(In reply to the above post, of course)
I agree that cutting is a good response to a bear hug (if the situation merits lethal force), but my point was that for practical purposes, if you can actually carry an 11" bowie or similar knife, it will be very, very difficult to draw if you are entangled. You would need to move your hand approximately 8-9" in a single direction, a very obvious movement might add. If someone really knows how to hold onto you this would be overly difficult and you'd be likely to cut yourself. If you are in a car, stall, corner, etc, forget about it.
My point was simply that this is why I prefer centerline carry of 2-3" blade length knives.