Like everything else, a little awareness and some common sense will go a long way. Having lived in rough neighborhoods, here's some tips:
1) Petty thieves tend to only go after what they can get quickly and make money off of selling. Don't leave anything of value VISIBLE in the car. 2) If you have a nice stereo, make sure you take the face plate or the entire unit if it's removable. If not, make some mods to make the stereo look like it's not there (a false face that looks like the rest of the dash for example). 3) Perhaps finding an indoors place to park the car, or building a small enclosed carport if necessary (did this once - worked out pretty well!). 4) Neighbors can help - make friends, have them watch your back. 5) Theft deterrents such as the Club(TM) can help.
Now, if you want to be geeky about it, maybe a motion-activated web cam? Or, perhaps a GPS/cell phone rig just incase the car gets stolen?
Actually, you bring up a good valid point concerning the length of a Katana. I study Ninjutsu, and in our classes we have addressed the topic of "what if your Katana is sheathed, while your attacker has his or her knife/sword/misc. weapon already to go and is close (within a few feet) to you?" This situation is quite problematic if the person attacking you knows the physics behind using a sword.
Consider this - you have a Katana, you need to draw it. If your attacker is close, and he knows what he's doing, he can get to you before the sword is drawn. Furthermore, even if you do manage to get the sword partially drawn, so long as the attacker stops you from getting the sword completely out, he can render your weapon fairly useless while he is 'messing you up, up-close and personal style'. Considering that in feudal era Japan that the warrior classes typically wore their Katana, this is a situation they had to know how to deal with.
So how did they deal with it? Simple. Either:
1) they typically wore TWO swords, a short and a long. The short sword can be drawn VERY quickly, and can be used to deal with close up opponents. In fact, in my class we actually practice this (with wooden swords, of course!). It is pretty easy to beat the draw of a Katana with a shorter sword. Modern day equivalents are common - pocket knives are particularly effective.
2) Back off! Putting a little distance between you and your attacker can make all the difference in the world. Give yourself time to completely draw the sword, and then cut him down if necessary.
Note that you cannot simply rely on speed when drawing a sword to "beat them to the punch". Why - if you do, you may very well eventually come across someone who is faster and more skilled, so a little strategy goes a long way.
Of course, if the person attacking you does NOT know how to really use a sword well, he may not even know that he can beat your draw. In that instance (like what happened to the guy in the subway), sometimes just showing him you sword is plenty. Heh - wish I could have been there to see that mugger run away like a scared child.
Considering that the Suprime Court itself starts all it's session with the phrase "God save the United States and this Honorable Court!", I would say that the odds of this being struck down by the suprime court are pretty high indeed.
Slashdot Mirror
Like everything else, a little awareness and some common sense will go a long way. Having lived in rough neighborhoods, here's some tips:
1) Petty thieves tend to only go after what they can get quickly and make money off of selling. Don't leave anything of value VISIBLE in the car.
2) If you have a nice stereo, make sure you take the face plate or the entire unit if it's removable. If not, make some mods to make the stereo look like it's not there (a false face that looks like the rest of the dash for example).
3) Perhaps finding an indoors place to park the car, or building a small enclosed carport if necessary (did this once - worked out pretty well!).
4) Neighbors can help - make friends, have them watch your back.
5) Theft deterrents such as the Club(TM) can help.
Now, if you want to be geeky about it, maybe a motion-activated web cam? Or, perhaps a GPS/cell phone rig just incase the car gets stolen?
Any more thoughts?
FoxND001
Actually, you bring up a good valid point concerning the length of a Katana. I study Ninjutsu, and in our classes we have addressed the topic of "what if your Katana is sheathed, while your attacker has his or her knife/sword/misc. weapon already to go and is close (within a few feet) to you?" This situation is quite problematic if the person attacking you knows the physics behind using a sword.
Consider this - you have a Katana, you need to draw it. If your attacker is close, and he knows what he's doing, he can get to you before the sword is drawn. Furthermore, even if you do manage to get the sword partially drawn, so long as the attacker stops you from getting the sword completely out, he can render your weapon fairly useless while he is 'messing you up, up-close and personal style'. Considering that in feudal era Japan that the warrior classes typically wore their Katana, this is a situation they had to know how to deal with.
So how did they deal with it? Simple. Either:
1) they typically wore TWO swords, a short and a long. The short sword can be drawn VERY quickly, and can be used to deal with close up opponents. In fact, in my class we actually practice this (with wooden swords, of course!). It is pretty easy to beat the draw of a Katana with a shorter sword. Modern day equivalents are common - pocket knives are particularly effective.
2) Back off! Putting a little distance between you and your attacker can make all the difference in the world. Give yourself time to completely draw the sword, and then cut him down if necessary.
Note that you cannot simply rely on speed when drawing a sword to "beat them to the punch". Why - if you do, you may very well eventually come across someone who is faster and more skilled, so a little strategy goes a long way.
Of course, if the person attacking you does NOT know how to really use a sword well, he may not even know that he can beat your draw. In that instance (like what happened to the guy in the subway), sometimes just showing him you sword is plenty. Heh - wish I could have been there to see that mugger run away like a scared child.
My two yen.
and if only I could learn to use spell check more often.... *sigh*
Too many servers.... too little sleep......
Considering that the Suprime Court itself starts all it's session with the phrase "God save the United States and this Honorable Court!", I would say that the odds of this being struck down by the suprime court are pretty high indeed.
This is, of course, just my opinion...