imported post
Knives are extremely dangerous and are very lethal.
Guns are not the answer to every tactical problem, though we (as in gun people) have been told otherwise.
In a VERY close encounter, going for a *holstered* gun is probably the wrong action. It depends upon what the goblin is doing. If he has a knife in his hands, you'll need to fend off his attacks until you get the opportunity to deploy a knife or gun. This is difficult and requires some training to do successfully. It also requires a good to excellent level of physical fitness to maintain for a short period of time. If the goblin is not showing his hand(s), then you need to keep your eye on that hand/arm and prepare to disrupt the goblin's draw. This is very important to do because it gives you the initiative. If you can pin his arm (due to your positioning), then it may be useful to do so...but the goblin gets a say in this, so be prepared to dish out some serious force to his face and neck. If you see the elbow come back (past his back/kidney), he's drawing something with that hand. Don't be afaid to kick the goblin away from you to create distance and time to deploy a weapon.
Obviously, there's a lot more to it and text is inadequate for properly describing the techniques.
I highly recommend you attend an AMOK! seminar with Tom Sotis (or similar). You will learn that a knife is just as deadly as a handgun and that it can be the superior weapon in close quarters fighting. This is, of course, situational, but I certainly recommend that all OC/CCW'ers carry (and train with) at least a folding knife.
