighting is...unimpressive, especially with knives. Defense against knives is especially bad as taught in your neighbourhood mcdojo. I would look at basic, streamlined styles that are either related to Filipino martial arts (Michael Janich) or western European styles (fencing, bowie knife fighting, i.e James Keating).
For example, it was once pointed out to me that Aikido is one of the best martial arts for defense and that some styles (i.e Tomiki) have a heavy focus on knife defense. They do regular tournaments. So......the rules are:
Well, that's realistic, for sure! Nice rule set....I don't know what they are trying to do here. It's an odd sport without an ounce of practical application. I don't see it as fitness related or traditional either. Doesn't look like fun. Whatever it is, I hope NO ONE IN THEIR RIGHT MIND thinks it is practical or effective! Just look at it in action! Imagine if that was a real knife.
Randori Final Southern Region Kyu Grade Open
Aikido Tournament 2010 Campbell 006.MPG
Aikido Tournament 2010 Campbell 001.MPG
No doubt people will say I am picking on Aikido. Not to worry, I think many other martial arts are just as silly :)
Note: If you read this Jennie, I will remove your blog info if you'd rather not have it mentioned.
She has a lot of great information on homesteading and gardening.
She had also posted something on women and wrestling that caught my attention. I hadn't intended to write much if anything on martial sports or combat on here, I'm no expert, but it is a topic dear to my heart. Seems there was an effort to keep girls from competing with boys in wrestling in her home state. She made some great points:
"Women need to know how to fight. Think how many hurts and abuses could be avoided if more women had adequate knowledge of defensive fighting. How dare you tell girls they shouldn't wrestle, that they shouldn't fight boys. Nearly 1 in 3 American women will be physically abused in their lifetimes. Do you have a wife, a mother and a daughter? Chances are one of them will face it. I'd argue we should be teaching wrestling in every high school to every girl that will learn. AND teaching them to use it against both genders."
And in the comments section:
"you say men are trained to treat women gently, but the statistics on physical abuse of women, (usually by a male she's living with) shoot holes in that view of how-the-world-works. I don't doubt that YOU were taught that, and maybe your sons/brothers too, but fact is, that's sadly not universal. I'm not advocating that that sort of training stop. I don't see any disconnect at all between teaching boys to respect girls AND teaching girls how to defend themselves from boys that don't get the lesson."
I've seen a lot of women's self defense classes and I've known many women martial artists. Almost universally, the training that I've seen them receive is of little to no value for self defense purposes.
When it comes to wrestling, I think it's a great sport for women to be involved with. It's just a great sport period, an amazing emphasis on physical fitness and a lot of fun (yes, I am a former competitor and coach, rather biased). And considering the nature of assault on women, it's a lot more practical for them to have some idea of what it's like to physically struggle against a man then to practice punching someone with keys in their fingers!!! Or doing 10,000 katas.
A couple of years back a female friend asked my what I thought of women doing martial arts or self defense training. She was concerned about being attacked out a party for example. This is some of the comments I sent to her, I thought some might find it useful:
That's a very interesting question. Better discussed in person probably but I will do my best.
I don't like "women's self defense" classes. Or at least all of the ones I have seen and the majority I am aware of. A lot of them are taught by martial artists or by those with past martial arts training. Sometimes they are run by cops. Or, even worse, they are run by women trained by those people, making the training even more watered down. Or dear god, MMA enthusiasts *shudder*
A lot of this goes back to my (discussion board) old post about martial arts. It's very difficult to take someone seriously, who is teaching you something that is supposed to be "life or death" related, who has never even been in a fight. Even a dumb school fight. It's one thing to learn a martial art from these people. Their are many reasons to learn martial arts besides fighting. I (mostly) respect that even if it's not my thing. But a self defense class is supposed to be about saving your life, not about a 500 year old tradition.
The stuff that you learn in a karate class, for example, doesn't work for shit in 3 years of training. It's not any easier to use it when you learn it over a weekend.
Also, police training from what I have seen doesn't work very well for the cops (men or women) that use it. There training in hands on techniques is rudimentary and, if any good, job specific. It isn't going to translate well into what a woman needs to do.
Martial artists, myself most definitely included, often have an unrealistic focus on empty hand techniques. Real fighting should always focus on weapons first. That should be your base. Never fight someone bare handed unless you have no choice or have a damn good reason. Also recognize that if you are attacked by someone that wants to hurt or rape you, there is a very good chance that person will have a weapon.
Now, most women will most likely never be attacked by a stranger so it is hard to say how much time they should put into this. That's a personal decision. But there are some simple techniques to learn that can be learned over the course of an afternoon (better over a weekend) that could be practiced and that may, just may, help if they feel that fighting back is the best option (note: I'm referring to combato here or related systems).
Awareness is of course the best defense since, as you have pointed out, the greatest risk to a woman is from family, friends and newly met acquantainces. So. If I was going to "train" someone from a self defense standpoint, a few realities would need to be looked at and/or considered. Following all of these may be unrealistic but you should at least be questioning some of these things. Or think about them.
1. Men have all the advantages. You can't expect to fight them and win (it's not impossible but it's really unlikely).
2. You are probably going to be attacked by someone when vulnerable and have no reason to expect attack. A party at a friend's house where the booze is flowing is probably more risky than a parkade (for most of us middle class folk) in terms of getting sexually assaulted.
3. Know your friends. Think about who you drink with.
4. Always tell someone where you are going, who are you are going out with and when you expect to be back.
5. Don't accept alcohol or drugs from a man. Personally I no longer drink and have never done drugs, best to avoid mind-altering poisons altogether.
6. Don't let some guy drive you home.
7. If you walk into a place and don't feel comfortable, leave. Don't be pushed around by people's opinions.
8. Carry a cell phone everywhere you go.
9. Carry your purse everywhere you go.
10. Always know where you are and how to get home.
11. Always have cab fare.
12. Don't crash at houses.
13. Don't think that you will be able to run away if there is trouble. You are probably wearing party clothes and probably couldn't outrun a man anyways. I'm in terrible cardio condition but I can still outrun most women, even those in good shape, in a very short sprint. If I am sober and they aren't, it gets worse. Also, fear makes it difficult to breathe and will degrade athletic performance.
14. If you must fight, fight. Rip off his ears, put a thumb through his eye, tear off his balls etc. It's not sparring.
15. Always look for a weapon. USE IT!! He's going to be bigger and stronger and most likely took you by surprise. You need to even the odds.
16. Scream your bloody head off. If you can. Hard enough to breathe when you are scared and struggling.
As for actual fighting and fight preparation, I could go on quite a bit but some helpful things for women:
1. Get involved in a contact sport or at least a physical one. Learn what it's like to be physical and to get hit (wrestling, rugby, lacrosse).
2. Find good training that meets your needs - time, size, etc. Also, if some esoteric art takes 10 years of 3 hr/day training to learn, move on!
3. Practice fighting when you are drunk and/or stoned (I don't take drugs but if you do, take that into consideration).
4. Train as much as possible in clothes that are like what you wear when you go out.
5. Always carry a weapon where you can - three is better. In some places carrying weapons is illegal. I don't know what to suggest there, you'll have to make your own decisions.
6. Practice pulling them out and using them.
7. Practice awareness - of people and of weapons. LOOK at people around you.
8. Learn to shoot, even if you don't carry (note: if you can legally carry, do it!) The more firearms familiarity, the better. He may have a gun, you need to understand the limitations of firearms and how to use it if you take it away from him.
9. Learn (practical) knife fighting - super high priority.*
10. Get in shape.
11. Practice running in your going out clothes (or something similar). Then consider what you wear on a night out, if it's a good idea.
12. Find people that will do proper simulation training - very physical, at night, outdoors, etc.
13. Let someone slap you in the face. See what it really feels like and then consider what getting punched in the face is like. etc.
That's sort of a starting point. Again, it depends how serious you are. It may seem over the top but I know many women that claim to take martial arts or self defense classes to feel safe. Why not put the same effort in and try and learn something that will actually work?
Education without experience is....I dunno. It's not real. You can tell someone something until they are blue in the face, I don't think most humans will really process it without at least very good simulations.
*What I've seen in Chinese/Japanese arts for weapons fighting is...unimpressive, especially with knives. Defense against knives is especially bad as taught in your neighbourhood mcdojo. I would look at basic, streamlined styles that are either related to Filipino martial arts (Michael Janich) or western European styles (fencing, bowie knife fighting, i.e James Keating).
For example, it was once pointed out to me that Aikido is one of the best martial arts for defense and that some styles (i.e Tomiki) have a heavy focus on knife defense. They do regular tournaments. So......the rules are:
Tanto Techniques
A. Criteria for tsuki-ari (effective tanto techniques) The pre-condition for tsuki-ari (effective tanto stabbing) is that Tanto’s arm must be stretched when the rubber knife lands in Toshu’s body. If one stabs with his elbow hooked at a right angle, it will never be accepted as an effective one.
1 Specific conditions:
a. The rubber knife must land in the part of the opponent’s body between armpit and belt levels. This includes the front, back, and both sides of the body, as well as the upper arms. However, the belt itself is not included in the target area.
b. Tanto must step in and stab with his back straight and his balance stable.
c. The rubber knife must touch the opponent’s body at an approximately 90-degree angle. But this particular condition does not have to be satisfied when Toshu is either off balance, has assumed an undesirable posture, or has already fallen on the mat.
d. Rubber-knife stabbing should never endanger the safety of the opponent. Particularly, the type of stabbing with the fist landing directly on the opponent’s body is subject to penalization. However, if Toshu comes in without proper taisabaki, it is considered to be his fault.
2 Tanto is allowed to stab the opponent’s flank by swinging his tanto from the outside (“Mawashi-tsuki”) as long as all the conditions in #1 are satisfied.
3 Tanto is allowed to stab the fallen opponent once right after the latter has fallen as long as all the conditions in #1 are satisfied.
4 When Tanto scores a tsukiari point at the same time that Toshu scores a yuko or greater point in techniques, then the tsukiari point will take precedence over the toshu technique.
B. Inadequate (ineffective) or invalid stabbing
1. Tanto techniques that do not satisfy the above conditions will not be counted as effective stabs.
2. Tanto techniques will also be regarded as invalid unless the tip of the rubber knife has clearly touched Toshu’s body and Tanto has stabbed with proper foot movement.
Well, that's realistic, for sure! Nice rule set....I don't know what they are trying to do here. It's an odd sport without an ounce of practical application. I don't see it as fitness related or traditional either. Doesn't look like fun. Whatever it is, I hope NO ONE IN THEIR RIGHT MIND thinks it is practical or effective! Just look at it in action! Imagine if that was a real knife.
Randori Final Southern Region Kyu Grade Open
Aikido Tournament 2010 Campbell 006.MPG
Aikido Tournament 2010 Campbell 001.MPG
No doubt people will say I am picking on Aikido. Not to worry, I think many other martial arts are just as silly :)
Martial Arts
I've trained in martial arts and sports for about 25 years, started when I was 8. Long enough to realize just how little I know and how ineffective they generally are in actual fighting.
This is going to be a very long post. I'm going somewhere with this, eventually, so bear with me. I don't think I am doing to do many posts on martial arts but I started a post on women's self defense and realized it might make more sense if I explained some of my background. This is a brief outline of my experience, in more or less chronological order, lots of overlapping:
- 2-3 years of ITF Tae Kwon Do, typical start for children.
- 2-3 years of Hapkido.
- 6 years of Chen Tai Chi Chuan and a variety of scattered training in Chinese martial arts styles: Mostly Wing Chun but also Hung Gar, Northern Shaolin and a bunch of other stuff
- About 5 years of judo and ju-jitsu. Some BJJ but most of it was informal, not structured
- 6 years of freestyle wrestling
- 10 years of combatives, mostly not taught in any formal setting.
- 1 year of boxing
- Working on some FMA and knife training
A bunch of seminars and short stints in various arts as well.
By informal training, I mean that I learn from various people when I have the opportunity and often that time is spent teaching myself (yes, videos and other ways) and working out with others, no expert instruction available. I don't consider myself proficient in any style and I am certainly not a fighting expert.
I used to work security, some work as a bouncer, and was a reserve police officer for several years, general duty policing. I've had many chances to put what I learned into practice.
One of the major influences on my training was a book I read when I was 12 - Bruce Lee's Tao of Jeet Kune Do. You could safely call that a life changing experience for me. Just the thought of cross training was so....amazing! At that point I was training Hapkido and Judo but the thought of integrating them, the idea of focusing on your strengths, dropping kata, all very amazing.
An incredible book, it opening my eyes to a lot of new ideas and approaches. After that, I went to every martial art school in the city and trained with as many people as possible for as long as they would put up with me. I wanted to see what people did, what worked, and how good the instructors were. I looked at everything from Ninjitsu to Choy Lee Fut! :)
I'm sure it came across as incredibly arrogant to have a teenager show up at a school and challenge the instructors. Wasn't my intent, but I used to think "if these guys can't even beat me, I'm wasting my time here." Some people took it well, others...not so much. An example of the type of bizarreness that can occur when an instructor feels challenged in martial arts:
When I was around 16 or 17, there was a girl in my school that I was quite attracted to. She was some sort of Tae Kwon Do champion (pan-american? can't remember) and I asked her if I could do a story on her for a school project. I was very shy around women and wasn't sure how to ask her out so this was the best I could come up with! I ended up going to her school and watching. As mentioned, I did ITF TKD when I was young but she was involved in WTF - the Olympic style of TKD. Very, very different. ITF (back then at least) was a lot more practical. Yes, there was a lot of ridiculous spin kicks, but we also spent part of every class learning dirty fighting techniques, fighting multiple opponents and other good stuff. Hilarious to think what that guy was teaching 8 year olds but it saved my ass on the playground. I think he used to be in the army. If my memory serves (looooong time ago) he was Israeli and I believe army service was mandatory. A lot of the stuff we learned reminds me of some of the Krav Maga techniques I have seen.
Anyway, I watched her work out with the instructor for a while. At the end of the class he came over and asked what I thought. Something that jumped out at me was that there was absolutely no punching and they always kept their hands down. I asked him about that and he immediately became defensive. He told me that punching was a waste of time, that hand techniques were slow and weak. I was a little stunned. I mentioned that a punch had a lot less distance to travel and kicks leave you off balance. He told me he could kick me in the head faster than I could ever punch him. I wasn't trying to challenge him, I was just puzzled by the whole thing. I suspect he just wasn't used to being questioned and decided to make a point. So, a grown man, 7 millionth degree black belt (they pass out belts like candy), without warning, tried to do a spin kick and take my head off. He scared the shit out of me! Which is why, when he kindly put his back to me, I punched him in the spine and he did an ugly face plant on the ground. What a fiasco. But a not uncommon attitude - questions not really encouraged, no practical fighting experience*, practical techniques ignored, no cross training with other styles, etc. These instructors learn something take as gospel truth (a belief) then indoctrinate others in their "true path" ignoring any evidence that might suggest their training system might not be perfect.
I have had relatively positive experiences too. A buddy of mine and I, when I was 17 or so, went to check out a new Judo class. I'd been looking for some new training in it but no one seemed to be teaching it. Finally found a class, they were mostly teaching kids though, but I ended up training with those guys for a couple of years. Anyway, I asked if I could have a go at the instructor and ended up going up against the 2nd level guy they had. 2nd degree black belt maybe. He told me I could use whatever techniques I wanted. So of course I dropped levels, did a nice double leg and rolled him in a cradle! Was a little bit funny. Then the main instructor came over, he was a Japanese from Japan guy - he proceeded to wipe the floor with me. Was AWESOME! I've never really been thrown around before, the guy was very good. Unfortunately, we had a bit of a falling out a few months and he wouldn't work with me any more but I still stuck it out for quite a while in the class. He never relented and I ended up moving on, no one else was all that good.
So, a little off topic now.....I'll always remember my first real fight in high school. I was a skinny kid, very smart, got good grades, wore cheap clothes (no money), had a weird religious upbringing and basically had a target on my back - total nerd, geek, loser with a chivalrous bent. Can you say dead meat? I made the mistake of getting in a conversation with someone in class about martial arts and another boy took exception. I was about 5'8 and 115 lbs. He was 6' and at least 200, some fat for sure but a big 14 year old. After the teacher left the room, he told me he was a boxer and he could kick my ass, all that martial arts stuff was shit. I was trapped in the classroom and had no choice. Nothing like throwing down in grade 9 algebra class.
I was scared. I was frequently scared the first two years of high school, I was constantly harassed, attacked by groups of boys, and was in more fights than I could count. But, when I would get cornered and had to fight (yes, I used to run away or back down), things usually went my way. In this case, as I watched this monster put up his hands, I kicked him in the knee with a stepping side kick (thanks Bruce Lee for JKD), he put his head down and I actually threw him with a hip toss, went to the ground and choked him out. Whaddya know, some of that shit did work....
*one of the things I find most troubling about martial arts is that the instructors generally have no actual, practical experience in using them. Some guy who has never been in a fight in his life is the "expert" teaching me to defend myself.
One of the great strengths that grapplers have vs. traditional striking styles, is that they train the way they fight. Karate guys for example, spend most of their time hitting pads or doing sport/touch sparring. All that board breaking? Why? If they do use some harder contact, there is normally a long list of rules, a lot of padding, and it's all done in the "dueling" format - we both square off, we know we are fighting, we're fighting someone that fights the same way as us, etc. I understand that it's pretty tough to get in a bare knuckle full contact training fight 2-3 nights a week - people would get hurt all the time. Yet you fight the way you train and these styles don't teach people to apply the techniques they learn. No one knows if what they learn will actually work. The first time I punched someone in the head it hurt a lot! And by that point I'd already spent years conditioning my hands.
Back on topic - usually they teach them pitty pat striking (touch sparring) and ridiculously complicated techniques that are very unlikely to work under stress. There are ways to simulate fighting, to put stress on people and make them react to it, but they are rarely done. There are some exceptions to the little-to-no-contact striking (boxing, muay thai) but even they tend to get watered down for the non-competitive athlete.
Now grappling arts, BJJ, wrestling (yes, I include wrestling), Judo and others, their practitioners can go full out all the time. Yes they are mostly sports not combat arts but the techniques still work one-on-one - chokes, holding people down, assuming dominant positions, etc. Watch any of the old Gracie challenge videos on youtube - painful and pitiful to see what they would do to people.
Here's a couple of classics:
Kenpo Black Belt Instructor vs Royler Gracie - Gracie Challenge NHB!
royce gracie vs kung fu expert VINTAGE MMA!!
I'm not suggesting grappling is the be all and end all of fighting (it isn't), but it's good to have a grappling base - especially for women, which leads to my next post.
This is going to be a very long post. I'm going somewhere with this, eventually, so bear with me. I don't think I am doing to do many posts on martial arts but I started a post on women's self defense and realized it might make more sense if I explained some of my background. This is a brief outline of my experience, in more or less chronological order, lots of overlapping:
- 2-3 years of ITF Tae Kwon Do, typical start for children.
- 2-3 years of Hapkido.
- 6 years of Chen Tai Chi Chuan and a variety of scattered training in Chinese martial arts styles: Mostly Wing Chun but also Hung Gar, Northern Shaolin and a bunch of other stuff
- About 5 years of judo and ju-jitsu. Some BJJ but most of it was informal, not structured
- 6 years of freestyle wrestling
- 10 years of combatives, mostly not taught in any formal setting.
- 1 year of boxing
- Working on some FMA and knife training
A bunch of seminars and short stints in various arts as well.
By informal training, I mean that I learn from various people when I have the opportunity and often that time is spent teaching myself (yes, videos and other ways) and working out with others, no expert instruction available. I don't consider myself proficient in any style and I am certainly not a fighting expert.
I used to work security, some work as a bouncer, and was a reserve police officer for several years, general duty policing. I've had many chances to put what I learned into practice.
One of the major influences on my training was a book I read when I was 12 - Bruce Lee's Tao of Jeet Kune Do. You could safely call that a life changing experience for me. Just the thought of cross training was so....amazing! At that point I was training Hapkido and Judo but the thought of integrating them, the idea of focusing on your strengths, dropping kata, all very amazing.
An incredible book, it opening my eyes to a lot of new ideas and approaches. After that, I went to every martial art school in the city and trained with as many people as possible for as long as they would put up with me. I wanted to see what people did, what worked, and how good the instructors were. I looked at everything from Ninjitsu to Choy Lee Fut! :)
I'm sure it came across as incredibly arrogant to have a teenager show up at a school and challenge the instructors. Wasn't my intent, but I used to think "if these guys can't even beat me, I'm wasting my time here." Some people took it well, others...not so much. An example of the type of bizarreness that can occur when an instructor feels challenged in martial arts:
When I was around 16 or 17, there was a girl in my school that I was quite attracted to. She was some sort of Tae Kwon Do champion (pan-american? can't remember) and I asked her if I could do a story on her for a school project. I was very shy around women and wasn't sure how to ask her out so this was the best I could come up with! I ended up going to her school and watching. As mentioned, I did ITF TKD when I was young but she was involved in WTF - the Olympic style of TKD. Very, very different. ITF (back then at least) was a lot more practical. Yes, there was a lot of ridiculous spin kicks, but we also spent part of every class learning dirty fighting techniques, fighting multiple opponents and other good stuff. Hilarious to think what that guy was teaching 8 year olds but it saved my ass on the playground. I think he used to be in the army. If my memory serves (looooong time ago) he was Israeli and I believe army service was mandatory. A lot of the stuff we learned reminds me of some of the Krav Maga techniques I have seen.
Anyway, I watched her work out with the instructor for a while. At the end of the class he came over and asked what I thought. Something that jumped out at me was that there was absolutely no punching and they always kept their hands down. I asked him about that and he immediately became defensive. He told me that punching was a waste of time, that hand techniques were slow and weak. I was a little stunned. I mentioned that a punch had a lot less distance to travel and kicks leave you off balance. He told me he could kick me in the head faster than I could ever punch him. I wasn't trying to challenge him, I was just puzzled by the whole thing. I suspect he just wasn't used to being questioned and decided to make a point. So, a grown man, 7 millionth degree black belt (they pass out belts like candy), without warning, tried to do a spin kick and take my head off. He scared the shit out of me! Which is why, when he kindly put his back to me, I punched him in the spine and he did an ugly face plant on the ground. What a fiasco. But a not uncommon attitude - questions not really encouraged, no practical fighting experience*, practical techniques ignored, no cross training with other styles, etc. These instructors learn something take as gospel truth (a belief) then indoctrinate others in their "true path" ignoring any evidence that might suggest their training system might not be perfect.
I have had relatively positive experiences too. A buddy of mine and I, when I was 17 or so, went to check out a new Judo class. I'd been looking for some new training in it but no one seemed to be teaching it. Finally found a class, they were mostly teaching kids though, but I ended up training with those guys for a couple of years. Anyway, I asked if I could have a go at the instructor and ended up going up against the 2nd level guy they had. 2nd degree black belt maybe. He told me I could use whatever techniques I wanted. So of course I dropped levels, did a nice double leg and rolled him in a cradle! Was a little bit funny. Then the main instructor came over, he was a Japanese from Japan guy - he proceeded to wipe the floor with me. Was AWESOME! I've never really been thrown around before, the guy was very good. Unfortunately, we had a bit of a falling out a few months and he wouldn't work with me any more but I still stuck it out for quite a while in the class. He never relented and I ended up moving on, no one else was all that good.
So, a little off topic now.....I'll always remember my first real fight in high school. I was a skinny kid, very smart, got good grades, wore cheap clothes (no money), had a weird religious upbringing and basically had a target on my back - total nerd, geek, loser with a chivalrous bent. Can you say dead meat? I made the mistake of getting in a conversation with someone in class about martial arts and another boy took exception. I was about 5'8 and 115 lbs. He was 6' and at least 200, some fat for sure but a big 14 year old. After the teacher left the room, he told me he was a boxer and he could kick my ass, all that martial arts stuff was shit. I was trapped in the classroom and had no choice. Nothing like throwing down in grade 9 algebra class.
I was scared. I was frequently scared the first two years of high school, I was constantly harassed, attacked by groups of boys, and was in more fights than I could count. But, when I would get cornered and had to fight (yes, I used to run away or back down), things usually went my way. In this case, as I watched this monster put up his hands, I kicked him in the knee with a stepping side kick (thanks Bruce Lee for JKD), he put his head down and I actually threw him with a hip toss, went to the ground and choked him out. Whaddya know, some of that shit did work....
*one of the things I find most troubling about martial arts is that the instructors generally have no actual, practical experience in using them. Some guy who has never been in a fight in his life is the "expert" teaching me to defend myself.
One of the great strengths that grapplers have vs. traditional striking styles, is that they train the way they fight. Karate guys for example, spend most of their time hitting pads or doing sport/touch sparring. All that board breaking? Why? If they do use some harder contact, there is normally a long list of rules, a lot of padding, and it's all done in the "dueling" format - we both square off, we know we are fighting, we're fighting someone that fights the same way as us, etc. I understand that it's pretty tough to get in a bare knuckle full contact training fight 2-3 nights a week - people would get hurt all the time. Yet you fight the way you train and these styles don't teach people to apply the techniques they learn. No one knows if what they learn will actually work. The first time I punched someone in the head it hurt a lot! And by that point I'd already spent years conditioning my hands.
Back on topic - usually they teach them pitty pat striking (touch sparring) and ridiculously complicated techniques that are very unlikely to work under stress. There are ways to simulate fighting, to put stress on people and make them react to it, but they are rarely done. There are some exceptions to the little-to-no-contact striking (boxing, muay thai) but even they tend to get watered down for the non-competitive athlete.
Now grappling arts, BJJ, wrestling (yes, I include wrestling), Judo and others, their practitioners can go full out all the time. Yes they are mostly sports not combat arts but the techniques still work one-on-one - chokes, holding people down, assuming dominant positions, etc. Watch any of the old Gracie challenge videos on youtube - painful and pitiful to see what they would do to people.
Here's a couple of classics:
Kenpo Black Belt Instructor vs Royler Gracie - Gracie Challenge NHB!
royce gracie vs kung fu expert VINTAGE MMA!!
I'm not suggesting grappling is the be all and end all of fighting (it isn't), but it's good to have a grappling base - especially for women, which leads to my next post.
Friday, April 15, 2011
Ka-Bar Heavy Bowie Knife Review
I still haven't received my Cold Steel Recon Scout to comment on but I did finally receive another knife I ordered, the Ka Bar Heavy Bowie. I have to say...WOW! I'm loving it. Now that's a big ass knife - the name may be lame but it's descriptive. I know I said I was cooling on the big carbon steel blades due to rust concerns due to where I live, but for this price, I'm willing to reconsider.
Not sure if I will do a video review on the knife, doesn't seem like much point when there are already some good ones out there including cutting demos (check out nutnfancy for those). In my opinion, the positive reviews are accurate. Great blade shape, very sharp out of the box, and CHEAP! Even in Canada I was able to order one up for about $65 USD including shipping. Amazon has some for sale for $49.99 right now (they don't ship here though, which stinks).
Yes, the sheath is kinda lame (cordura and leather) but it's functional, has some decent retention without the snaps (knife doesn't just fall out) and there are two retention snaps - snaps, not garbage hook and loop. There are some rubber? or something liners around the inside edges of the sheath that keep the knife from rubbing on the rivets or cutting the stitching, that was well done. I definitely would prefer kydex, we'll see. I might try making some of my own soon.
Overall, besides the great price and the awesome blade shape, what impressed me was the handle. I've had some crap ka-bar knock off for years with a slippery plasticy handle. I thought that's what most of them were like - not at all. The handle has a very nice feel, good grip, and I love the interesting guard. With it flared on the sides, there is no worry of your hand going up on the blade and there is less risk of smashing (and breaking) a large guard into a log when chopping. It's even possible to choke up right onto the blade for fine cutting though it's not very comfortable - the hoodlum was waaaaaay better for that.
Still, I can buy three of these bad boys for the price of one hoodlum, that's tough to beat. And the knife is so much more comfortable in my hands, it just feels "right." It feels very light and nimble for lack of a better word, I'm very surprised. I suspect the hoodlum would be a better chopper due to the handle shape and it would definitely be better for fine work, but overall I prefer the more traditional handle of the ka-bar. It would also make for an excellent tactical/defensive knife, good back up for military if you could handle the weight.
This knife gets high marks in my books and the sheath is totally acceptable for the price. There is little chance that I would carry this monster on my belt* for hiking but it would be great strapped to a pack. Here's a cheap, useful, and relatively light axe replacement.
Well done Ka-Bar, well done.
* there is also a short version that may be easier to carry on the belt, link and pic below, selling for $54.99 on amazon
April 17 Note: I loved this knife so much I ordered another one! Still waiting to check out that CS Recon Scout but this may become my main backpack knife. Can't get over how good this sucker feels in my hand. The handle is a little thicker than I would prefer but that's my only quibble so far, can't wait to test it out.
It's not going to replace my Fallkniven as a carry knife (too big) but it's far more useful for me than carrying an axe and, with the price, I'm not going to freak out if it does start to rust a little.
Not sure if I will do a video review on the knife, doesn't seem like much point when there are already some good ones out there including cutting demos (check out nutnfancy for those). In my opinion, the positive reviews are accurate. Great blade shape, very sharp out of the box, and CHEAP! Even in Canada I was able to order one up for about $65 USD including shipping. Amazon has some for sale for $49.99 right now (they don't ship here though, which stinks).
Yes, the sheath is kinda lame (cordura and leather) but it's functional, has some decent retention without the snaps (knife doesn't just fall out) and there are two retention snaps - snaps, not garbage hook and loop. There are some rubber? or something liners around the inside edges of the sheath that keep the knife from rubbing on the rivets or cutting the stitching, that was well done. I definitely would prefer kydex, we'll see. I might try making some of my own soon.
Overall, besides the great price and the awesome blade shape, what impressed me was the handle. I've had some crap ka-bar knock off for years with a slippery plasticy handle. I thought that's what most of them were like - not at all. The handle has a very nice feel, good grip, and I love the interesting guard. With it flared on the sides, there is no worry of your hand going up on the blade and there is less risk of smashing (and breaking) a large guard into a log when chopping. It's even possible to choke up right onto the blade for fine cutting though it's not very comfortable - the hoodlum was waaaaaay better for that.
Still, I can buy three of these bad boys for the price of one hoodlum, that's tough to beat. And the knife is so much more comfortable in my hands, it just feels "right." It feels very light and nimble for lack of a better word, I'm very surprised. I suspect the hoodlum would be a better chopper due to the handle shape and it would definitely be better for fine work, but overall I prefer the more traditional handle of the ka-bar. It would also make for an excellent tactical/defensive knife, good back up for military if you could handle the weight.
This knife gets high marks in my books and the sheath is totally acceptable for the price. There is little chance that I would carry this monster on my belt* for hiking but it would be great strapped to a pack. Here's a cheap, useful, and relatively light axe replacement.
Well done Ka-Bar, well done.
* there is also a short version that may be easier to carry on the belt, link and pic below, selling for $54.99 on amazon
April 17 Note: I loved this knife so much I ordered another one! Still waiting to check out that CS Recon Scout but this may become my main backpack knife. Can't get over how good this sucker feels in my hand. The handle is a little thicker than I would prefer but that's my only quibble so far, can't wait to test it out.
It's not going to replace my Fallkniven as a carry knife (too big) but it's far more useful for me than carrying an axe and, with the price, I'm not going to freak out if it does start to rust a little.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Buck Ron Hood Hoodlum Knife Review
I recently purchased a Buck Hoodlum from knife center. It caught my interest when I saw some youtube videos on it (nutnfancy and Ron Hood) and was interested in getting a large chopping knife as a lighter-weight, more useful, axe replacement.
The price isn't terrible depending on where you get it from.
Overall....I didn't like it. I returned it last week.
Not sure what it was in the end that turned me off it. The weight was fine, the blade/handle orientation seemed excellent for chopping (wouldn't recommend it as a fighting knife)....the finish of the handle seemed off, the scales didn't line up well. Something about the overall blade, the longer I held it the less it appealed. Plus, I'm not sure if something that long is something I'd actually carry on me very often.
The notch on the blade was weird. Lots of people have criticized it as a blade failure point. I've seen the rebuttal video from Ron Hood, showing them smashing the blade and stating that it won't cause breakage but I don't see the point of adding it - maybe it won't cause a break but it sure doesn't make the blade stronger and it's value seems dubious at best.
I didn't care for the sheath either. It's functional but I was surprised that there was absolutely no retention without the snap or cord, the knife would just fall out. After reviewing the videos, I suspect that was somewhat intentional for ease of cleaning and for allowing ambidextrous carry - just didn't appeal to me.
I'm sure many people will still enjoy it and I wasn't going to put up a youtube video slagging it without actually using it. Unfortunately I wasn't able to test it with chopping and such because then I wouldn't be able to return it . For $170, I didn't want to hang on to something I wasn't totally happy with, especially since I was going to want a kydex sheath for it, adding a lot of cost.
In the end, I think I would rather stick with my Fallkniven A1. I'm cooling a little on the idea of large, expensive, carbon steel blades due to where I live. I had an Esee6 that I recently took on a winter survival training course, was wearing it strapped to my thigh. I ended up slogging through some very deep snow, some of which ended up all over my knife. I was shocked at how quickly it started to rust. It was easy to clean off, no harm done, but if a well oiled blade can't stand up to a little snow, I don't think it is for me. Sold that one already.
I did order a Cold Steel Recon Scout recently....couldn't help myself, lol. Damn you ebay and nutnfancy for feeding my knife addiction! :)
Still like the carbon steel Mora but it carries around my neck so little risk of it getting wet. Plus, it's $10, so it's not a big deal if it does get rusty.
The price isn't terrible depending on where you get it from.
Overall....I didn't like it. I returned it last week.
Not sure what it was in the end that turned me off it. The weight was fine, the blade/handle orientation seemed excellent for chopping (wouldn't recommend it as a fighting knife)....the finish of the handle seemed off, the scales didn't line up well. Something about the overall blade, the longer I held it the less it appealed. Plus, I'm not sure if something that long is something I'd actually carry on me very often.
The notch on the blade was weird. Lots of people have criticized it as a blade failure point. I've seen the rebuttal video from Ron Hood, showing them smashing the blade and stating that it won't cause breakage but I don't see the point of adding it - maybe it won't cause a break but it sure doesn't make the blade stronger and it's value seems dubious at best.
I didn't care for the sheath either. It's functional but I was surprised that there was absolutely no retention without the snap or cord, the knife would just fall out. After reviewing the videos, I suspect that was somewhat intentional for ease of cleaning and for allowing ambidextrous carry - just didn't appeal to me.
I'm sure many people will still enjoy it and I wasn't going to put up a youtube video slagging it without actually using it. Unfortunately I wasn't able to test it with chopping and such because then I wouldn't be able to return it . For $170, I didn't want to hang on to something I wasn't totally happy with, especially since I was going to want a kydex sheath for it, adding a lot of cost.
In the end, I think I would rather stick with my Fallkniven A1. I'm cooling a little on the idea of large, expensive, carbon steel blades due to where I live. I had an Esee6 that I recently took on a winter survival training course, was wearing it strapped to my thigh. I ended up slogging through some very deep snow, some of which ended up all over my knife. I was shocked at how quickly it started to rust. It was easy to clean off, no harm done, but if a well oiled blade can't stand up to a little snow, I don't think it is for me. Sold that one already.
I did order a Cold Steel Recon Scout recently....couldn't help myself, lol. Damn you ebay and nutnfancy for feeding my knife addiction! :)
Still like the carbon steel Mora but it carries around my neck so little risk of it getting wet. Plus, it's $10, so it's not a big deal if it does get rusty.
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