The armament of Jedi.

Cohort wrote: What is the consensus of Jedi being armed, wither in private or public.

To my mind the trained Jedi is always armed. His armament varies in appropriate response to the environment in which the Jedi finds himself. With that, the essence of the Jedi's use of those tools remains constant.

As a serviceman, what I carry in the field varies greatly from I carry on a camping trip. Or to the market. Or on vacation. I do not believe that my role as a Jedi should dictate that I carry anything specifically, but doctrine certainly has a role in what I decide to carry and how I employ it.

Using our fundamentals as a base, it falls to the individual Jedi to decide what makes sense for a given scenario. If our doctrine begins down the path of dictation...it will start to chipping away at our status as thinking, independent actors.

Sometimes it feels nice to be able to hug onto a cold, hard statement in our belief system - or any system for that matter. That's the danger of the easy button, though...it relieves us from our personal responsibility - our personal duty - to think and interpret wisely.

I never carry a weapon and I own a handgun, rifle, bow+arrows, sai, nunchucks, stars, knives, etc.

The most powerful weapon is a trained jedi, even bare-handed. In my 40 years on the planet, I've only needed a rifle 2 times to get meat during hard times. I've carried my handgun a few times into known packs of coyotes but never fired it. I usually carry a handgun in the wilderness where bears roam.

I've never had to fight someone. OK that one guy in the army but tai chi made it a non-fight. But the point is I don't get into fights because I know how to walk away and so weapons are useless. And anyone who is stupid enough to really force me to fight them winds up doing a weird flying cartwheel onto their back. See what I mean?

Cohort wrote: The portrayal of Jedi in the movies, legends, and the upcoming books, always include them being armed with the classic weapon of the Jedi the Lightsaber. ... Im just spit-balling here.

I'm gona just send a spit ball back and say Jedi here are not the Jedi in the movies, legends, etc.

The mind is definitely a Jedi's true weapon, utilizing it with situational awareness. Honestly you never know what's going to happen or when or why, a Jedi may evaluate the risk of physical confrontation with each situation as it arises. More of a personal belief of mine is that every person should know how to defend themselves. A great thing to learn is Akido as it's creator's goal was to create an art that practitioners could use to defend themselves while also protecting their attacker from injury. That would be my first method of defense, but I also own firearms and the only time I've ever felt compelled to carry one was in the mountains due to bears, boars, mountain lions, coyotes, etc., but even then I've ran into boars and a mountain lion and they were more scared of me than I was them.

If I lived in a city I may feel more inclined to carry concealed with a permit but I think it'd be a very rare situation that someone is truly going to try and kill you randomly or for something, and if they're willing to kill you for something you have well I may just give it to them since they may truly be that desperate. The flipside is that there are some real punks and crazies out there so in a defensive situation it may be a reasonable option to put them in their place if truly necessary less they really harm someone. These are very extreme and typically rare situations though where your life or that of your friends or family are in immediate, life threatening danger.

Another idea is that sometimes carrying a weapon may actually attract those situations in itself, someone who carries a gun knows that if something happens they can react so they might actually consciously or subconsciously look for or find themselves in sticky situations that justify the use of a weapon, they might take more risks knowing they're armed opening themselves up to conflict much more easily.

Lightstrider wrote: If I lived in a city I may feel more inclined to carry concealed with a permit but I think it'd be a very rare situation that someone is truly going to try and kill you randomly or for something, and if they're willing to kill you for something you have well I may just give it to them since they may truly be that desperate.

I used to conceal+carry when I lived in a city. One time I caught a thief trying to steal my motorcycle so I went inside and grabbed my gun. I called the cops and they came and took me down at gunpoint. After they figured out I ditched my gun after calling the cops, they let me go and nothing happened. It was a big waste of time.

So yeah concealed+carry makes you feel like the man but the cops just get a boner to arrest you and crime just goes on anyway.

I personally carry a lightsaber I made but I covered the PVC blade with a thick padding so while you can fight, if you hit hard with it you're a lot more likely to stun someone then actually hurt them. And I would only use it in self-defense.

I would highly reccomend Aikido. It relies heavily on have total control of your own body and practioners often use yoga and tai chi to condition themselves. There are some strikes taught, but there are primarily holds/grapples/throws. Aikido is meant specifically to condition the body and mind in reacting quickly to a situation with confidence. It teaches you to utilize Chi (The Force) to give you the power you need to think on your feet and have control of your body. Most mistakes that people make in a fight occur becuase of fear. Aikido teaches you to overcome fear and use an opponents fear against them.

As far as weapons, I have no problem with people who want conceal/carry permits for firearms or who want a gun to deter criminals who might try to enter their home. I also understand the position of people who want nothing to do with guns. I personally do not own one. But I do have elderly and disabled relatives who feel safer with a gun around. Their bodies no longer allow them to use physical force or to run away. So a gun, for them, is their only equalizer.

Lightstrider wrote: Another idea is that sometimes carrying a weapon may actually attract those situations in itself, someone who carries a gun knows that if something happens they can react so they might actually consciously or subconsciously look for or find themselves in sticky situations that justify the use of a weapon, they might take more risks knowing they're armed opening themselves up to conflict much more easily.

i do believe people are sometimes more likely to take a risk if they are armed - we justify it by saying something like "im not going to be pushed around"

another angle to this is that sometimes the weapon represents a "go-to" solution in the face of violence or potential violence

the whole point of a "go to" solution is to have a ready made answer so as to bypass the "figure out what the answer is" process

theres a saying "when all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail"

and "when the chips are down" or "the going gets tough" having a go to solution of lethal force can potentially result in a dead body, where there would not have been one had the participants all been left to face the issue with their wits alone

i have the general sense that a person who is afraid to be unarmed ought not to be armed

and that those who carry firearms should not only be diligent in training to handle them with control, but even more importantly, in how to face pressure and danger without freaking out

i live in a "stand your ground" state...since the law was instituted crime has steadily dropped....criminals are less likely to victimize someone with impunity if they think said person is packing....several times elderly folks have successfully defended themselves against would be thugs....

i'm ex military, and a lifelong student of martial arts...i see everything as a potential weapon...but i also define a weapon differently from most....most define it as something used to inflict harm....i define it as something to distract,disarm,or damage an opponent....a sheet of paper crumpled and thrown in someone's face can buy you the time to close the distance and grapple...words can be an effective weapon when spoken in the right way...

a skilled jedi is always armed....wisdom, and intelligence....skill and technique....dialogue and action....

look around the area you're sitting in, try and figure out how everything around you can be used for defense....