Improvised weapon

An Improvised weapon is a device that was not designed to be used as a weapon but can be put to that use. They are generally used for self-defence or where the person is otherwise unarmed. In some cases improvised weapons are commonly used by attackers in street fights, muggings, murders or during riots, usually when conventional weapons such as firearms are unavailable or inappropriate.

"Improvised Weapons" is a term used to represent common everyday objects that can be used is a variety of defensive applications. These objects are not physically altered in any way, in an effort to make them more functional as weapons. They are generally utilized in their normal state.

Examples

A spinlock adjustable dumbbell

Other than items designed as weapons, any object that can be used to cause bodily harm can be considered an improvised weapon. Examples of items that have been used as improvised weapons include:

• Sports equipment such as baseball bats, golf clubs, cricket bats and dumbells
• Objects made of glass, such as beer bottles
• Tools such as sledgehammers, tire irons, shovels and fire extinguishers
• Construction materials, such as 2×4s, pipes and bricks
• Natural materials, such as rocks
• Vehicles, including rental trucks, light aircraft, such as a Piper PA-28-236 Dakota and airliners, such as the Boeing 767

Improvised weapons in martial arts

Modern factory-made machete, US Forces issue

Throughout history, common tools were used so often as weapons in self-defense that many of them have evolved specifically into weapons or were adapted with the secondary purpose of being used in self-defense, usually by adding modifications to its design. Well-known examples include the Irish shillelagh, the Japanese Bō and hanbo, which were originally used as walking canes and the Buddhist Monk's spade, a shovel monks used for burying corpses which often had sharpened edges to defend against bandits with more ease.

Many martial arts employ the use of common objects as weapons; Okinawan karate features items of farming equipment that were later used as weapons by Okinawan peasants due the prohibition of weapons imposed by the shogun regime during feudal times; Filipino martial arts such as Eskrima include practice with machetes, canes, bamboo spears, and knives as a result of the 400 year Spanish colonization that took place in the Philippines which prohibited the ownership and use of standard swords and bladed weapons; Chinese martial arts and some Korean martial arts commonly feature the use of improvised weapons such as fans, hammers and staves. There are even some western martial arts that are based on improvised weapons such as British quarterstaff fighting and Irish stick fighting.

After the German Peasants' Wars during 1524-1525, a fencing book edited by Paulus Hector Mair described in 1542 techniques how to fence using a scythe.

Legal issues

Improvised weapons of the British Home Guard, prepared against the possibility of a German invasion in WWII

Because of the use of common objects as weapons in violent crimes, many countries have laws that prevent the use of some tools and other non-weapon objects to be used for causing harm. It is possible for a person to be detained, or even arrested, by a law enforcement official or security personnel for carrying a potentially-harmful object in a situation where there is no reasonable use for it. For example, while it is legal and perfectly understandable for someone to possess a kitchen knife or a hammer and keep it for use in one's home, it would seem highly suspicious for someone to carry a kitchen knife or a hammer concealed on his/her person or in plain sight when walking down a city street.

There are places that prohibit people from entering with objects that may used as weapons. Most public schools in North America do not allow their students to bring pocket knives, butter knives or chain-wallets, sometimes with harsh zero tolerance policies. Airports typically prohibit objects that could be used as weapons from being carried onto aircraft, with restrictions widely extended after the September 11 attacks to cover even objects like nail clippers and spiked wristbands. (See Airport security repercussions due to the September 11, 2001 attacks).

On the other hand there are countries where weapons are prohibited by law. In these locations a law abiding citizen's only options for self-defense are to use empty handed techniques or to utilize the aid of an improvised weapon.

Makeshift weapons

A Finnish soldier with a Molotov Cocktail in the Winter War.

A makeshift weapon is an everyday object that has been physically altered to enhance its potential as a weapon. It can also be used to refer to common classes of weapons such as guns, knives, and bombs made from commonly available items.

Examples of makeshift weapons include:

• Millwall brick
• Molotov cocktail
• Pipe bomb
• Shiv
• Improvised firearms
• Chainlock (improvised flail)
• Stink bomb
• Smoke bomb
• Blackjack/Sap
• Improvised explosive device

The improvised Molotov cocktail was used with great success by the heavily outnumbered Finnish forces in the Winter War against the Soviet Union. The mixture of flammable petroleum, often thickened with soap or tar, was so effective against the Soviet tanks that the Finns began mass producing Molotov cocktails, and issuing them to their troops. While the first documented use of such improvised incendiary devices was in the Spanish Civil War, their use in the Winter War was much more prevalent, and it was at that time they were named after the Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov.

See also

• Improvised explosive device
• Street fighting
• Improvised firearms

External links

• Improvised Self Defence Weapons