Defense Training International

08/29/2026

Here is a Quip from John about a student in a class a few weeks ago who used a Cakes Concealed Carry bag as a FlexCCarry®Solution.

26 Aug 26

Concealed Carry Options!

Earlier this month, a woman attending one of our DTI Defensive Handgun Classes in OH asked me if she could work out of her concealed-carry handbag.

She later told me that she fully expected me to say “No,” and that I would insist that she use a strong-side belt holster. However, I said that her concealed-carry sling-bag, manufactured by Cakes, was very suitable and that she could certainly work with it during the entire Course. She did, and was able to handily pass her DTI Defensive Handgun Proficiency Test at the end of the second day.

Cakes is a vendor with whom I was not familiar, but their sling-bag is well-designed, well put-together (albeit pricy) and for our training, very acceptable. Other concealed-carry handbag vendors I like, and recommend, include GTM, Zendira, and Ukoalabag

For women (some men too), a concealed-carry handbag represents not only a legitimate carry-option, but for many under some circumstances, the only option. And, I’m happy for them to exercise in training with the equipment they’re going to actually be using on a daily basis, rather than with something used only on a range.

My long-time friend and colleague, Manny Kapelsohn, recently editorialized about the substantial and unavoidable risks inherent with with carrying striker-fired pistols via “appendix carry” (which among many of its advocates is more accurately described as “groin carry”) More than a few terrible injury-producing UDs associated with this practice have happened, and continue to happen!

I join Manny in not recommending for most people (men and women) “groin carry” with striker-fired pistols, particularly in IWB holsters. For most (men and women), a concealed-carry handbag represents a sensible, and a much safer, alternative!

My wonderful student demonstrated to all of us that she could safely, smoothly produce, and re-conceal, her pistol (G43), using her Cakes concealed-carry sling bag, and all without ever inadvertently pointing it at her own body, nor in any other unsafe direction.

She’s “one of us” now!

/John

07/16/2026

John's original post on "open" carry:
14 July 26

Open carry

Not recommended!

Lawyers argue over this issue endlessly, and they speculate all day about how a jury will react to this practice, what instructions the jury might receive from a judge, whether or not jury members will pay any attention to said instructions, ad nauseam.

All very interesting, but mostly irrelevant!

So, what is relevant?

By the time you get in front of a jury on a felony charge, you’ll likely be bankrupt, having spent triple figures just during “the process.” You’ll probably spend some time in jail awaiting trial. Your life will be mostly ruined, and your mental health will be in serious jeopardy!

Are you particularly anxious to go through all that just to “make a point?”

For those of us who go armed, continuous discrete concealment is a critical and necessary skill. Our gun(s) is always out of sight, out of conversation.

There is a motto among those of us in the security industry:

“Security discussed is security compromised”

We may go armed as routine practice, but we don’t talk about it!

Carrying guns “openly,” in plane sight, is of course appropriate while one is hunting or engaged in live-fire exercises on a shooting range. And, in some rural areas in some states, the practice is so common so as not to garner any particular notice on the part of most bystanders. But, “open carrying in public” in most places will invariably attract attention of police, who may interpret it as “disorderly conduct,” because the practice is “calculated to alarm” others present, causing a “disturbance,” etc. And, responding officers may look upon you, and the situation, as a credible threat to their safety!

Courts’ “interpretations” of this practice are all over the map, and often locality-dependent. In any event, you will almost always be “detained” and questioned. You may be arrested on the spot. You may be charged. Charges may be aggressively pursued, or casually dropped. You’ll likely spend a day, or two, in jail. You might be sued by bystanders for “intentional infliction of emotional distress.” You’ll have to retain the services of a lawyer (at your own expense), maybe those of a bail/bondsman.

Or, responding police may just briefly question you, and then cut you loose!

But either way, your name goes on a “List!”

Even in states where open carry is ostensibly “legal,” contrary local agendas are often in-place, and enforced.

The real question is:

Why are you doing this?

It’s difficult for me, and your lawyer, to imagine how open carrying in public will ever be in your best interests!

Do you really want to be “The Test Case?”

As a trainer, my interest is in providing advice to my students that is designed to promote their “best interests,” like insuring their continued good health, and keeping them away from needless “entanglements” with our legal system, minimizing damage when such entanglements are unavoidable.

So, “open carry” is not recommended. I know there are people who think they want to do it, for reasons that are apparently adequate for them, but for one, “martyrdom” does not interest me!

“The only real difference between su***de and martyrdom is the amount of press coverage.”

Palahniuk

/John

07/16/2026

16 July 26

Comments on the practice of open carry, from a friend and criminal-defense attorney in PA:

“I represented a client in PA who had a valid concealed-carry permit. On a particular occasion, for reasons that seemed good to him at the time, he chose to carry his handgun openly into a credit union where he had an account.

I note here that open-carry is perfectly legal, even without a permit, in all of PA, except Philadelphia, where a CCW is needed. Where this incident took place is no where near Philadelphia.

In this credit union, my client got into a verbal disagreement with a female teller about how long it would take for a check he was depositing to clear, so that he could draw on the funds. He never used a foul word, never touched his holstered gun, never mentioned the gun, and never verbalized any threat of any kind. It was just a typical ‘animated conversation,’ which take place in banks every day. The foregoing was all confirmed by the teller herself during her testimony at my client’s subsequent criminal trial!

Nevertheless, the mere fact that he was wearing a gun openly while engaged in a disagreement about a check upset this teller, so she pushed the silent alarm button.

Shortly thereafter, six police officers arrived at the bank and, with drawn guns, had my client lay down on the bank floor while they handcuffed him and relieved him of his gun. He was subsequently charged with ‘disorderly conduct,’ which in PA can be either a summary offense or a misdemeanor.

At his trial, despite the judge openly conceding that my client had done nothing illegal, he was convicted of the summary offense anyway.

The judge said to me, ‘I’m not going to have cowboys walking into banks all over town displaying guns on their hips!’

Besides a fine and court costs, my client incurred thousands of dollars in legal fees. That, and having to suffer the indignity, danger, and life disruption of a felony arrest and trial.”

My comments: The foregoing is a perfect example of why open carry is not recommended by most competent trainers, and also most lawyers. We can argue all day about the “technical legality” of the practice, as well as the “unconstitutionality” of various and assorted statutes, laws, local ordinances, agendas etc.

Again, all very interesting, but mostly irrelevant!

Many prosecutors and judges bring with them into their job personal political agendas. They’re not supposed to. In fact, they take an oath promising not to, but it’s all BS, as we see.

The judge in the above case, in effect, unilaterally “manufactured” a new law, a law no elected legislator ever voted on, and no governor ever signed. He obviously harbors a personal dislike for “cowboys,” and looks for opportunities to misuse his office in order to punish them.

Obviously, you don’t have to look very far to find examples of “injustice” in this civilization, and we can spend the rest of the day expressing our disappointment. In the interim, those of us near the bottom of the food-chain need to look for ways of preserving our good physical health, financial health, and mental health, no matter the political climate, and a needless “high profile” usually doesn’t help!

And, if you’re wondering if there is a point lurking in all this:

Going armed is a personal choice. For those of us who do, as routine, discreet concealment represents the best practice.

Out of sight. Out of conversation.

Words to live by!

/John

06/04/2026

https://www.armedlifestylemagazine.com/read/issue-25

11/11/2025

A fellow Marine cutting the Marine Corps birthday cake with John's Mameluke sword. John and Micheal, a Marine, looking on. The cake was delicious and the singing unforgettable!

09/11/2025

Finally! Volume 2 of DTI Quips by John Farnam, is available in paperback! The Kindle ebook will be available shortly!

Guns & Warriors: DTI Quips Volume 2 on Amazon

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

05/28/2025

All of the men whose names are on this panel died in between Nov 17 and Nov 28 of 1968. The picture does not even cover all at the names. One, a fellow Marine, a personal friend. He was killed not long after John was evacuated back to the States. At the bottom of the panel is a DTI Challenge Coin, dedicated to these men and so many more. The Traveling Vietnam Memorial Wall was in Colorado this past weekend and we visited once more. It's why there is a DTI.

02/19/2025

Today is the 80th Anniversary of Iwo Jima and John's birthday!

12/27/2024

Part 1 of Inside Story
Panteao Productions, SureFire, LLC
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/15bCoFC1pp/

INSIDE STORY EPISODE 4, PART 1:
THE OG GATHERING NOW STREAMING:

Gun industry legends Dave Spaulding, Massad Ayoob, Mike Boyle, and John Farnam join Fernando Coelho to dive deep into the history of the gun industry, shedding light on how fi****ms and fi****ms training have transformed over the decades. They discuss the dramatic shift from traditional print reviews to the digital age of internet forums, social media influencers, and YouTube personalities of the industry. This is a behind-the-scenes look at the past, present, and future of fi****ms, ammunition, and the gun industry delivered by the most trusted voices in the field.

Special thanks to Ta**us, Re*****on, Gunsite, Silencer Central Leupold, UM Tactical, AMERIGLO, Umarex, Tango Down, C&H Precision, Spyderco, Federal, HKS, and Riton for supporting the show.

https://www.makeready.tv/en/play/inside-story--episode-iv--part-1/8698?seriesId=8533

12/18/2023

Quips found at defense-training.com