KR Training instructors were having a small discussion about less than leathal options, force disparity, and so on.

My personal take? We never know what we’ll be faced with, so it’s good to have the bases covered. Immediate thought is that we don’t all have the time and trouble for this… do we carry a gun, pepper spray, baton, need to get empty hand training, and start to look like Deputy Jay as we walk around? That’s not feasible for most of us.

My take is you need to be able to handle the situations relevant to you.

If you’re a bouncer at a bar, you’re more likely to deal with drunks that need to either be told to leave, be made to leave, and need to sober up. Gun isn’t viable in most of your daily work, but empty hand skills (especially locks and controlling techniques) along with perhaps some pepper spray are good for your needs.

A police officer? They interact with a wide array of circumstances and people and need to be prepared accordingly.

A private citizen… well, we all deal with vastly different circumstances. So what do YOU need? If you don’t know, ask  yourself. Consider what you do on a daily basis, where you go, what you deal with, how you live your life, what you encounter, etc.. If you haven’t played the “what if” game, now’s a good time to start. You can start to ask “OK, what if this happened right here right now? how would I respond?” Maybe what you need are good verbal skills (e.g. a SouthNarc “Managing Unknown Contacts” skillset) and a good set of running shoes! If drunk Uncle Joe comes around a lot, knowing a few wrist locks might be useful to escort him to the bedroom to sleep it off. If you work the night shift, carrying a good flashlight at all times. I rarely have desire for pepper spray, except perhaps for dogs. And my desire for spray has upped because my dog doesn’t always play well with other dogs, and other dogs like to approach my dog. Point being, what was once my plan has changed, and I’m willing to let my plans change, evolve, or even be thrown out should my circumstances change. If you have a hole in your coverage, fill it.

Exactly what you need depends upon you and your situation. No one can give you a set list. The key, in my mind, is to ensure you have YOUR bases covered as best you can. If you don’t know what that is, figure it out now while you have time to think and formulate a plan, instead of later when you wish you had a plan.