Originally Posted by antarius
I see your point Kestrel, I just disagree...
In law enforcement practices and statistics, if someone has a knife within 7 feet of you, it's been shown that they can stab you before you can shoot them. So the "reach" is far closer than expected.
Nonetheless, I just disagree with your choice of "choosing a fight," but to each their own... it works for many, and doesn't for many.
In the end if it's your time, it's your time, nothing but God is going to stop it...
As a law enforcement person, I would imagine you are trained to fight in most cases, and are equipped to do so. Same with the Marine. I just don't feel it's a good strategy for the average person on the street.
Nonetheless, I'm glad those thieves ended up getting what was coming to them.
Originally Posted by spankaveli
If they truely intend on killing you, they're going to kill you whether you give up your wallet/keys/phone or not.
This is true, but for a large fraction of muggings, this isn't the case. Handing over your belongings isn't a replacement for being ready to fight, it's just exploring possible outs that may avoid a larger confrontation when you're outnumbered and outgunned. You always need to be ready to fight, but I don't think that's necessarily the first thing to do.