Old school carry!!

[cmgee67]

I am surprised nobody has said a spear due to the walking stick ability the reach it provides and if your like darth mall you can be extra deadly

[ScottDLS]

I am surprised nobody has said a spear due to the walking stick ability the reach it provides and if your like darth mall you can be extra deadly

A sarissa anyone? Only I prefer a poniard....

[RSX11]

A rapier and a main gauche.

[Vol Texan]

Lots of nice choices here - many of which likely embrace the cultural heritage of the poster(s).

Keeping with that theme... I'm Italian, so my choice would to have one of these with me at all times.

Luca's kinda big to carry around. Fortunately, he can walk on his own.

Agreed. I had the same idea in the army. No need to carry my gun, when I can ride around in it.

[Sport Coach]

I used to say that even thought the pen may be mightier than the sword, I choose to carry both.

[The Annoyed Man]

A Roman gladius would be my choice. Certainly not a French rapier!!! We can pick on the French in multiple centuries.

Chas.

I agree. A gladius, supplemented with a puglio, would make an excellent EDC choice. There are other such combinations, like a katana and a wakizashi for instance. It's no accident that sword bearing cultures often developed both a short and medium length sword to be carried together. The great weakness of a longer sword is that if your opponent gets inside of your swing, you're finished......unless you've got a BUS (Backup Sword). The medium and short swords are more like stabbing weapons for close in work. Come to think of it, the cutlas might make an interesting choice also, backed up by a big ol' Bowie knife. Hmmmm...........

[oljames3]

Spartan dory, xiphos, kopis, and a good bow.

[Aloha Snackbar]

I already carry a 5" tanto style fixed blade as a backup, so probably a wakizashi since I'm not samurai.

[Bitter Clinger]

Cane-wielding Good Samaritan thwarts attack on bus driver

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/01/31/ca ... river.html

[Archery1]

I would save the bow for another purpose. It's an offense weapon and sorry defense weapon. The guy with the big knife will chop you to pieces long before he died from puncture wound. Might as well meet him with even chance.

Your assuming the attacker can actually get to you. Throughout history, bows have been used as effective defensive weapons as long as the archer had the advantage of cover or physical separation such as defending a wall of some sort.

If we can have both, why wouldn't that be everyone's answer? Is this a trick question?

Yes, assuming the attacker is upon you, which means, my carry is for that. Not the guy out in the far away, away from my immediate concern. For me, that's where defensive means at me, at hand. In the days of old, the archers slowed down, agitated, and maimed/killed before the knife/sword fighters got hand to hand, the inevitable battle ending. Even the horseback archers were more diversion than elimination, darting in and out of lines and keeping the knife fight off balance. One well placed arrow at close range is still a long time away from a knife or sword, not to mention minutes before he even cares, when the attacker is upon you.

Now, if we are going to square off at 50 or 60 yards first? Give me my bow AND my bare feet :)

[Skiprr]

I agree. A gladius, supplemented with a puglio, would make an excellent EDC choice. There are other such combinations, like a katana and a wakizashi for instance. It's no accident that sword bearing cultures often developed both a short and medium length sword to be carried together.

When I lived in the Philippines and studied Arnis, back before it really showed up in the U.S., the system I was taught was referred to as "Espada y Daga," literally, "sword and dagger" ("Olisi y Baraw" in Cebuano dialects). It was the 16th century Spanish Conquistadors (notably using cutlass-like swords, not rapiers as did the Spanish gentry in Europe) who influenced this, with the Filipinos adapting and melding methods into their native fighting techniques. The two are taught to be used first in tandem; the shorter weapon, in the non-dominant hand, used for both offense and defense (blocking and trapping) at close-range (corto) distances. The instructional theory, dating back some 400 years, is that if you're taught to use both simultaneously--which is a bit intricate given the different structure and primary purpose of each--you are also learning to employ either the sword or knife separately, if needed.

Some of the Espada y Daga influence may also have come to the Philippines from Japan, albeit later than the Conquistadors. Use of a katana and wakizashi or tanto simultaneously as a standard part of swordsmanship was not traditionally taught. The legendary Miyamoto Musashi was considered a radical when he decided, in the early 17th century, that the traditional way of deploying a katana, always with two hands on the hilt (tsuka), was inflexible, limited side-to-side reach, and was far less practical on horseback than training to use it with one hand. He eventually called his system Niten Ichi Ryu (two different heavens as one), and used a katana and wakizashi (or tanto)--or even two katanas--at the same time. He even incorporated specific techniques to throw the short sword or knife during a fight.

And speaking of the samurai, horse culture and use of the bow were every much as integral as the sword. So, to the OP, if we have no firearms I'll also assume we have no internal combustion engines, or similar. In which case, I gotta go with Musashi and the samurai: a good horse, a good bow, and good long and short swords.

[The Annoyed Man]

I agree. A gladius, supplemented with a puglio, would make an excellent EDC choice. There are other such combinations, like a katana and a wakizashi for instance. It's no accident that sword bearing cultures often developed both a short and medium length sword to be carried together.

When I lived in the Philippines and studied Arnis, back before it really showed up in the U.S., the system I was taught was referred to as "Espada y Daga," literally, "sword and dagger" ("Olisi y Baraw" in Cebuano dialects). It was the 16th century Spanish Conquistadors (notably using cutlass-like swords, not rapiers as did the Spanish gentry in Europe) who influenced this, with the Filipinos adapting and melding methods into their native fighting techniques. The two are taught to be used first in tandem; the shorter weapon, in the non-dominant hand, used for both offense and defense (blocking and trapping) at close-range (corto) distances. The instructional theory, dating back some 400 years, is that if you're taught to use both simultaneously--which is a bit intricate given the different structure and primary purpose of each--you are also learning to employ either the sword or knife separately, if needed.

Some of the Espada y Daga influence may also have come to the Philippines from Japan, albeit later than the Conquistadors. Use of a katana and wakizashi or tanto simultaneously as a standard part of swordsmanship was not traditionally taught. The legendary Miyamoto Musashi was considered a radical when he decided, in the early 17th century, that the traditional way of deploying a katana, always with two hands on the hilt (tsuka), was inflexible, limited side-to-side reach, and was far less practical on horseback than training to use it with one hand. He eventually called his system Niten Ichi Ryu (two different heavens as one), and used a katana and wakizashi (or tanto)--or even two katanas--at the same time. He even incorporated specific techniques to throw the short sword or knife during a fight.

And speaking of the samurai, horse culture and use of the bow were every much as integral as the sword. So, to the OP, if we have no firearms I'll also assume we have no internal combustion engines, or similar. In which case, I gotta go with Musashi and the samurai: a good horse, a good bow, and good long and short swords.

We have GOT to have a beer together some day. I could talk about this stuff all day long. I've got to get down to Houston sometime this spring to talk to the French consulate there about obtaining my French passport. Maybe we can have dinner or something.

[grnamin]

bo staff and katana. gives you a range of options from "bruise and confuse" to "slice and dice".

I'd amend that to naginata and katana. :)

[Skiprr]

We have GOT to have a beer together some day. I could talk about this stuff all day long. I've got to get down to Houston sometime this spring to talk to the French consulate there about obtaining my French passport. Maybe we can have dinner or something.

If we can pull that together, I'd love to do it. But not if you only speak French to me. You start stringin' paragraphs together in French, I'm outta there and you're stuck with the bill.

[The Annoyed Man]

We have GOT to have a beer together some day. I could talk about this stuff all day long. I've got to get down to Houston sometime this spring to talk to the French consulate there about obtaining my French passport. Maybe we can have dinner or something.

If we can pull that together, I'd love to do it. But not if you only speak French to me. You start stringin' paragraphs together in French, I'm outta there and you're stuck with the bill.

I promise not too. I'm a little ashamed of it, myself.