Up here in Canada, especially out West, gun ownership is pretty much normal and nothing special. We have a big hunting culture and it's not hard to find a shooting range. The vast majority of gun owners are responsible, law abiding people who know that screwing around can lead to stricter, stupid laws that just punish everyone needlessly. It's not as weird as you might think, most of it's out of sight, out of mind.

As for knife fighting, it's pretty quick and brutal. A lot of it is being able to deflect your opponent's arm and then going for a disabling or lethal strike, and keeping your knife hand back and your unarmed one forward. Getting hurt in the arm is a lot better than dying because you lost your weapon.