Before I get to the meat of today’s thought exercise for real-world fights, you’ll need to take a few inventories.

For the first inventory, list at least a dozen “designated weapons,” or devices that are carried and used primarily for self-protection. I'll get you started: firearm, folding knife, fixed-blade knife, Taser, pepper spray, tactical flashlight — feel free to continue the list.

Next, assume a complete absence of designated weapons and look to your environment for “improvised weapons.” Your top-12 list might include:

• a ballpoint pen (for piercing or thrusting)

• a coffee mug (for throwing, slap-launching or smashing)

• a bedside electric clock (for smashing, throwing, cord whipping or cord garroting)

• a soft drink in a plastic bottle (for throwing, slap-launching, or shaking and spraying)

• a coffee table (for toppling or kick-shoving)

• a salt shaker (for throwing, slap-launching or smashing)

You can finish it up.

Before moving to the next list, I have a quote from Marcus Aurelius' Meditations:

“In the application of your principles, you must be like the pancratiast, not like the gladiator, for the gladiator lets fall the sword which he uses and is killed, but the other always has his hand and needs to do nothing else than use it.”

You probably see where I'm going. I doubt any of you walk around with the entire list of designated weapons, but more than a few probably carry at least one of those items. If you find yourself without them, you can resort to one of the improvised weapons you've trained your mind to locate in your environment.

Now, let’s proceed according to Aurelius’ advice about empty-hand functionality. To that end, build a “dirty dozen” list of body weapons.

Mine would start with:

• the fist (for striking)

• the hand (for grasping, tearing or ripping)

• the elbow (for smashing)

• the knee (for thrusting)

• the head (for head-butting)

• the shoulder (for shoulder-butting)

Take a moment to flesh out the list with your own selections.

Now, for the crux of today’s lesson:

If you buy into the wisdom of Aurelius, you shouldn’t follow a strategy that has you relying solely on designated weapons or improvised weapons. You should spend time developing your ability to use body weapons.

Because you’re a martial artist, that’s definitely not a problem. However, what happens if your body weapons are operating at less than 100-percent efficiency?

In other words...

• Can you box with one eye out of the game? Perhaps you should give it a shot while wearing an eye patch.

• Can you function with blurred vision? Try sparring while wearing an old, scratched-up pair of safety goggles.

• Can you grapple competently while blindfolded? Tie one on and hit the mats.

• Can you maneuver and fight when you're forced to function on different levels? Gear up and throw a few offensive and defensive techniques at a training partner while you're both on a flight of stairs.

• Can you fight while being exposed to extreme temperatures? Try immersing yourself in 40-degree water and then engaging in combat drills. (How well did that go when I did it? About as well as you'd expect, but the information gleaned about what I can and cannot rely on in such situations was invaluable.)

It’s unwise to rely too heavily on a designated weapon without giving thought to what will happen if it fails or if you find yourself without it.

It’s nearly as shortsighted to train with only one or two classes of improvised weapons. For unless you recognize the potential of other classes, you probably won't be able to use one under duress.

Example: I have several friends who are skilled at stick combatives but who can “see” only stick-like objects when they search for improvised weapons during scenario drills. That puts them at a disadvantage when those options are removed because, in essence, they've rendered themselves blind to additional opportunities.

But why stop there?

Why not maximize your preparation by incorporating some of the extreme situations mentioned above, so you can learn how to fight using body weapons that are impaired by less-than-perfect conditions?

Assuming that you'll function at the best of your ability at what could be the worst time of your life is a potentially fatal mistake.

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