Self Defense for a Minor

[taloft]

The best weapon you have is the grey wet one between your ears. Use your brain. Most things can be used as a weapon if you think about it.

I also 2nd the Martial Arts training idea. The training will give you the discipline needed to keep thinking in a bad situation. That will help you more than all the knives and ballbats put together. What if your not in the room with the knife, sword, whatever? What if the bad guy is between you and your weapon? Knowing how to use the items at hand in any room in your house is important.

This isn't the time to pull some macho head trip. Your only job is to survive.
You can only attack someone who is attacking you. Just because they broke into your house is not enough grounds to stab, beat, whatever. Could you get away with it? Most likely yes but, not without putting yourself at needless risk both physically and legally.

Your best bet is to call the police if possible, have a plan to get yourself safely out of the house if your phone is dead, and to get to a neighbor where you can call the police. Let the police roll around with the bad guy they get paid for it, and they get alot of practice. If the bad guy attempts to stop you from escaping, then pound him until you can get away. I would also recommed talking with a good neighbor about a mutual assistance situation. That way when you go pounding on his door at 3 a.m. he doesn't just ignore you.

[Left Coast DJ]

Bigun16 - If you're 16, here's my advice: Put the trench coat away, might want to consider stop listening to Marilyn Manson, get a regular pair Nike sneakers and throw out the monkey boots, go find yourself a nice honey and GET LAID. Sixteen is way too young to live in paranoia. You'll have plenty of time to live holed up with many guns & knives later in life.

DJ

[taloft]

Bigun16 - If you're 16, here's my advice: Put the trench coat away, might want to consider stop listening to Marilyn Manson, get a regular pair Nike sneakers and throw out the monkey boots, go find yourself a nice honey and GET LAID. Sixteen is way too young to live in paranoia. You'll have plenty of time to live holed up with many guns & knives later in life.

DJ

+1Hahahaha

[ohsmily]

Bigun16 - If you're 16, here's my advice: Put the trench coat away, might want to consider stop listening to Marilyn Manson, get a regular pair Nike sneakers and throw out the monkey boots, go find yourself a nice honey and GET LAID. Sixteen is way too young to live in paranoia. You'll have plenty of time to live holed up with many guns & knives later in life.

DJ

That isn't a fair statement and is at best a mean stereotype. He could just as well turn around and call you a crotchety old a--hole who doesn't like kids (when in fact you are a nice tolerant guy)

In any case, I see myself as falling somewhere between the 16 year old and the poster above.

Being ALERT (not to the point of paranoia, but simply taking stock of your surroundings) when you are out in public is the most important step you can take (some training schemes call it "condition yellow"). Just be aware of those around you. If you are REALLY afraid for your safety in public, carry pepper spray or a stun gun. BUT, make sure that by carrying one of these items, you don't become less alert or more aggressive simply b/c you have these tools. While knives are cool (and yes they are) and there are really nice ones available, the reality is that unless you have edged weapon training of SOME SORT, knives can be pretty anemic weapons and may end up being used against you. This is not to say that they are useless without training, but knives are a distant third to pepper spray and stun guns (if you don't have edged weapon training).

Also, basic self defense classes can be very effective in getting you out of some situations.

NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE VALUE OF RUNNING!!!

[moulton]

NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE VALUE OF RUNNING!!!

Im too fat to run...

from now on when im alone in the house I always have my cell phone and knife on me. and I always carry my keys to the gun lock on my 870 with some buckshot stashed next to it

[WallyGeorge]

Hey moulton,

Why were there dudes outside your house trying to get in???

Seriously, take some of the other posts advice and enroll yourself in some sort of Jujitsu, Mixed Martial Art, etc. class where you spend alot of time sparring with other students. It doesn't matter if you're fat, go explain the situation to the instructor and they will most likely help you out. You need to know how to defend yourself without a weapon first.

Also, take blacklisted's advice and do whatever it takes to survive. About ten years ago I was your age and had a gang of F****** idiots who were after me. After getting jumped and beaten pretty bad by 6 of them, did the stupid thing and got my friends involved and came after all of them. After almost getting arrested for this (lucky they didn't want to talk to police), I found one of the members alone who seemed weak (they're all really weak if they need a gang to intimidate people) by himself and told him that I was going to personally beat his *** every time his friends decided to give me trouble. You need to deal with each of these idiots individually and let them know that you will find them when they're alone and ruin them. It scares the hell out of people like that when they know that you spend your time just looking for them, following them.

Well, good luck and keep us posted.

While the 870 is the probably best way to defend your home, you need to be able to defend yourself outside the home.