Sunday, June 10, 2012

Free To...

Free to whatever.

Seems there has been some drama and back-and-forth about a female gun-blogger getting herself injured doing hand-to-hand training. Folks are saying it's a good idea, or a bad idea or--

Hey, you know what it is? It's somebody else's idea. It neither picks my pocket nor does it break my leg. I'm not even gonna say, "be careful out there." Make up your own mind about how careful you want to be. The only way most people learn is when reality walks up and whacks 'em; and, knowingly or not, we pick our own lessons. Some leave scars.

Edited to add -- Unk and I know the difference between "I wouldn't do that" and "You shouldn't do that" but this world has way too many folks who don't.

(Me, I might want not-hitting-people lessons. I have a temper and when I lose it, I'm a damn' savage. I'd blame bad examples but I think that's a cheap cop-out. Get me mad and I will step right into your personal space and it goes downhill from there. Since generally in the past I would get my rear kicked even in a hair-pulling match, I try to avoid losing my temper; and I avoid situations where I might. You know what I have learned about self-defense? How to work to dodge the necessity for it and how to recognize when I might have to. The next time someone points a firearm at me and asks for my purse, at least I'll have ended up there aware of the risk I was running. But I would prefer not to. I'm neither a wimp nor a Xena wannabe and I do not want to be a hybrid pirate/ninja, I just want to walk through this life in minimal blood and drama, ideally none at all: no highs, no lows, no standing up in court -- but I'm not takin' an early exit at the hands of a thug or lunatic. YMMV.)

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

amen.
That's wisdom, right there, it is.

Rich in NC

Jerry said...

I don't care who you are, Ms. Bobbie got it goin' on.

Cincinnatus said...

Hear, hear.

But I'd be terrified of a hair pulling match with Roberta. Wet my pants terrified.

og said...

After having been pounded flat several times, I learned several rules of hitting things.

1: Will hitting fix this? Sometimes it will, sometimes it won't.
2: Does the person need hitting?
3: Will the hit person hit back, and can I withstand the hit?

Answering those three questions has kept me out of a lot of trouble.

Sport Pilot said...

I’m not saying that you’re right here Bobbie and I’m not saying that you’re wrong either, there’s much wisdom in what you’ve spoken. However, each of us has our own set of life experiences that have influenced our personalities and mindsets. Hence some will seek different pathways in training, either to stay fit or to learn how to stay safe. What I’ve really enjoyed with all of this brouhaha is learning how strongly others feel about this type of training. I really enjoyed reading your view, you and Tam are often the voices in the wilderness laughing at the madding crowd.

Roberta X said...

I'm not so much laughing as I am pointing out the futility of trying to police other people's choices.

In motorcycle class, y'know what they keep coming back to? Not the feel of the bugs in your teeth, not safety equipment, nope, they talk about understanding and managing risk, and how you are responsible for your own backside.

Jennifer said...

Amen! And thank you

agirlandhergun said...

I enjoyed reading your perspective.

My husband has a temper. It takes ALOT to set him off, but punching him in play, on purpose, in training whatever would do it. Even though he won the boxing compition in boot camp years ago, he did not enjoy it.

Anonymous said...

Roberta X - I'm not so much laughing as I am pointing out the futility of trying to police other people's choices.

Unfortunately, it doesn't stop people trying. Sigh...

Kristophr said...

Give him the purse.

Then shoot him while he is handling it.

Roberta X said...

In theory, maybe; in practice, the perp grabs it, turns and runs away. Now we're in back-shooting territory. Even with your property in his hands, courts tend look askance at the practice.