Re: Martial Arts
"Which was my original point: At the end of the day there is nothing defensive about launching projectiles at supersonic velocities towards someone else. :) You can argue the need to disable or prevent further attacks, but doing so with a gun is never a defensive manoeuvre."
Defence, in my book, is about ensuring your own and possibly other's safety. How this is achieved, I personally consider is less important than actually being successful in your goal. Were I to use a gun, a chair leg, a lamp, a stone or an appropriately placed punch is less relevant than securing the situation. With a gun, a distance can be maintained and hopefully a shot will land where intended should the situation escalate to that point. Pulling the trigger, throwing the stone etc should always be that last choice regardless of the situation...
The general idea of using a gun is to enable and maintain a distance between yourself and the attacker. In situations whereby you are either much weaker than your opponent, ie you might be wounded, your opponent has a knife or other CQB weapon, or other more destructive means, your best chance of defence is to remain at a distance outside of their reach. We are presuming that we are in a situation whereby your attacker has the intention to cause damage/threaten life.
The longer the gun the further that distance can be, up until the point whereby you don't have the skill to successfully hit the target. Handguns are great up to and around the 7m mark when you are "trained" and know to keep your calm. Even with practice with a qualified instructor in perfect conditions, it is surprising to see how many times we don't hit a target at 7m. My instructor does add stress but it is minor to what I imagine a real world event would be like..
Many might consider that 7m is not far, but when you are trying to be accurate and hit a point of around 4 inches it's not so simple.... ( 4 inches is roughly the zone in which you will hit a vital organ, or a disabling point) Stress, movement, noise, excitement all make a huge difference.... It's difficult to do under perfect conditions, ie at a shooting range. Don't forget we are talking about analysing a situation, knowing who is who, what would be the results of missing your target, whats behind or beside your target, then reacting accordingly, unholstering your gun "if" necessary, then taking a decision to disable, possibly killing your target....
By remaining at a distance you can "defend" yourself and possibly other without needing to put yourself into an unnecessarily dangerous position. The fact that you have a gun does not mean that it should be used, but in certain cases, it can also become a dissuasive, the fact that you have a gun and that your opponent doesn't can quickly calm a situation. Obviously, if he also has a gun then this is where things are likely to become nasty for all concerned... This is where it is vital to know what action to take and when... Sometimes it would be better NOT to pull out a gun....
Guns are just another weapon in an arsenal, just as much as a brick or a punch or running away... Guns are extremely dangerous when used incorrectly, I am not accurate with a brick so in my case it is just as or even more dangerous than a gun....
Defence in my book = ensuring one chance of survival... I agree though that is is a personal point of view.