How many of you have heard of the 21-Foot rule? Have you trained or prepared for this situation? The following is quoted text from www.krudoknives.com
”The 21-Foot Rule”
“The 21-foot rule has long been used by police officers. Essentially, it says that when an assailant wielding a knife is closing in, they will cover 21 feet in the time it takes you to draw and fire your gun. That’s a lot of ground and it also puts intense pressure on the person drawing the gun.
And you might not even have that much time. Recently, a study at Minnesota State University- Mankato found that the amount of distance covered can be greater than 21 feet. Some in law enforcement suggest that training officers on using edge tools is necessary to provide them with choices for dealing with an attack.
No Line of Fire
For a gun to be effective, the target has to be in front of the bullet. In close quarters, knives will hardly ever miss the target – and can be deployed tactically in many different ways.
If You Miss…
In the movies, someone is attacked and somehow has time to pull out a gun, fire it and immediately stop the bad guy in his or her shoes. In real life, that’s not a likely scenario. What you are more likely to face is someone moving quickly and closing fast, not giving you time to fend them off with one hand while trying to take out a gun with another. And even if you do fire, there’s no guarantee you will hit your opponent, leaving you defenseless as they close in.
Ammunition Not Needed
Obvious, but worth mentioning. A knife is always “loaded,” no matter how many times it is used.
Fast Learner
Nearly everyone can be deadly by simply picking up a knife – we all understand how to slash and cut with a blade. And while you can become much more adept at using a knife through practice, it’s nothing like the learning curve with a gun.
No Warning, Just Action
No one sees a knife coming. There’s no need to load it, unlike a safety and squeeze a trigger. A knife is simply unsheathed and deployed. This is especially important in a crisis situation where you likely are going to be given little time to think and not much room to maneuver.
Knife vs. Gun: The Lethal Force Question
If you respond to an attacker using a gun, it gives you only one option: using maximum, sometimes, lethal, force. While a knife is also lethal, it’s a more elegant weapon that can be used in a variety of ways to defeat an attacker.
Better Defense
It starts with awareness of your surroundings. If someone comes after you wielding a knife, the most important thing to think about is protecting your life, not trying to draw a weapon. Taking into consideration distance between you and attacker. If you are attempting to draw a weapon rather than creating space between you and the attacker and getting out of the line of attack, you are almost certain to get cut. As you do your best to avoid the initial attack, you are also preparing to draw you knife or defensive tool for tactical defense.”
Food for thought!
When reading this I was putting the idea into thought of a real life situation such as in a parking lot at a store. I also put into thought the Rules of 3. Most self defense situations happen with 3 shots in 3 seconds within 3 yards. That’s only 9 feet folks. I know when drawing from my hip or even appendix my draw and fire time is 2.7 seconds for only one shot. I haven’t timed myself for 3 shots personally. Just figured I’d share and see what y’all have to say about this.
”The 21-Foot Rule”
“The 21-foot rule has long been used by police officers. Essentially, it says that when an assailant wielding a knife is closing in, they will cover 21 feet in the time it takes you to draw and fire your gun. That’s a lot of ground and it also puts intense pressure on the person drawing the gun.
And you might not even have that much time. Recently, a study at Minnesota State University- Mankato found that the amount of distance covered can be greater than 21 feet. Some in law enforcement suggest that training officers on using edge tools is necessary to provide them with choices for dealing with an attack.
No Line of Fire
For a gun to be effective, the target has to be in front of the bullet. In close quarters, knives will hardly ever miss the target – and can be deployed tactically in many different ways.
If You Miss…
In the movies, someone is attacked and somehow has time to pull out a gun, fire it and immediately stop the bad guy in his or her shoes. In real life, that’s not a likely scenario. What you are more likely to face is someone moving quickly and closing fast, not giving you time to fend them off with one hand while trying to take out a gun with another. And even if you do fire, there’s no guarantee you will hit your opponent, leaving you defenseless as they close in.
Ammunition Not Needed
Obvious, but worth mentioning. A knife is always “loaded,” no matter how many times it is used.
Fast Learner
Nearly everyone can be deadly by simply picking up a knife – we all understand how to slash and cut with a blade. And while you can become much more adept at using a knife through practice, it’s nothing like the learning curve with a gun.
No Warning, Just Action
No one sees a knife coming. There’s no need to load it, unlike a safety and squeeze a trigger. A knife is simply unsheathed and deployed. This is especially important in a crisis situation where you likely are going to be given little time to think and not much room to maneuver.
Knife vs. Gun: The Lethal Force Question
If you respond to an attacker using a gun, it gives you only one option: using maximum, sometimes, lethal, force. While a knife is also lethal, it’s a more elegant weapon that can be used in a variety of ways to defeat an attacker.
Better Defense
It starts with awareness of your surroundings. If someone comes after you wielding a knife, the most important thing to think about is protecting your life, not trying to draw a weapon. Taking into consideration distance between you and attacker. If you are attempting to draw a weapon rather than creating space between you and the attacker and getting out of the line of attack, you are almost certain to get cut. As you do your best to avoid the initial attack, you are also preparing to draw you knife or defensive tool for tactical defense.”
Food for thought!
When reading this I was putting the idea into thought of a real life situation such as in a parking lot at a store. I also put into thought the Rules of 3. Most self defense situations happen with 3 shots in 3 seconds within 3 yards. That’s only 9 feet folks. I know when drawing from my hip or even appendix my draw and fire time is 2.7 seconds for only one shot. I haven’t timed myself for 3 shots personally. Just figured I’d share and see what y’all have to say about this.
