Self-Defense and Defense of Others

This past weekend I attended a self-defense seminar. It was an awesome time, and we all learned some very useful principles of self-defense. It got me thinking about some things I can do to improve my own chances out there in the world - mostly just a more tactical mindset for clothing and ideas for good weapons to carry. I still refuse to carry a gun on principle, but I might add an asp (collapsible baton) to my pocket knife for regular carry, if I can pull it off.

One of the things emphasized during the seminar was the issue of legality. You get used to hearing "break the elbow," "kick the head," "clap the ears," and other similar things during normal martial arts training. But laws usually don't look to kindly on that kind of thing, unless you really had no other choice. We were encouraged to check the rules and laws for where it's okay to carry what kind of weapons, too. I'm wearing my pocket knife more regularly when I go out, now, so I decided to check the Zoes employee handbook to see if I could carry it there, too. Turns out I can't. No surprise there, though. I don't think I'd want employees carrying personal weapons, either.

What I did not see were any rules or company policies for if someone comes in to rob the store or just shoot the place up. Common sense is sufficient for the former - just give them the money. Lives are more important than money. But I wanted to know if there was some rule against engaging a gunman, because of the news stories I've heard of employees neutralizing a threat and then getting fired. (Thinking about it now, I don't think I'd care if I got fired in that situation.) When I asked, my manager said there's no rule saying you'll be penalized for engaging an attacker. He also gave me a very strange look for asking a question like that, lol.

I don't know how other companies handle that kind of thing, but it seems to me there ought to at least be some clear guidelines in the handbook in the event that a gunman comes in. Shouldn't that have been covered in some kind of safety training course? And why wouldn't they have a course like that when training new employees? I don't even know what the protocol is for a fire or tornado! I've got a good idea of what I should do for myself, and what could be done to protect the customers, but there's been no employee training on the matter.

Same thing in my own home. I know the drill for tornadoes - you get used to it after a few years - but what about a robber? Or a fire?

It's not difficult to plot out a course of action for yourself in various scenarios, but you still have to practice it. Communicating with your family, friends, and coworkers about what to do in different situations is harder, because you have to coordinate. It's possible that they'll think you're "that guy" who's a little paranoid, but would you rather they not know what to do when something comes up? I'll probably be talking to my manager more about a safety course for employees, for everyone's sake. What will you do?

Just some food for thought.