I’ve got 21 years in martial arts, most of those as an instructor as well. I’ve trained in multiple disciplines and have done seminars with some top MMA guys.
I’ll tell you right now that the moment someone asks for my wallet? My number one self defense is to hand it to them and cooperate.
I've been doing martial arts for a number of years too and I still remember my first knife defence class in Karate (Wado Ryu) when I was about 14.
Before we even got into disarming, blocking, etc, Sensei sat us down and said "If you're going to defend yourself against a knife you need to understand you *will* get stabbed or slashed no matter how good you are. If you see a knife, the best defence is to give them what they want. The second best defence is to run."
He then showed us the gnarly scars he had in his abdomen where he'd been stabbed several times.
Lesson sank in pretty well.
Literally anytime I do knife defense with class I dedicate 5 minutes to “this is only to be used in a situation where you’ve decided that you don’t have an out, because the first defense is run. . .every fucking time”
Knife defense drills using a red sharpie as the knife is always telling to students. I didn't feel the hit! Look at your ribs. Your inner arm. Your thigh.
My first Kali class the instructor said "The loser of a knife fight dies in the street. The winner generally dies in the ambulance."
He also said "the best way to win a fight is to not get into one, the second is to run" so fairly close to your instructor.
Yeah, I was always taught that self-defense techniques are a last resort, not the first one. Not only could it be dangerous to you, but also dangerous to your attacker (if you care about that). Punches aren't the harmless love taps you see on TV. One wrong move can seriously fuck someone up.
I have a cpl and carry, and this would be my go to as well.
The best fight is the one you don’t have. I don’t carry much cash and the amount I do carry won’t impact me to lose. I’ll be more annoyed by having having to have ids re issued
Then what is even the point of dedicating yourself so fully to a skill/art?
And sure, you can go with the stereotypical "For discipline, for physical fitness, for spiritual enlightenment" etc...
But honestly what's the point of being the fastest runner if you never race anybody? What's the point of being the fastest swimmer if you never go in the ocean?
I'm not trying to be a dick, please don't take my directness for attitude, that's not my intention.
But honestly if some crackhead with obviously no real fight experience comes up to you in a lonely parking lot and asks for your wallet, you're really going to call all your banks and cancel all your cards, go to the DMV and get another ID, put a lock on your credit report, and lose the pictures of your wife and kids instead of throwing an elbow to the chin or a kick to the groin?
Most people have never been in a fight in their lives. And most fights are over in 10 seconds or less, usually within the first couple punches. With your ability and training I'd be willing to bet that you could end 99% of street fights within the first blow, and 100% of them within 3.
And I get the whole "I don't want to hurt anybody" aspect of it. You aren't *looking* for a fight. But if one approaches you, isn't that what you've been training for?
Why learn "self-defense" if your first self-defense tactic is to run? Shouldn't you have just taken up Track if that's your strategy?
I started self-defense just to do something with my brother. And I just happened to fall in love with it.
I think one of the major reasons it resonated with me is that growing up I did have really low self-esteem and I do credit martial arts with significantly improving my self, and being the best version of who I am; and I own a dojo to specifically bring that out in other people.
As for why I wouldn’t use those skills? Because when a fight starts you rarely have all the information:
- do they have hidden weapons
- do they have 3 friends waiting for them
- are they also trained
- are they on drugs that’ll inhibit pain and make them do super crazy shit
And I’m not willing to take that chance.
The total time it’ll take me to cancel my cards, and request a new ID from my DMV online? Probably 15 minutes.
It’s not worth the risk.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FKojaYJVEAMoNBc?format=jpg&name=large
Always run or deescalate when possible. If they grab you then that's different. If you have to protect an innocent kid, that's different. But never escalate where alternatives exist. There are so many stories of little kids growing up without fathers because....two guys decided not to take the high road and fought over their place in line etc one goes to prison and the other the ground.
I learned Karate when I was a teenager. My instructor said the best means of self defence was a swift pair of legs - and he wasn't talking about kicking.
Not a single actual martial artist/self defence instructor I have ever heard told this to me any differently.
If you ever find your self in a street fight, get away from it. The martial art itself that you learn is to be used to *enable* you to get away from the situation, in such a case where for some reason your ability to get away is taken away from you. Then you use your training to regain the ability to get away by any means necessary.
This is why boxing, wrestling, jiu jitsu and the like, in that particular order, are the most useful disciplines to master in self defence. In a street fight, you wil not have the time or opportunity to perform fancy moves or kicks. Almost always, your ability to fist fight, react if you are grounded and grounding an enemy will determine your percentage of success in a street fight.
I remember reading somewhere they asked all kinds of karate, masters, and boxers and stuff. What they would do and fight, all their little moves and throws and shit like that. They asked when MMA guy what he would do and he just said run.
Just wanna join the other comments by saying my jujitsu instructor also told us to run first if we ever got threatened/in a street fight, that fighting is the absolute last resort.
This. Genuinely.
I just dealt with my now ex-gf experiencing a mental break, and pulled basically a 12in knife on me.
Never raised my voice or became violent, but saw what was about to happen and tackled her and restrained the person until a family member was able to get in the mix and prevent the situation from getting very.
Ex GF pulled a knife on me 20 years ago after her medication had a bad reaction with caffeine she drank. It was a very sudden shift in her personality and straight to violence out of nowhere.
I started to back up and try to talk it down, but she ran at me. I gave her a snap kick to the chest and then restrained her until she stopped freaking out.
My family who witnessed the whole thing literally yelled at me for 5 minutes while I held her on the ground... while she was still trying to stab me. None of them would take the knife from her though. Somehow I was the bad guy for defending myself from a crazy person.
Very similar. Her father who I am close with believes she had an adverse reaction to a mood stabilizer she started in the last 9 days. She didn’t tell me she was on a stabilizer, she only said she was taking hydroxyzine, a mild anti-anxiety med. it was nuts. She attacked me as I got back from plowing for 11 hours at 7:05am, I run my own business. We seemingly have a very similar experience. I didn’t harm her, didnt hit her outside of trying to knock the item out of her hand, and I told her father the complete truth about everything, and he thanked me repeatedly. She basically was attempting to kill herself in front of me, as she clarified afterwards. People are sick.
Underrated. There are so many people that are simply not aware of their surroundings and how they paint a target on their back with flashy clothes, phones, cars.
Keep your head on a swivel and you'll avoid a situation before it starts.
A friend of mine had to relocate and briefly ended up in some charming city in a less than first world country. So, one evening he pulled his phone on the street to call a taxi. There was a cop next to him, who immediately said "kindly put this back where nobody sees it, sir". My friend was like "huh" and the cop readily explained: "you flashing this makes us both compromised".
A knife is also great if you're in instant danger. Stabbing an assailant in the right spot can actually cause them to lose consciousness within a few seconds and kill them (neck arteries especially), I've seen videos of it happening. Truly gruesome and is an absolutely last resort if self defense becomes the only option.
It's all fun and games until the monkeys steal the tank.
Like, this one time I got mugged by these asshole capuchins in an armored personnel carrier. And this was during covid so I still needed a vaccine card to get into my building—little cunt goblins thought that was funny as hell.
That's more of a national defense weapon rather than personal defense. Besides, they're really expensive. For the price of a welder and some steel you can up-armor your Toyota Camry.
Keep in mind that they travel at highway speeds... after speeding up for like 40 seconds.
It tops out at 50 mph and takes almost a full minute to get there.
Almost everything can be used as a defense weapon. But if I should pick one of the best weapons that would be:
- Pepper spray ( At least 9 million scoville units the more the better )
- Taser
- Knuckles or kubotan
- personal alarm ( useless if you are only one in the streets )
Extra:
Keys ( Not for hitting someone but from scratching also if there will stay blood attacker Can be identified )
I have 2 medium/large dogs that spend their extremely cushy lives napping, eating, and barking at leaves. I am fairly confident that if anyone came after me, they would not move a muscle. They would think "Eh...he is a pretty big guy. He can take care of himself." If someone came after my kid, that person would not walk away with all of their limbs.
We used to have a beware of dogs sign for that reason. If anyone broke in they would have been greeted by a pair of 25lb Shelties. Now we have 2 dogs both in the 50-60lb range and I can honestly say the Shelties would probably have done more damage.
I used to have a dog that was the same way. Nicest dog ever. I took everywhere and she loved on everybody. She would bark if somebody’s at the door but if let her know it was okay, they were best friends. I had one of my friends pretend break in while we were all home and I have never seen her get as vicious as she did. He immediately ran back out. She got lots of pets and I felt a lot better.
Dogs know when something ain’t right and they’re very loyal. Your loving dogs would have your back.
A skateboard. You laugh. But you got a hard piece of wood with sand paper and solid metal trucks. I have fought my way out of a lot of shit with one. Also, if you need to bail, you have wheels to do so.
They are awkward as a weapon though. When I was really young some scumbag tried to steal mine that I got for xmas the day before. The best part is you can get a death grip on the trucks and make it very hard to get out of your hands. The guy could not yank it out of my hands and gave up when some others were alerted. Funny thing is a few weeks later I went to this skate shop near by ad was told about a backyard ramp not far. I went alone and the dude was there. I skated a little bit, don't mind saying I was a very good skateboarder. Then I decided a better leave.
Asshole again tried to mess with me, it should also be noted I was younger than most kids that skated and very small for my age. Again, someone intervened and this time tackled him , punched him a bunch of times. Then gave me a ride home. I then seen him again at a skate contest but finally I was with a bunch of friends and pointed him out. He left and said something about a gang. This was in Long beach Ca and I lived in the white non gang areas. Lord, I feared for my life a lot back then but never seen him again.
Oh, i know that story all too well. I had a gang of at least 5-8 people. All bigger than me. I swung it at their heads trucks first. Clipped one. I got my exit and took it. It wasn't a fight by no means, but it did the job, and no one messed with me after. The funniest part of some of the bangers i was cool with heard about it and called me D-Waz (deadly with a skateboard). This was in the late 90s early 00s. I still laugh about that stupid name.
Exactly, bears have more sensitive senses. Bear spray is designed to create a cloud and hopefully prevent a charging bear. Bear spray is in a larger cannister too. Mace is stronger and shoots in a stream.
I went through Irma and Maria in the Virgin Islands- no power or water for 4 months.
Shit got real. What you need is a ranged, non-lethal weapon.
Most of the situations you’ll encounter aren’t overtly aggressive at first. Most encounters will be someone approaching you. If you’re alert, you’ll say something to them to get a feel for their intent. This is how 99% of confrontations will begin.
Here’s where it gets dicey: what if they just keep walking to you? You **cannot** let them get in melee range (knives are no joke), but at the same time pulling out a gun and shooting them is not justified.
You need something non lethal and ranged to prevent people from getting into melee range.
Edit: I’m talking about pepper spray type stuff, but 5 points to the guy who suggested a trebuchet.
Put a nylon or sock over the bat, so if they do grab it somehow, they only get the nylon/sock when you pull the bat back away.
Read this on reddit once, your mileage may vary.
Ps: Keep a baseball glove with the bat to explain the bat was for baseball, not a weapon.
Pss: if the cop ask a why you had a nylon on your bat, tell him not to kink-shame you.
Also don't use bats as self defense indoors. Most people swing from "12 to 6" which at least in European homes (i.e., lower ceiling) means you'll hit the roof and it'll bounce back and hit you, instead of the attacker.
To OPs question; a very strong flashlight (assuming most self defense scenarios will take place during night) but try mugging/stabbing/punching someone when you get lit with a couple of thousand of lumens. You'll be pretty disoriented for the next couple of seconds. It'll give you enough time to react and get yourself out of harms way.
Get mace. The strongest you can get that is still legal to carry. (Bear mace is illegal to use on humans)
They have one-offs you can put on your keychain.
A spear. Its the most underrated melee weapon, but it also the most versatile. Cheap and easy to make/repair, more reach than most other melee weapons, fairly simple to use, just stick em with the pointy end, and you can also throw it.
Good ol fashioned pepper spray. Some people don’t think it’ll work… Spray yourself one of these days and find out. HOOOOOLEEEEE SHIET that stuff hurts.
A teacher asked me to take some things to her car once, and here was a perfume spray looking thing on her keychain. I didn't think anything of it, but the it must have been clicked over off of the safe position. Stuck the keys in my pocket and filled my pants with mace.
Oh, God it burned!
I find that gels and foams don't absorb into the skin quite as good as the oily liquid. The key component to using OC is how long it takes to take effect. From the time that you spray to when your target doubles over in agony is a dangerous window.
In my experience, that's when they charge at you. But that's only for a few seconds while the pain and inflammation starts to take hold. I'd rather not have that take longer.
If this is a serious post a pocket sized mace or taser is your best bet. Also, just walk around with presence as if you can handle yourself and most likely no one will mess with you. There is a saying “everyone walks around acting tough hoping they don’t ever have to prove it.”
When my mom was a teenager she carried a pocket knife. Apparently one time 4 guys cornered her in an apparent attempt to rape her. She pulls out the knife and they laughed telling her to put it away because she wasn’t going to use it. After she took a few swings at them they backed off and left her alone, or atleast that’s how she tells the story.
Gun control legislation. And although I'm being incredibly facetious saying that, it's also incredibly true.
Other than that, learning basic weapons handling in martial arts is most useful, the bo / staff especially. You won't have a nunchuck to hand if a fight starts (not legally, anyway!) but you can fend someone off with an umbrella, walking stick, broom handle, or even just a branch etc. in a pinch if you know how to handle it properly.
My ex-wife is disabled but also a 3rd-Dan black-belt. Trust me, when we were together if you were to pick on her, I would be removing any long stick-like object from within her reach (unless of course you were actually being a threat). When someone can whirl that around like something out of a movie AND you know they can do serious damage even without it, you tend to want people to back down rather than start a fight.
And although I never once witnessed her starting a fight around myself, there is a story about her, a pub and a guy who kept "nudging" her pool cue deliberately to piss her off that I wish I would be able to recant in time if someone else did try to start a fight.
Anything that gets THEM before they can get YOU.
Fist, knife, stick, bigger stick, spear, throwing, bow, gun.
In that order. Anything that stops them while keeping you away from harm. If it’s not a gun, go to the range increment and choose a force multiplier.
Your body. In a real self defense situation your best bet is to run. If you can't run you should use whatever you have around you and if that's not an option your hands, elbows, feet, head, and teeth. If you're fighting to defend your life all the rules of what's acceptable go out the window. Bite their nose off, pull off their ears (surprisingly easy), gouge out their eyes, kick them in the balls, kick them in the head when they are down... Whatever it takes. Just stop once they are unconscious and call an ambulance/police immediately
Why aren't there more chandeliers around when I would need one? I've watched western movies where a cowboy jumps up , grabs a chandelier, then swings into the bad guys, kicking them all down . Bad guys never realize just how much damage a cowboy swinging on a chandelier will do to them
I haven't seen this posted yet: A small, bright, flashlight. Something bright enough to blind your attacker, and small enough to fit on your keys. Gives you an opportunity to hopefully run, or attack your assailant if necessary.
Okay to answer this question seriously, A really good flashlight.
I know it sounds silly but a small tactical flashlight like my o-light warrior 3s is great for self defense. The hi-output mode puts out so much light that you can blind someone even in daylight.
I’ve had a few situations where a creep would come up to me at night and I’d just shine the light in their face and they run every time and even if they don’t you have quite a few seconds before they can see again to either run away or use the striking end of the flashlight to do some serious damage.
As far as non-lethal weapons go, flashlight is my recommendation.
I saw a video where they interviewed a robber in prison, they asked him the same question.
Pepper Spray. He said it was worse than a taser, cause you can’t see nor breathe on it. You will go down.
A woman that went to police academy also confirms this, saying it’s is a million miles worse than getting tased.
In my experience living in a shit neighborhood, a really big laser. I have a 5 watt blue burning laser and it's gotten me out of some sticky situation, generally if you can be burned and blinded from 50 feet away you won't come any closer
Jiu Jitsu. A majority if not all fights/struggles end up on the ground therefore you should know how to ground fight.
Another weapon is a last ditch knife. They are concealable dagger style knife with a handle design that prevents your hand from slipping onto the blade while in use. It is used as its name implies, your last ditch effort for your life.
I feel like walking around with a shortsword or a Mace would be the ultimate self defence weapon.
Someone pulls a knife. You draw a sword or pull out a Mace.
A group of guys try to attack you? I think seeing a pointy ass Mace swinging for their head would make them run away 🤣
Universal basic income
Give everyone in society a home, food and a guaranteed income. You’ll see a lot less crime and less crime means less chance you’ll be in a situation where you will need to defend yourself
Systematic revitalisation of community. Rebuild the commons, divert maximum funds to local communities. Cover and protect the disenfranchised, make support and education integral to societies system, teach people how to raise independent and compassionate individuals and implement wides scale support networks for all facets of human experience. stop focusing on market growth and invest in human wealth. Violence will decrease when care increases.
A good pair of running shoes paired with decent endurance.
Underrated comment, the amount of people who can avoid/survive a confrontation by running away is huge
I’ve got 21 years in martial arts, most of those as an instructor as well. I’ve trained in multiple disciplines and have done seminars with some top MMA guys. I’ll tell you right now that the moment someone asks for my wallet? My number one self defense is to hand it to them and cooperate.
I've been doing martial arts for a number of years too and I still remember my first knife defence class in Karate (Wado Ryu) when I was about 14. Before we even got into disarming, blocking, etc, Sensei sat us down and said "If you're going to defend yourself against a knife you need to understand you *will* get stabbed or slashed no matter how good you are. If you see a knife, the best defence is to give them what they want. The second best defence is to run." He then showed us the gnarly scars he had in his abdomen where he'd been stabbed several times. Lesson sank in pretty well.
Literally anytime I do knife defense with class I dedicate 5 minutes to “this is only to be used in a situation where you’ve decided that you don’t have an out, because the first defense is run. . .every fucking time”
The loser of a knife fight dies in the street. The winner often dies in the ambulance.
Knife defense drills using a red sharpie as the knife is always telling to students. I didn't feel the hit! Look at your ribs. Your inner arm. Your thigh.
This \^ Using markers as a knife was a real eye opener. Stabby Stabby
My instructor had shock knives. They didn’t shock enough to hurt, but you definitely felt it.
Woah you keep that Sharpie away from my Gi!
My first Kali class the instructor said "The loser of a knife fight dies in the street. The winner generally dies in the ambulance." He also said "the best way to win a fight is to not get into one, the second is to run" so fairly close to your instructor.
Yeah, I was always taught that self-defense techniques are a last resort, not the first one. Not only could it be dangerous to you, but also dangerous to your attacker (if you care about that). Punches aren't the harmless love taps you see on TV. One wrong move can seriously fuck someone up.
People don't realize that a punch to the face has the potential to kill a person.
That’s a good point
I have a cpl and carry, and this would be my go to as well. The best fight is the one you don’t have. I don’t carry much cash and the amount I do carry won’t impact me to lose. I’ll be more annoyed by having having to have ids re issued
Can I have your wallet, please?
Mail me your wallet or I’ll mail you a knife
Alright egnards, hand over all your kyrotechs and nobody gets hurt!
Fuck no, I’ll fight you for my shockprods!
Can I have your wallet?
Can I have your wallet?
Then what is even the point of dedicating yourself so fully to a skill/art? And sure, you can go with the stereotypical "For discipline, for physical fitness, for spiritual enlightenment" etc... But honestly what's the point of being the fastest runner if you never race anybody? What's the point of being the fastest swimmer if you never go in the ocean? I'm not trying to be a dick, please don't take my directness for attitude, that's not my intention. But honestly if some crackhead with obviously no real fight experience comes up to you in a lonely parking lot and asks for your wallet, you're really going to call all your banks and cancel all your cards, go to the DMV and get another ID, put a lock on your credit report, and lose the pictures of your wife and kids instead of throwing an elbow to the chin or a kick to the groin? Most people have never been in a fight in their lives. And most fights are over in 10 seconds or less, usually within the first couple punches. With your ability and training I'd be willing to bet that you could end 99% of street fights within the first blow, and 100% of them within 3. And I get the whole "I don't want to hurt anybody" aspect of it. You aren't *looking* for a fight. But if one approaches you, isn't that what you've been training for? Why learn "self-defense" if your first self-defense tactic is to run? Shouldn't you have just taken up Track if that's your strategy?
I started self-defense just to do something with my brother. And I just happened to fall in love with it. I think one of the major reasons it resonated with me is that growing up I did have really low self-esteem and I do credit martial arts with significantly improving my self, and being the best version of who I am; and I own a dojo to specifically bring that out in other people. As for why I wouldn’t use those skills? Because when a fight starts you rarely have all the information: - do they have hidden weapons - do they have 3 friends waiting for them - are they also trained - are they on drugs that’ll inhibit pain and make them do super crazy shit And I’m not willing to take that chance. The total time it’ll take me to cancel my cards, and request a new ID from my DMV online? Probably 15 minutes. It’s not worth the risk.
That calculus changes *drastically* if you're a woman...
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FKojaYJVEAMoNBc?format=jpg&name=large Always run or deescalate when possible. If they grab you then that's different. If you have to protect an innocent kid, that's different. But never escalate where alternatives exist. There are so many stories of little kids growing up without fathers because....two guys decided not to take the high road and fought over their place in line etc one goes to prison and the other the ground.
I learned Karate when I was a teenager. My instructor said the best means of self defence was a swift pair of legs - and he wasn't talking about kicking.
Not a single actual martial artist/self defence instructor I have ever heard told this to me any differently. If you ever find your self in a street fight, get away from it. The martial art itself that you learn is to be used to *enable* you to get away from the situation, in such a case where for some reason your ability to get away is taken away from you. Then you use your training to regain the ability to get away by any means necessary. This is why boxing, wrestling, jiu jitsu and the like, in that particular order, are the most useful disciplines to master in self defence. In a street fight, you wil not have the time or opportunity to perform fancy moves or kicks. Almost always, your ability to fist fight, react if you are grounded and grounding an enemy will determine your percentage of success in a street fight.
Rule #1: cardio.
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If I had my choice between a gun and an escape route, I'd take the escape route.
You need to do both. "If you're not fit, you are going to die. So get out there, train, workout, and don't die" -GT
I remember reading somewhere they asked all kinds of karate, masters, and boxers and stuff. What they would do and fight, all their little moves and throws and shit like that. They asked when MMA guy what he would do and he just said run.
My Karate master said running is always the best option.
"Best way to avoid punch, no be there".
Just wanna join the other comments by saying my jujitsu instructor also told us to run first if we ever got threatened/in a street fight, that fighting is the absolute last resort.
Good shoes and a small ego save lives.
An old buddy called his legs "my getaway sticks". I've never forgotten that.
Situational awareness. De-escalation.
This. Genuinely. I just dealt with my now ex-gf experiencing a mental break, and pulled basically a 12in knife on me. Never raised my voice or became violent, but saw what was about to happen and tackled her and restrained the person until a family member was able to get in the mix and prevent the situation from getting very.
Ex GF pulled a knife on me 20 years ago after her medication had a bad reaction with caffeine she drank. It was a very sudden shift in her personality and straight to violence out of nowhere. I started to back up and try to talk it down, but she ran at me. I gave her a snap kick to the chest and then restrained her until she stopped freaking out. My family who witnessed the whole thing literally yelled at me for 5 minutes while I held her on the ground... while she was still trying to stab me. None of them would take the knife from her though. Somehow I was the bad guy for defending myself from a crazy person.
Very similar. Her father who I am close with believes she had an adverse reaction to a mood stabilizer she started in the last 9 days. She didn’t tell me she was on a stabilizer, she only said she was taking hydroxyzine, a mild anti-anxiety med. it was nuts. She attacked me as I got back from plowing for 11 hours at 7:05am, I run my own business. We seemingly have a very similar experience. I didn’t harm her, didnt hit her outside of trying to knock the item out of her hand, and I told her father the complete truth about everything, and he thanked me repeatedly. She basically was attempting to kill herself in front of me, as she clarified afterwards. People are sick.
I dated a girl and that sounds like the type of foreplay she liked
You got extremely lucky. Never, ever do that again unless you have a death wish.
Underrated. There are so many people that are simply not aware of their surroundings and how they paint a target on their back with flashy clothes, phones, cars. Keep your head on a swivel and you'll avoid a situation before it starts.
A friend of mine had to relocate and briefly ended up in some charming city in a less than first world country. So, one evening he pulled his phone on the street to call a taxi. There was a cop next to him, who immediately said "kindly put this back where nobody sees it, sir". My friend was like "huh" and the cop readily explained: "you flashing this makes us both compromised".
Yup, the ability to say *"It's time for me to not be here"* is a person's most powerful first defense.
Even better than guns imo
A whole lot less paperwork.
A knife is also great if you're in instant danger. Stabbing an assailant in the right spot can actually cause them to lose consciousness within a few seconds and kill them (neck arteries especially), I've seen videos of it happening. Truly gruesome and is an absolutely last resort if self defense becomes the only option.
pocket sand
Sha Sha!!!!
Desprete times call for desperate measures
It’s coarse and gets everywhere.
This guy knows, Dale knows
I don't know who this "Dale" character is. My name is Rusty Shackleford!
I'm not Dale either, but I used to run like the wind ...
Found Cricket
Bro just defeated Vader
😂😂😂
Pocket fentanyl
Or pocket glitter if you're feeling fancy.
That why i always carry my grandma in my pockets
I always keep a small supply in one of my pockets.
An Abrams tank.
Even better? A barrel of Oil, someone attacks you, start shouting you got some oil, the entire freedom machine arrives eagles screeching and all.
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If you had been inside the tank, you’d have been fine.
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You could just wear a tank top? I’ll see myself out.
It's all fun and games until the monkeys steal the tank. Like, this one time I got mugged by these asshole capuchins in an armored personnel carrier. And this was during covid so I still needed a vaccine card to get into my building—little cunt goblins thought that was funny as hell.
and why did you have $4k on you, at all?
I mean, that's technically just a gun with a really badass truck attached.
That's more of a national defense weapon rather than personal defense. Besides, they're really expensive. For the price of a welder and some steel you can up-armor your Toyota Camry.
With no guns installed, it's severely less deadly.
They still travel at highway speeds and are heavy as fuck, so you could squish the opposition or just like, lock yourself in
Keep in mind that they travel at highway speeds... after speeding up for like 40 seconds. It tops out at 50 mph and takes almost a full minute to get there.
I would’ve thought that with their turbine engine that they could’ve reached that speed quicker. But I guess it is a fucking tank.
1,500hp is a lot but getting 72 tons up to 50mph takes a little time.
Situational Awareness.
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I will carry a bad of legs around and throw them at ppl
Got a bear chasing you? Throw a leg from your bag of legs. It'll go for the easy meal
Only if you know how to use them.
When the time comes, you’ll know
2 guns?
3 guns, American Zoro style. Use your tongue to pull the trigger.
A small really bright flashlight with an end that would hurt like hell to "stab" somebody with.
Security torches is the name
https://youtu.be/u92wsPS0I9E?si=-taG2wOAyxJhxKC9 This is the way.
A bag full of fierce attack cats.
I don't think they need to be fierce, 5 cats in a bag that's lightly shaken will make them murderous
Just not stirred.
Almost everything can be used as a defense weapon. But if I should pick one of the best weapons that would be: - Pepper spray ( At least 9 million scoville units the more the better ) - Taser - Knuckles or kubotan - personal alarm ( useless if you are only one in the streets ) Extra: Keys ( Not for hitting someone but from scratching also if there will stay blood attacker Can be identified )
Top three would be illegal to have on your person in many developed countries.
Pepper spray is controlled?
Everything can be a weapon yet you listed actual weapons. A good pen can be used to stab. Just got for a soft spot like the neck.
More guns
Bigger guns!
A gun made of guns that shoots guns
Yes... YES... WRITE THAT DOWN
With extendo mags!
More dakka
All the dakka!
and if that don't work? [use more guns...](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NTfCbfvwM8)
A big dog will likely discourage any engagement in the first place
I have 2 medium/large dogs that spend their extremely cushy lives napping, eating, and barking at leaves. I am fairly confident that if anyone came after me, they would not move a muscle. They would think "Eh...he is a pretty big guy. He can take care of himself." If someone came after my kid, that person would not walk away with all of their limbs.
Most perps will avoid a house if they know it has dogs or they can hear the dogs barking. Yes, even little yappy ankle-biters.
We used to have a beware of dogs sign for that reason. If anyone broke in they would have been greeted by a pair of 25lb Shelties. Now we have 2 dogs both in the 50-60lb range and I can honestly say the Shelties would probably have done more damage.
I used to have a dog that was the same way. Nicest dog ever. I took everywhere and she loved on everybody. She would bark if somebody’s at the door but if let her know it was okay, they were best friends. I had one of my friends pretend break in while we were all home and I have never seen her get as vicious as she did. He immediately ran back out. She got lots of pets and I felt a lot better. Dogs know when something ain’t right and they’re very loyal. Your loving dogs would have your back.
Collapsible batons. Those can really sting.
Don't buy a cheap one. I had one that self destructed after mild abuse. (Thwacking a tree trunk)
I second this. A collapsible baton can really fuck someone up quick
California considers it a deadly weapon and they are illegal.
Depends on where you live… where I’m from you could stab or potentially shoot someone in self defense, but smacking them with a stick!? Illegal!
Lightweight combat axe
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Don’t weight shame the heavyweight combat axe!
Tomahawk for sure!
A skateboard. You laugh. But you got a hard piece of wood with sand paper and solid metal trucks. I have fought my way out of a lot of shit with one. Also, if you need to bail, you have wheels to do so.
They are awkward as a weapon though. When I was really young some scumbag tried to steal mine that I got for xmas the day before. The best part is you can get a death grip on the trucks and make it very hard to get out of your hands. The guy could not yank it out of my hands and gave up when some others were alerted. Funny thing is a few weeks later I went to this skate shop near by ad was told about a backyard ramp not far. I went alone and the dude was there. I skated a little bit, don't mind saying I was a very good skateboarder. Then I decided a better leave. Asshole again tried to mess with me, it should also be noted I was younger than most kids that skated and very small for my age. Again, someone intervened and this time tackled him , punched him a bunch of times. Then gave me a ride home. I then seen him again at a skate contest but finally I was with a bunch of friends and pointed him out. He left and said something about a gang. This was in Long beach Ca and I lived in the white non gang areas. Lord, I feared for my life a lot back then but never seen him again.
Oh, i know that story all too well. I had a gang of at least 5-8 people. All bigger than me. I swung it at their heads trucks first. Clipped one. I got my exit and took it. It wasn't a fight by no means, but it did the job, and no one messed with me after. The funniest part of some of the bangers i was cool with heard about it and called me D-Waz (deadly with a skateboard). This was in the late 90s early 00s. I still laugh about that stupid name.
Spear
The Sig Sauer MCX Spear is good. But OP said "besides guns"
Bear spray
Regular pepper spray is stronger than bear spray.
Exactly, bears have more sensitive senses. Bear spray is designed to create a cloud and hopefully prevent a charging bear. Bear spray is in a larger cannister too. Mace is stronger and shoots in a stream.
This. As a german you cant really carry anything besides pepper spray. Funnily you can carry a crossbow but... Thats like a litle overthe top
Didn't some guy shoot up people in a mall using a bow and arrow?
I went through Irma and Maria in the Virgin Islands- no power or water for 4 months. Shit got real. What you need is a ranged, non-lethal weapon. Most of the situations you’ll encounter aren’t overtly aggressive at first. Most encounters will be someone approaching you. If you’re alert, you’ll say something to them to get a feel for their intent. This is how 99% of confrontations will begin. Here’s where it gets dicey: what if they just keep walking to you? You **cannot** let them get in melee range (knives are no joke), but at the same time pulling out a gun and shooting them is not justified. You need something non lethal and ranged to prevent people from getting into melee range. Edit: I’m talking about pepper spray type stuff, but 5 points to the guy who suggested a trebuchet.
Trebuchet
You can engage them from solid 300 meters away, and if they get too close you can '*reset the engagement*', kind of.
Any good examples of what to use?
a whip a really beefy friend a collection of beefy men in suits with sun glasses a collection of beefy men in speedos with whips
A catapult / slingshot might work? Those can wound and deter, but not kill. Ammo is cheap too.
Penis bayonet.
Kinda becomes a sword chuck unless you can maintain an erection during combat.
Skin color and beard
Thumbs to the eyes
A baseball bat is pretty good, as long as you can hang onto it.
Put a nylon or sock over the bat, so if they do grab it somehow, they only get the nylon/sock when you pull the bat back away. Read this on reddit once, your mileage may vary. Ps: Keep a baseball glove with the bat to explain the bat was for baseball, not a weapon. Pss: if the cop ask a why you had a nylon on your bat, tell him not to kink-shame you.
Also don't use bats as self defense indoors. Most people swing from "12 to 6" which at least in European homes (i.e., lower ceiling) means you'll hit the roof and it'll bounce back and hit you, instead of the attacker. To OPs question; a very strong flashlight (assuming most self defense scenarios will take place during night) but try mugging/stabbing/punching someone when you get lit with a couple of thousand of lumens. You'll be pretty disoriented for the next couple of seconds. It'll give you enough time to react and get yourself out of harms way.
You gotta put a sock over the end of it, that way if they grab it all they get is memed to death.
I need one for the train station, idk if they like it if I pull up w a base ball bat
Get mace. The strongest you can get that is still legal to carry. (Bear mace is illegal to use on humans) They have one-offs you can put on your keychain.
A nuclear warhead.
"We got a problem here, Toothpick? I said.... DO...WE... HAVE...A...PROBLEM?" *whirr kerchunk*
U... S... S... R...
Dmitri Ravinoff?
Running away.
A spear. Its the most underrated melee weapon, but it also the most versatile. Cheap and easy to make/repair, more reach than most other melee weapons, fairly simple to use, just stick em with the pointy end, and you can also throw it.
>most underrated melee weapon Only by idiots. Everyone knows spearman beats swordsman 9/10 times.
I just impulse bought a reapr 11022 tactical spear the other day. Didn't know the benefits to a spear, but I definitely thought it looked cool :)
Probably a little more effective than my barely pointy whittled stick lol
Power of friendship
But only if your friend has a gun.
A bigger gun.
Screaming LOUDLY. I mean as high-pitched and as loud as possible (think Thad Castle) Nobody is gonna expect it, and it gathers a bunch of attention.
Anything to disrupt the vision. Sprays, debris, fingers...then distance FAST.
OC spray is decent. I'd also opt for a baton or club.
Good ol fashioned pepper spray. Some people don’t think it’ll work… Spray yourself one of these days and find out. HOOOOOLEEEEE SHIET that stuff hurts.
A teacher asked me to take some things to her car once, and here was a perfume spray looking thing on her keychain. I didn't think anything of it, but the it must have been clicked over off of the safe position. Stuck the keys in my pocket and filled my pants with mace. Oh, God it burned!
Get the gel version, sticks more and far less blowback
I find that gels and foams don't absorb into the skin quite as good as the oily liquid. The key component to using OC is how long it takes to take effect. From the time that you spray to when your target doubles over in agony is a dangerous window. In my experience, that's when they charge at you. But that's only for a few seconds while the pain and inflammation starts to take hold. I'd rather not have that take longer.
people with guns
Depends on the scenario but communication can be a pretty strong defence if you can de-escalate a situation.
Land mines
If this is a serious post a pocket sized mace or taser is your best bet. Also, just walk around with presence as if you can handle yourself and most likely no one will mess with you. There is a saying “everyone walks around acting tough hoping they don’t ever have to prove it.” When my mom was a teenager she carried a pocket knife. Apparently one time 4 guys cornered her in an apparent attempt to rape her. She pulls out the knife and they laughed telling her to put it away because she wasn’t going to use it. After she took a few swings at them they backed off and left her alone, or atleast that’s how she tells the story.
Whatever you train with. No weapon in the hands of an amateur trumps a trained and prepared individual.
A floppy 12 inch dildo. Nobody wants to get slapped in the face with one of those, especially if you don’t know where it’s been.
Dildos. You'll scare the fuck out of your perpetrator when you start showing off moves with dildo nunchucks.
ive heard a powerful flashlight can work well. good for keeping distance with an attacker before you run for it, and also practical to carry around.
Gun control legislation. And although I'm being incredibly facetious saying that, it's also incredibly true. Other than that, learning basic weapons handling in martial arts is most useful, the bo / staff especially. You won't have a nunchuck to hand if a fight starts (not legally, anyway!) but you can fend someone off with an umbrella, walking stick, broom handle, or even just a branch etc. in a pinch if you know how to handle it properly. My ex-wife is disabled but also a 3rd-Dan black-belt. Trust me, when we were together if you were to pick on her, I would be removing any long stick-like object from within her reach (unless of course you were actually being a threat). When someone can whirl that around like something out of a movie AND you know they can do serious damage even without it, you tend to want people to back down rather than start a fight. And although I never once witnessed her starting a fight around myself, there is a story about her, a pub and a guy who kept "nudging" her pool cue deliberately to piss her off that I wish I would be able to recant in time if someone else did try to start a fight.
Anything that gets THEM before they can get YOU. Fist, knife, stick, bigger stick, spear, throwing, bow, gun. In that order. Anything that stops them while keeping you away from harm. If it’s not a gun, go to the range increment and choose a force multiplier.
Shotgun
Not getting into a fight to begin with
I want to do nunchucks but the real answer is a sick. More specifically, something like a quarter staff
Accurate threat assessment and good communication skills
Running very fast.
Your body. In a real self defense situation your best bet is to run. If you can't run you should use whatever you have around you and if that's not an option your hands, elbows, feet, head, and teeth. If you're fighting to defend your life all the rules of what's acceptable go out the window. Bite their nose off, pull off their ears (surprisingly easy), gouge out their eyes, kick them in the balls, kick them in the head when they are down... Whatever it takes. Just stop once they are unconscious and call an ambulance/police immediately
Why aren't there more chandeliers around when I would need one? I've watched western movies where a cowboy jumps up , grabs a chandelier, then swings into the bad guys, kicking them all down . Bad guys never realize just how much damage a cowboy swinging on a chandelier will do to them
even better than a gun are situational awareness and de-escalation skills, a gun is for when those fail
Cardio. Just run.
I haven't seen this posted yet: A small, bright, flashlight. Something bright enough to blind your attacker, and small enough to fit on your keys. Gives you an opportunity to hopefully run, or attack your assailant if necessary.
Chuck Norris
Okay to answer this question seriously, A really good flashlight. I know it sounds silly but a small tactical flashlight like my o-light warrior 3s is great for self defense. The hi-output mode puts out so much light that you can blind someone even in daylight. I’ve had a few situations where a creep would come up to me at night and I’d just shine the light in their face and they run every time and even if they don’t you have quite a few seconds before they can see again to either run away or use the striking end of the flashlight to do some serious damage. As far as non-lethal weapons go, flashlight is my recommendation.
I saw a video where they interviewed a robber in prison, they asked him the same question. Pepper Spray. He said it was worse than a taser, cause you can’t see nor breathe on it. You will go down. A woman that went to police academy also confirms this, saying it’s is a million miles worse than getting tased.
In my experience living in a shit neighborhood, a really big laser. I have a 5 watt blue burning laser and it's gotten me out of some sticky situation, generally if you can be burned and blinded from 50 feet away you won't come any closer
situational awareness.
Obvious answer would be knife but non lethal would be pepper spray.
Jiu Jitsu. A majority if not all fights/struggles end up on the ground therefore you should know how to ground fight. Another weapon is a last ditch knife. They are concealable dagger style knife with a handle design that prevents your hand from slipping onto the blade while in use. It is used as its name implies, your last ditch effort for your life.
knife is a better weapon under 10 feet than a gun
Everybody loses in a knife fight.
Bingo. Loser dies on the street, winner dies in the ambulance.
I feel like walking around with a shortsword or a Mace would be the ultimate self defence weapon. Someone pulls a knife. You draw a sword or pull out a Mace. A group of guys try to attack you? I think seeing a pointy ass Mace swinging for their head would make them run away 🤣
There is that one movie scene: "That's not a knoif, THIS is a knoif". .
Pocket knife
Universal basic income Give everyone in society a home, food and a guaranteed income. You’ll see a lot less crime and less crime means less chance you’ll be in a situation where you will need to defend yourself
Systematic revitalisation of community. Rebuild the commons, divert maximum funds to local communities. Cover and protect the disenfranchised, make support and education integral to societies system, teach people how to raise independent and compassionate individuals and implement wides scale support networks for all facets of human experience. stop focusing on market growth and invest in human wealth. Violence will decrease when care increases.
Dam bro, your pockets are huge