[He's trained people before - several, in fact - and he will be the first to tell you that doing so is a largely unpleasant experience, particularly for those that he is teaching. He abandoned that role long ago - even before coming here.]
Your concern is worth noting - hence the importance of choosing a weapon that is easily concealed.
Most any blade can be used effectively as a weapon with the proper training - even those that, to the untrained, would appear rather useless.
[This coming from a man who could probably kill another using only his thumb if he tried hard enough. Point being: most people won't be able to kill you using a butter knife, but if you know how to gouge someone's eyes out with one, well.]
You might also take into consideration the level of skill necessary to use your weapon. It might be daunting at first to take on a more difficult weapon, but becoming adept in using a weapon that is uncommon might eliminate the possibility that your attackers will be able to effectively turn that weapon against you.
[Okay, so. Maybe he's a little more eager to teach than he's willing to admit.]
sorry for the tl;dr
[He's trained people before - several, in fact - and he will be the first to tell you that doing so is a largely unpleasant experience, particularly for those that he is teaching. He abandoned that role long ago - even before coming here.]
Your concern is worth noting - hence the importance of choosing a weapon that is easily concealed.
Most any blade can be used effectively as a weapon with the proper training - even those that, to the untrained, would appear rather useless.
[This coming from a man who could probably kill another using only his thumb if he tried hard enough. Point being: most people won't be able to kill you using a butter knife, but if you know how to gouge someone's eyes out with one, well.]
You might also take into consideration the level of skill necessary to use your weapon. It might be daunting at first to take on a more difficult weapon, but becoming adept in using a weapon that is uncommon might eliminate the possibility that your attackers will be able to effectively turn that weapon against you.
[Okay, so. Maybe he's a little more eager to teach than he's willing to admit.]