Hi Persnickety, welcome to THR.
I would LOVE to hear carry techniques from any female. I have a snubby .38, and it seems no matter where I put it, it either gouges me or shows.
Most of the time, I carry a Glock 26 (that's a 9mm subcompact) in a kydex inside-the-waistband (IWB) holster. I place the holster just to the right of my belly button and in front of my right hip.
The reason this spot works for me, as it does for a lot of other women, is that most women's bodies are built with a natural curve to the hip line that most men simply don't have. So it is hard for a lot of women to hide a gun that is directly on the hip. Sometimes carrying directly on the hip is painful too, especially if the woman is short waisted like I am. But carry in front of the hip is quite do-able, because it makes the gun easier to hide and gets the gun's grip out of your ribs.
One of the secrets to comfortable IWB carry, by the way, is having a really good, sturdy belt. I think someone (Coronado?) makes one that is a sturdy inch and a half in the back, but that narrows in the front to appear as thin as a regular women's belt. Very attractive and practical.
Another method that works for me is the belly band. It is worthwhile to spend money on a good one, and to make sure that the band is of the right size. An undershirt worn underneath makes the band more comfortable and keeps wayward velcro bits from causing itchies.
A dear friend of mine often wears an ankle holster. It works well for her (with a .38 snubby, btw) because she has learned how to sit safely while wearing one. I could not successfully hide an ankle holster because I can't keep both feet on the floor when I'm sitting -- but it works for a lot of people, and is
very discreet when done correctly. My friend swears it is comfortable, too, but I think that really depends (again) on the quality of the holster.
More info about women's holsters is available at
http://www.womensholsters.com/choosing.html -- I'm not affiliated with them at all, I just think it's a dang good collection of information about holsters for women.
Also - just hows does one develop a 'warrior spirit'? I am not naturally brave.
That's a great question to ask over in the "Strategies & Tactics" forum.
Meanwhile, I would suggest reading some good books, such as Gila Hayes' book
Effective Defense and Massad Ayoob's
In the Gravest Extreme. Gila's book is written from a woman's perspective and addresses some of the emotional and moral issues many women face as they are making the decision to defend themselves with deadly force. Ayoob's book addresses the ethical/moral side of things, but he also talks about some of the legal issues.
There are lots of other good books out there, but those two in particular provide a pretty good coverage of the basic things you will need to think about.
Once you have your brain squared away with good information, then you will want to look around for some good training so that your body 'instinctively' reacts to danger the way you want it to.
The reason you need both good information
and good training is because it won't do you any good to know the right response to danger if you are not physically able to
do that response. Nor is it enough to be physically able to perform the right response, if your brain doesn't know what the right response is, or if you haven't emotionally processed what it would be like to
do that response. So it all has to come together at once if you are going to be prepared to defend yourself.
Hope that helps a bit. I'm sure you'll get other, better responses too.
pax
