One Englishman's View

[billc]

Awareness and good sense are the first things taught by a good firearms instructor. The gun card is necessary here in Illinois but believe me, I wish we could get rid of it. Dan Proft, a local radio host also ran for governor last time around, and if he had won he would have gotten rid of the card.

As an adult, most if not all life ending or life altering self-defense situations are going to happen by one attacker armed with a gun, knife, or blunt object, or multiple unarmed attackers. This is why I would recommend immediate familiarization with firearms and as a first martial art, one of the Filipino systems because they start with weapons right away. Of course, you can always point to the drunk at the base ball game situation, but the serious encounters will be against an armed attacker. That is why I go with firearms as soon as possible. It would be rare that a Gracie trained fighter is breaking into your home, with just his bare hands.

For kids it would be different, I would go with a striking art with jujutsu in the mix. I would also teach them about firearms as they reached a mature enough age. Firearms are not as important to self-defense for children, perhaps, but knowing how they work, and what they are capable of could keep a kid out of the clutches of a bad person.

 

[bushidomartialarts]

Firearms are not as important to self-defense for children, perhaps, but knowing how they work, and what they are capable of could keep a kid out of the clutches of a bad person.

I see that as even more important in terms of preventing firearm accidents. Kids who grow up knowing about guns as a potentially dangerous tool -- no different from the table saw in the garage -- are less likely to be hurt by a gun than kids who grow up with an undefined dread and awe.

 

[billc]

I imagine that a lot of gun accidents with kids happen when the parent has the weapon and never teaches the kids anything about it. That is why these kids point loaded weapons at other kids and pulling the trigger as a method of play. It would be interesting to find out in these cases how much the kids knew about guns before the accident.

 

[Sukerkin]

I concurr on this, I have to say. I, at a very young age, learned that playing 'Army' with my mates was one thing and using a gun was another.

My first paid 'job' at the age of about 11 was shooting what my American cousins would call 'varmints' on a school-friends farm (birds, rats, foxes etc (never saw a fox I have to admit)).

I used a cut-down 410 single-barrel shotgun with reduced load cartidges to do this and had an awful lot of instruction along with "this is not a toy" ethos drummed into me before I was allowed out of sight of the farmer.

The one that always stuck in my head when I was carrying this gun was that I did not point it at anything I did not intend to fire it at. The 'law' that enforced this discipline more than anything else? That if I ever did not abide by this rule then he wouldn't let me use the gun anymore - simple and effective to say the least ... 'range safety' learned by threat of loss of income .

What can I say, it worked. When I tried out for the university rifle team years later I was complimented on my 'safe' handling of the weapon, to the extent of being asked if I'd been in the Cadets (sort of military version of the Scouts over here).

My point is that lessons taught well and taught young 'stick'. Weapons fascinate kids, especially young boys I reckon given our genetic 'wiring'. Turn them into a useful tool with a defined purpose and rules for their use and I reckon you'd take away a lot of the 'play' accidents that have lethal consequences.