I am looking for intel on any unusual safety issues in Los Angeles cause my wife & I will be there this week.
Staying in a large nice hotel, presumably that building is fairly safe. Outside their doors, we’ll, I’ll have to be on high alert since we’ll be tourists. We’ll try very hard to not LOOK like tourists of course. And I’m damn well clear on the need for awareness etc.
Wat I do not have is any 1st hand info on anything that would increase threat levels downtown other than gang shoplifting & home burglaries, to the point Beverly Hills ppl been buying shotguns etc.
While there, I see anything questionable we go into avoidance mode immediately.
Wat sucks is that I can only have my standard 2 AO knives with me. Sure, up close nobody wants to deal with a blade, but more than one attacker could negate my personal capability to utilize those.
I’ve a solid plan to avoid any issues, like no touring past dusk, or by ourselves in strange territory, etc.
This is simply a request for anyone who may live in LA to share info on potential hazards near Wilshire Blvd.?
Wilshire Blvd is around 15 miles long. Starting at the beach in Santa Monica, cruises through Westwood (UCLA) and Beverly Hills then ending just past MacArthur Park. That’s some pretty diverse territory for a specific threat assessment. General trends include the mass crowd shoplifting, demonstrations/activism (mostly yelling and crowds not arson), homeless/transient related crime.
These things ebb and flow depending on things like stories in the news or police activity (homeless outreach/clean up). You have the potential to see it from the beach all the way through BH. Not sure how the vibe is going to be by UCLA. They were starting the semester via remote learning for the first couple of weeks. So depending on when you are around there maybe back-to-school chaos or pretty quiet.
Generally between the 405 freeway and Hancock Park (La Cienega Blvd) is lower crime. That’s your UCLA and Beverly Hills areas ($$$). BHPD is well funded and responsive. UCLA has their own PD plus LAPD. Out by the beach has typical property crime (burgs and car theft) and beach bar fueled assaults.
The end by MacArthur Park has a high crime rate and is gang territory (stay away).
K, to b specific, the InterContinental hotel at 900 Wilshire Blvd
Your reply is reeeeal damn close to wat I’d expect TBH.
My research shows a high crime rate in Korea town, much unlike Chinatown.
I’m taking 3 blades—neck knife + SOG A/O knives for each front pocket. But, if I’m so close to danger I must deploy a blade, it’s way too close for my comfort.
Main tactic for our safety is to not be out after dark, or anywhere that’s not part of a tour. Granted, a tour could be hacked and crime can happen in daylight….just typically bad guys like the dark better.
Ultimately awareness + avoidance will be my best friends. It sucks I can’t go armed but knew that when we planned this trip
In any case, I simply feel it desirable to have as much info as possible before going anywhere unfamiliar.
Appreciate wat u told me!
Ya all take care,
K, just really wanna report some personal good news.
Recently I’ve FINALLY been able to exercise with weights again (not gonna call it ‘lifting’) AND am in process of learning tennis which I find incredibly fun along with aerobic benefits.
Given neither weights nor tennis were physically possible 12mos ago, am elated.
The Tactical part of that is Iim becoming better able to train for misc. fighting Yaaay! Happy happy my brothers!
I’ve missed talking here too. Will try to correct that.
Ya all have heard carpe diem, seize the day. Yep, great advice. But let’s break it down further…if we seize each moment as if it’s about to be our very last breath, the sum total result will be seizing not only the day but also life.
I’d read Idahos post about the stoics “remember we all die”, paraphrased. Yep, we dang well need to remember that. I simply propose trying to behave with it in mind in every action or inaction we choose. And by God we choose wat to do constantly, whether it be an action, watching indifferently, etc.
Seize the moment!
Ya all take care
Disclaimer: This doesn’t mean live ONLY in the moment. We need to take note of history and plan for the future. That may be taking many moments to reflect and to formulate a plan for life.
I shot one of these yesterday, good performance for what it is intended for. Personally, I think they are expensive. You could buy one of the 9mm polymer imports for around the same price. However, if you live in a restricted gun state or city, this may be an alternative. Check your local laws for carrying non - lethal.
Since we’re sharing firearm pics….
Savage Model 7 in .308Win, Arken Gen II 4-16x50 illum. reticle, with a bubble level even
This is supposedly a solid 1000 yd rifle. I’ve yet to fire it—busy with other stuff….but will do so by Nay I’d expect. And yeh that’s a folding stock
I asked for intel bear 900 Wilshire in LA.
The area is solid n pretty free if things that elevate the magnitude of my attention.
However, getting from LAX to ANY hotel requires exiting LAX building the walking bout 200’ to catch a shuttle to a staging area where one may get an UBER, Lyft etc. nano pickups by those permitted on sidewalk just outside building exit. IMO wat this does is create a flick of confused sheep who are so focused on getting transport they lose sight of all else, including any level of situational awareness.
Tip of the day: If flying into LAX, pre-book your transport & have them meet u at the staging point to avoid being surrounded by ppl who can only focus on their phones, thereby becoming easy targets and by doing so, inviting thugs into close proximity to you who pay attention.
Lerdrit, also known as Muay Leert Rit, is a military martial arts system predominantly used by the Royal Thai Army. Lerdrit can be simply described as Muay Thai kickboxing without rules or protections with some military-specific weapons training thrown in for good measure. The art is centered around close-range striking and emphasizes aggressively attacking the opponent’s weak spots with the body’s “nine natural weapons,” including the hands, feet, knees, elbows, and head. This military martial art also includes specific conditioning techniques to increase overall physical fitness and bone density.
@idaho - Brother that’s precisely the genre of fighting I learned….have heard I need ground fighting skills. Do the Thais include that in this system?
Take care now,
When I trained with them, they used a few basic techniques when they capitalized on knocking or sweeping an opponent down : shoulder and arm pins, basic chokes. They were not heavy on ground fighting during my time there. Don’t know about their current training.
If your ego is too big to learn from others than your mind is too small to excel. Plateaus are not passed without shaking up your approach and making changes.
If I can piggyback on this a bit, I have the same question about NYC. My wife and I used to go 2-3 times a year but have not been back since the lockdown in 2020. We know the city well, but I understand that, as in all big American cities (including my own) things have deteriorated substantially in the last 2 years. We usually stay in Chelsea because it’s cheap and close to subway lines uptown to the opera, Broadway shows, and museums, and we also like SoHo, Greenwich Village, and the East Village for dining and jazz. We’ve never had any issues in any of these areas. Also, I always loved to take the subway and walk and prided myself on not taking cabs. Does anyone know of anything in particular we should be mindful of, such as subway crime, etc.? Any parts that have become particularly sketchy lately?
As always, thanks in advance.
I should clarify that I’m asking about Manhattan south of about 110th Street. I realize there are some areas that have always been sketchy, like North Brooklyn or the South Bronx, that probably still are.
Wish I had any idea. To avoid trouble, last we were there we stayed in 5th & Madison area. Walked to and thru part of Central Oark and the Hard Rock. But we were only there one night in order to catch a cruise at the Port Authority.
As a commercial driver long ago (did that 6 months) I drove thru Bronx & Brooklyn, flushing Queens. Cops told me to roll red lights in Bronx……don’t stop or ppl would attempt to rob. I’ve never desired to go anywhere near any of those areas again, hence one night at the Waldorf only.
Wat I did before LA was check FBI crime statistics online for areas around our intended destination.
We’ve had no trouble, except for a dude dressed as Spiderjan on Hollywood Blvd who startled me with a quick approach while doing fighting movements. I simply said, “Back off pal@ very gruff and although he gripes he went away. I’ve a very exaggerated startle response & although I’d seen the guy he was close and started the movements suddenly, nearly to his detriment. Watever.
Thanks. A big problem in NYC appears to be volatile mentally ill homeless people, especially on subways. That poses a problem, since it’s hard to know how to deal with someone when the voices inside his head are telling him to attack you. The usual tactics for dealing with social/asocial violence don’t really work with those folks.
Best tactic I know for mentally ill is to ignore and distance. If u have tin foil, some like to make a hat so help me. But if I thought someone was off their nut I’d quietly get as far from em as possible. Of course if they get physically aggressive u gotta do wat u gotta do. Best to avoid. As for subways, naw I avoid those like the plague.
