Our next topic is one of my favorites! I enjoy this subject because, at its core, it embodies man’s animalistic instincts. As a society, we have been taught that killing is wrong, that we should be nice to people and help them whenever we can. We frown upon children watching violent television and hand out punishment for aggressive behavior. This is all needed and justified in order for us to continue to live in a relatively safe environment, but everyone must admit that good times always come to an end. I’m not even talking about world war, think of something as recent as hurricane Katrina. Notice how fast the rule of law disappeared and what atrocities took place as a result. While we should all strive to maintain order by obeying the laws of our society, we should not forget that our very lives may depend on how quickly we can transform ourselves from law abiding citizens to instinct driven animals.
I am not posting a disclaimer because weapons of opportunity (WOO) would not necessarily be considered weapons at all. They can be anything that might be laying around that could help you win the fight. I will go over a few items at the end of this post to help get your mind going but I will focus more on trying to change your way of thinking in everyday life so that you the reader can prepare yourself for any situation regardless of where a moment of violence may happen to find you.
In order to become skilled at identifying WOO, try thinking of it as a game; wherever you are ask yourself "what could I use to protect myself and how?" Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that 100% of the time your mind should be focused on finding weapons, that would be stupid and unrealistic. I maybe do it three to four times a day, more if I'm not already carrying a weapon. Not even 20 minutes ago I was brushing my teeth in the bathroom and saw my wife's eyeliner pencil on the sink. I automatically logged it into my brain as a potential weapon and then continued brushing my teeth. It wasn't a eureka moment, it didn't interrupt what I was doing, it was a simple observation that was noted. That is the way it should be. Take note of what's available and how you would use it and then move on. I am not going to go into scenario after scenario, just think about it and give it a shot. The more you do it, the more you think about it, the less you will have to think about it. It will just come naturally.
This is going to be a short post because WOO is self explanatory; it just takes practice from you the reader.
As promised, I will list a few things that I usually take notice of and keep in the back of my mind:
Wal-Mart - Wal-Mart and stores like Wal-Mart usually use a big metal peg board type design to hang a lot of their items on. Think of the toy section with 6 of the same items hanging from a thin metal bar on the aisle. Usually has the price right above it. If you haven't noticed, those bars can come out and could work great as a stabbing tool, especially if your attacker is not expecting it. Look next time.
Restaurant - Ketchup! I don't know if you have ever gotten ketchup in your eyes but it burns...
Coffee - A cup of hot coffee is always ready to be thrown in someone's face.
Highway - Don't laugh, but I actually walked from Norfolk to Virginia Beach using the highway one time. I was going to sleep on the beach but by the time I got there the sun was already up so I just ended up calling a cab to go home. (Was there alcohol involved...?) But the point of this is is that I felt vulnerable walking along the highway so I had the presence of mind to stop and pick up two decent sized rocks I could do some bashing with if need be.
Home - You should be the master of your own home. I know of a lot of things I could use as a weapon in every room if I needed it. So should you.
Pens/Pencils - You've seen them used in movies and they are sometimes easy to forget about, but these items do make good stabbing tools.
Hopefully I got you thinking a little bit. Even though I love this topic I don't want to drive it into the dirt. If you have any questions or need help getting started let me know and I will do what I can.
