I recently came across this exceptional post by Don Roley over on Facebook. Thought everyone should have an opportunity to read it!

Weapons are what separates true martial arts from schoolyard squabbles. When I see a ‘martial art’ that doesn’t teach weapons, using or facing, I know they aren’t doing anything related to self-defense.
At the start I need to point out that a lot of what is being billed as self-defense is really about fighting for the status in a pack. It is what a lot of mammals do, whether it be lions, apes, deer, or man. Young bucks (even if they are in their 40s) fight over perceived slights, trying to prove they are the alpha male. They engage in a ritualistic battle with unspoken rules. They won’t fight more than one opponent, no weapons, and nothing that would kill or cripple anyone. The loser still needs to serve the pack in a reduced social role and they can’t do that well with a missing eye. If you ‘fight dirty’ in these situations, you are cast out of the pack. Look at any school with young boys and you will see this going on, sometimes even adults engage in it. So no weapons are used in these examples of measuring penis sizes.
A woman being dragged into a van can’t worry about such things. For that matter, neither can a man that looks up to see his girlfriend’s crazy ex moving towards him with something obviously hidden in his hand. These are examples of actual self-defense, and if you are justified in using a weapon in them, you would be a fool not to- probably a dead fool.
Unarmed stuff is usually back up for armed techniques. It wasn’t uncommon back in the day for two warriors to have the armor of the other defeat their swords, and then the two were within a hand’s breadth from each other and throws and such were on the table. Usually it was a fight to see who could do enough damage to let them get to a back up weapon first. Whether you are talking samurai or knight, throws and other things were extensions of armed combat, not the primary purpose.
There are plenty of arts that claim to teach self-defense, but don’t teach the reality of weapons, or even of fighting dirty. Those doing them tell themselves they are learning how to defend themselves, but we humans lie to ourselves all the time.
As long as they deal only with others that stay within the unspoken rules, they are pretty safe. When they encounter someone that doesn’t, their own training often ensures they end up on the coroner’s table.
Looking at news reports, it seems that the most dangerous arts to study are those geared toward competition of some sort. From my observation, there is a percentage of people studying these arts just so they can write checks their ass can cash. They can slap a woman’s ass in front of her boyfriend, and what is he going to do about it? When these types run across someone that brings along a knife instead of letting the other dominate him, it is hard to sympathize.
I have to point out that most weapon training going on is garbage. Whether it is competition forms or something learned to qualify for the next rank, a lot of what is being taught almost makes me physically ill. Not even one out of a hundred people claiming to teach the katana know what the hell they are doing.
But while I may not carry around a jutte like I learned in Japan, I would not advise trying anything while I have a hammer in my hand. Some principles carry over. I once nearly brained someone with a can in a bag. The happy drunk that saw me walk out of the store, fueled by liquid courage, just wanted to invite me to have a drink with him. But I was in position to use the skills I picked up from learning the weighted chain samurai police used before he made the purpose of his sudden shout and sprint towards me clear. Thankfully, I made the realization in time and didn’t end up talking to the Japanese police as to why I knocked one of their people out in the middle of a parking lot.
Those that engage in training for schoolyard squabbles never seem to give more than token acknowledgement that they can grow old. But as you do, tools of all sorts become more important. I have a friend nearing retirement age. He always carries a gun, knife, or stick. But he told me not too long ago that every time he looked behind him to see a small group of punks walking with intent towards him, his response was to turn a corner and then break the sound barrier putting distance between them and him. He looked a bit sheepish as he admitted that at his age he may have to use one of his ‘toys’ if he should ever have the situation happen again. He just can’t sprint like he could a few decades ago. And of course, a competitor is usually too old to do the rules based fighting they do in rings by their late 40s.
Those that train for fights over ego or some sort of competition can mold what they do to do well in that narrow range of options. Step outside of that range, and what you learned can in turn get you killed. It is like the eyeless fish that live deep in underground caverns. Darwin never said that evolution makes things better, just better suited for the environment. Any training where you can drill to take a hit to give a better hit discounts how easily it is to hide a knife in the hand.
But perhaps the biggest thing that makes weapons part of true martial arts is the gravity they bring to the table. If you carry something that can cause serious injury or death, you can’t afford to get into minor squabbles. Courses for concealed carry often stress that if you have a handgun and get into a fist fight, there is already a deadly weapon in the mix- yours. You can’t afford to lose a fist fight and maybe have them pick your pistol off you as you lie stunned and then turn it against you. If they push it far enough, you have to do what you can to avoid losing control and your weapon in that situation. As a result, you have to do everything you can not to be put in that situation in the first place. That means not insulting others and not responding to petty insults like those geared towards schoolyard squabbles would call self-defense.
I know several hard men, dangerous men. They have put more people in the ER than most NFL teams. They are a different breed than those that prance around the martial arts studio with fancy titles and pretty uniforms. They have seen the reality of weapons close up. They have buried friends and cleaned their blood out of the carpet. They have no time for petty squabbles. They give no one a reason to take offense with them. They know the possible cost all too well. They would never, ever challenge someone to a fight- especially over the freaking internet. After all, after what they have done and know they are capable of, they have nothing to prove to those still thinking to jostle for position in the pack. They will show the scars they got from knives or other weapons and use them as cautionary tales to teach that any fight you can avoid is a fight won. If you need to be taken out, they are not going to do it in a fair, announced, fight.
Weapons, when given the proper amount of respect, force you to walk away when you can. Someone that does true martial arts doesn’t challenge someone else over a bruised ego. Once you see what a knife can do to a human being, you can’t take those that would train to determine what they think is their status in the pack seriously. Violence can be done with rules, but the more you experience or learn from those with experience, the more you realize that a schoolyard squabble over hurt feelings can turn into a funeral all too easily.
Weapons are the core of real martial arts training. You learn to use them, and you learn the reality of possibly facing them. You may lose if you succumb to the lure of getting into a ring and fighting within the narrow range the other guy specializes in. But the purpose of self-defense is to get home alive and in one piece, not pick up victories for others to admire.
(Edit- I really should thank Matthew Lohr for posing as the attacker in the photo. This is from an upcoming book I’m writing.)

Read more about Don and visit his Blog here: