How would I go about using a short (sub-2") blade for self defence?

I can't imagine that slashing an attacker will do anything more than piss him off.

Or are short blades only useful for stabbing my jugular to get it over with quick, rather than having to play with Bubba before he blows my head off with his shotgun?

Like with a round.......well placed, I'd think.

Tell me about blade placement then, considering I've got the .25ACP of knives.

A two inch blade is long enough to cut to most bones in the body.  ONLY the femurs (upper thighs) would mostly be out of reach of a two inch blade.  And even then, that depends on the size of the victim's legs.  

That leaves:

Skull
All vertebrae
Spinal cord at the base of the skull
All ribs
All bones in the arms and hands.
All bones in the lower legs and feet.
Pelvis

Jugular vein and carotid artery.
Eyes.
Ears.
Nose.
All structures in the throat.
All arteries in the extremities except
the femoral arteries in the thighs. (Varies
according to person.  Accessible on smaller people.)

A two inch blade is sufficent to open the abdominal and chest cavities and do considerable damage to the outer parts of several internal organs including the intestines, kidneys, and liver.

It is also sufficient to cause lung damage and collapse if it is directed between ribs.

In essence, a two inch blade can be unquestionably lethal, and in MANY ways.
About the only thing it can't do is direct, deep
tissue injuries to the organs protected by the rib cage and the skull.

CJ

If you are up against somebody much bigger than you are (tall as well as wide), you just flip your stout little .25ACP of knives around (the blade comes out the bottom of your hand).  Duck his punch and do your "tae-bo jab" across your body and split his belly.  

(You are really distracted if you have to stuff your intestines back into your midsection before killing your victim) [%(]

If bubba has a shotgun though... your best bet is to throw it at him and get your AR out of the trunk before he figures out what hit him on the head. [frag] [:P]

my pleasure, Patrick

(seriously, though.. this method works)

Carry a bigger blade.  In 'sconsin, it don't matter how many inches of blade you're carrying.

If you're carrying something and it's stated purpose is that it is a self-defense weapon - you're breaking the law.

But to answer your original question, a 2" blade is easier to conceal, so that's good.  But some people may worry that 2" isn't enough to hit vital organs.  Well, that only matters if you know where to aim - I mean a 4" blade isn't going to be much better if you aim for the left ventricle and miss right?

You'll need to rethink what your goals are regarding carrying a 2" blade for self-defense and develop your technique around that:

If your goal is to "run away to live to fight another day" (which is a good goal BTW), realize that you'll be using that knife on another person only enough to facilitate a safe escape.  And since you'll only be using that 2" knife when someone's got their hand or hands on you - practice proven and effective countermeasures (which means obtaining some training, or at least some books or tapes), or if that's an impossible thing to do given our crazy hectic schedules - go for the easy way out - hitting the eyes and/or scaling.  

What's scaling you may ask?  Picture some guy with his hand on your throat.  Now take your 2" blade and begin filleting the top muscle off of his forearm starting at the wrist and working your way towards the elbow with a purposeful side-to-side cutting motion.  At some juncture during this conflict, your adversary may look at you with an astonished/horrified look on his face - at this point, remember to smile at him.  

If you survive that, then you might be able to find the time to fit in some seminars on self-defense I'm thinking!  HTH!

A 2" blade is better than no blade at all...personally I carry a TOPS folder...remember though..you will get injured in a knife fight.  So escape should be your first thought unless your protecting loved ones or cornered.

Yep.  The best weapon to have in a knife fight...is a gun.

Actually, WI law permeits you to carry anything

[/b]3in or less[b]

Knives less than 3 are not considered 'dangerous weapons', and may be concealed at will (WI CCW law prohibits 'going armed with a concealed and dangerous weapon', and the court has ruled that knives must have at least a 3" blade to be dangerous...

Edited because it's 3, not 3.5. Don't have a reference, but I goofed when writing...

Stated differently:

[b] The best way to survive a knife fight is... Never get in one in the first place[/b]

In a defensive knife class I attended awhile back I came to disagree with this statment. In one exercise the instructor duct taped a thick side of beef to a PVC pipe "bone" and covered it with two layers of denim. A push, turn and drag of a spyderco 3" blade destroyed the meat. You could actualy feel the blade hit "bone." I left with a lot of respect for what a smallish blade knife can do at close ranges and I think it could be deadlier than gun in many circumstances.

Sadly, there were nearly 3,000 Americans killed indirectly from the use of  short blades. Highjackers used box knives.  
Respect all tools.