Do you carry any weapons for self-defense?

[kittycat]

I was just wondering if anyone carried any protective items for those "just in case" scenarios. I've ran into a few scary situations. I get scared easily probably because of my size... or maybe I'm paranoid? The most scariest incident for me was when my gf and I were walking downtown HB through the neighborhood to Main Street. Two guys got out of the car... one started walking behind us, the other across the street ahead of us, while the two others were in the car moving slowly parallel to us. The guy behind us was saying some filthy crap trying to lure us closer. We got out our phones, ran and tried to remember the plates on the old green Honda Accord to tell the police. Luckily we were only 1 block from Main where other people were. Last week a couple guys approached my car while I was at a stop light coming home from school around 10pm. There are more instances, but those two I can't seem to shake out of my mind. My bf has mentioned some things like a taser or a small revolver. What do you girls carry?

[Soldier415]

Yes. My brain and my Getaway Sticks (Legs).

[Soldier415]

In all seriousness, always use the above when you can. But it is always good to have a flashlight and a folding knife. Small and simple to carry.

Surefire E2D defenders with the strike bezel on the front are great. Blind and strike if needs be.

But always make as much noise as possible, yell for help at the top of your lungs, create a commotion to draw attention to the situation and quickly vacate the area if possible.

[stphnman20]

Get a folding knife. Also I suggest you take some self defense class. They have classes almost every where.. And if you really looking around, some are free.

[Annie Oakley]

Guys have so many vulnerable places to hurt them. The first place is obvious, and then there are the eyes, ears, nose and throat. We have our feet, knees, the heel of our hands, finger nails and teeth. And if those don't work, I carry my knife and pepper spray.

Here are some rules of thumb for you.

Most important is cell phone and run away

If that's not possible

Feet and knee = groin

heel of hand, tips of fingers, and fist = nose, throat, and throat

finger nails = eyes and face

Teeth = any vulnerable and exposed place

knife and pepper spray for whan all else fails

[wooger]

Just my .02, folding and fixed blade knives are great tools and I always have one with me but they make for tricky self defense. I think that Soldier has it right, followed by the obvious areas.

[kittycat]

Thanks everyone for the help. I think it's great there's actually a ladies forum.

Annie- great tips. I remember seeing a self defense video that stressed eyes, knees, and private parts.

I saw a self-defense class at the gym I go to. I'll have to check it out. I personally don't feel comfortable handling a knife. At least not yet. I know I should have yelled but at that time I froze and I went into a panic mode where I just ran and grabbed my phone.

[Timberwolf]

I'll teach you the same thing I taught my daughter, when running, screaming and cell phone are not an option remember these words - crotch, instep, adams apple, nose, eyes.

A knee to the crotch or if too close grabbing the jewels and squeezing for all its worth; a heel to the attackers instep (especially with high heel shoes); a fist, forearm or elbow to the adams apple; the heel of your palm upward to the bridge of the nose or your fingers, keys, bobby pins, rat tail comb (even hairspray) to the eyes - these will slow your attacker enough to possible get away.

[masameet]

I carry pepper spray on me at night. And my cell phone. Am also taking Taekwondo and the class is fun. Teaches a person how to defend, evade and take action.

Here's something a LEO once suggested: Use your keys as a weapon. Put them in your strong hand, with the keys fitting in between your fingers. When you punch the assailant, you'll really hurt him and leave some marks.

And use your elbows along with your knees and feet -- shove them in hard. Make the guy sorry he ever thought about bothering you.

Plus practice your game face in the mirror. If you're out and about and feel fear, that's okay. Just make sure the look on your face says you mean business and will inflict pain.

And try to wear sensible shoes. If you need to run, might as well be able to run fast.

[Splinter]

I have been training and competing in martial arts and boxing for around 10 years. During which I have heard several real life experiances from women who avoided becoming victims. I was also able to sit in on a seminar that had repeat offenders speaking on how they had assaulted women. It was a shock to say the least. They informed that the only thing that scared them away were large dogs. Not a single one wanted anything to do with a dog. They were not concerned with women fighting back, in a few unbelievable cases, they actually wanted a fight. Most had also said they had studied various martial arts in the past, or atleast had survived in jail.
I am not trying to discourage people from learning all they can about defending themselves. Just trying to push the idea of being aware of your surroundings, and trying to stay in a public and safe area especially if walking alone at night. Minimizing opportunities for attack is the most important thing for men and women. PREVENTION
A few basic self defense classes are never a bad thing. Especially ones that involve the use of a bright flashlight. Anything that can give you a chance, albeit a small chance of a lucky strike that gives time to run away is a great thing. That is the best advice I can give. Strike, push, scratch, whatever you can, scream, and run. A few basic self defense classes will not turn you into bruce lee. I have only met, in all my years, 2 women who were able to successfully stand their ground and ended up hospitalizing their attackers. Both had several years of dedicated training. I emphasize this point because I do not want people to have a false confidance that might lead them to put themselves in avoidable dangerous situations.
Tasers and pepper spray are a great option. I have heard very positive results from both. The only problem is, they must be in hand before the confrontation. Can you get to your weapon if someone grabs you? That is where the self defense classes could save you.
Whichever method you choose, make sure it is drilled into your brain. Things are very different in real time, and freezing is not an option. Train as close to real life as possible.
Hopefully I provided some usefull info.

[Nemo]

Great discussion!

I'm a volunteer self-defense teacher, and I live in a pretty rough town. I've developed a sort of progressive series of self-defense concepts for myself. And don't forget, most women (something like 80%, from the last Dept. of Justice statistics I found) are attacked by someone they already know, or are close to. So cultivating good taste and judgment in the men in your life is probably the best preventative action of all!

The best fight is a fight avoided. So, prevention techniques I use:

Level 1: Awareness. Keep your eyes open and you brain alert any time you're out in public, or away from the safety of your own home. The folks who use Jeff Cooper's color code of awareness call this being in Condition Yellow (relaxed attentiveness) as opposed to Condition White (not paying attention). I also minimize things that distract me; I don't talk on the cell phone while walking; I put my back to a wall, look around, make my call, and then continue. I don't use an ipod or anything with headphones that could restrict my perceptions, and if I end up going out and getting tipsy, I wait till I'm sobered up before heading home.

2. Evasion and preparation. If something or someone does catch my attention, I keep an eye on it. If someone crosses the street towards me without a reason, I look them in the eye, assess the threat, and decide whether I want to cross the street to avoid 'em. If I get a bad vibe from someone, I have no qualms about telling them, calmly, to back off; or simply leaving. If the threat level increases, my "Getaway sticks" are ready to carry me away. My voice is ready to scream, even if my female socialization tells me not to rock the boat. My cell phone is out, with the local police # up on the screen. If you wear long hair, keep it pinned up when out; I've heard of many a case in which bad guys use hair as a handle. Shoes you can run in are not a bad idea at all.

3. Readiness to act. I've trained myself to trust my gut, and MOVE when my instincts tell me trouble is up. Women are so trained in politeness and deference, and we have to get over it when our lives are at stake. As said above, freezing is not an option.

4. Weapons. My basic weapon is my own body. I've trained a lot in self-defense, and drilled fighting techniques into my body until they come out instinctively. Still, I know I'm not invincible, and self-defense training is a perishable skill. I highly recommend finding a class, and taking training at least once or twice a year. At the very least, it helps train out your instinct to freeze, and replaces it with the instinct to run or fight. If you must fight, go for the soft spots: we have our students repeat, "eyes, throat, groin, knees." Go for stomping the instep, nailing the kidney area, and striking the nose, too.

If empty-hand techniques don't work (and remember that you do have to get to the weapon and have it in hand, or it's useless), a good Surefire E2D or similar flashlight (like Soldier415 mentioned) can jack-light an attacker, and the flashlight itself can be a close-quarters striking weapon. My GF swears by her Surefire 6P, and carries it all the time.

Pepper spray and similar products can be great, but I won't carry 'em unless I have a training class, and those are tough to find. They're also not foolproof, and they won't disable every attacker (especially people who are drugged up or who've been pepper sprayed before). Same with Tasers. I wouldn't carry a stun gun for love or money; the teacher in a tactical movement class I attended last week had us pass around a stun gun and shock ourselves to demonstrate how useless they were. It was less painful than being stung by a bee--total crap.

I often carry a folding knife with a pocket clip (to comply with CA and local laws), but I'd really like to get more training--it's a goal for the next few months. I do have an acquaintance who was attacked by three men last month, one with a gun. They did make off with her purse, but when they tried to rape her, she whipped out her knife, charged the guy with the gun, and took a vicious swipe at his face. They all ran, and she was unharmed. You never know what's going to happen in an attack, though; they're all different, and conventional wisdom is that you shouldn't be bringing a knife to a gun fight.

There's a snowball's chance in hell that I'd get a concealed-carry permit for a gun around here (and the same is likely the case in LA), so I don't do it. At home, of course, my home-defense gun is in a quick-access Gunvault safe, ready to rock. I didn't have this setup, either, until I got a bunch of training in safety and technique at Front Sight and elsewhere. IMO, a gun is a serious responsibility, and I wanted to be sure I knew what I was doing in terms of legality, safety, and accuracy before I loaded it up.

[Hopi]

http://cgi.ebay.ca/3-Security-Cat-keyrings-women-walkers-joggers-bikers_W0QQitemZ120307760653QQihZ002QQcategoryZ3204QQcmdZViewItem

I knew a lady that carried one of these......

[DedEye]

http://cgi.ebay.ca/3-Security-Cat-ke...QQcmdZViewItem

I knew a lady that carried one of these......

Not a good idea in California. Potential violation of PC12020.

A Surefire E2D flashlight is one of the greatest self defense weapons you can carry. Blinding an attacker can give you the necessary window to run like hell. Carrying something else isn't a bad idea either for those times when you can't run fast or far enough, but the E2D or similar flashlights are useful enough that it's a good thing to always have with you.

[ColdSteel]

Well, since carrying a pistol around So-Cal without a CCW isn't quite legal, your next best bet for creep repellent is a Kimber LifeAct. Two shots of high power OC. Seems like it would work pretty well.
It's a pretty slick device a little bigger than an old pager. I have one for a woman I care about...

[grammaton76]

Well, since carrying a pistol around So-Cal without a CCW isn't quite legal, your next best bet for creep repellent is a Kimber LifeAct. Two shots of high power OC. Seems like it would work pretty well.
It's a pretty slick device a little bigger than an old pager. I have one for a woman I care about...

The only irritating thing about owning pepper spray, is if you live in LA.

They require a permit, unless I'm completely misreading the penal code here. The worst thing is that if you're not an LA resident, you can't even get a permit to have the "tear gas weapon" (i.e. pepper spray) in the city of LA.

SEC. 55.04. TEAR GAS WEAPONS – PERMITS.

(Added by Ord. No. 151,335, Eff. 9/15/78.)

No person shall purchase, possess or use any tear gas or tear gas weapons without having first been issued a written permit therefor by the Chief of Police. Such permit shall be issued upon a finding by the Chief of Police that the applicant has satisfied all of the following conditions:

1. Is a resident of the City of Los Angeles.

2. Is not a minor.

3. Has not been convicted of a felony.

4. Is not addicted to any narcotic drug.

5. Has not been convicted of any crime involving assault.

6. Has not been convicted of misuse of tear gas under Section 12403.7(a)(8) of the Penal Code of the State of California.

7. Has completed a course certified by the Department of Justice of the State of California in the use of tear gas and tear gas weapons pursuant to which a card is issued identifying the person who has completed such course. Such a course may be taken in any training institution certified by the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training to offer tear gas training.

No permit required by this section shall be issued to any person until such person shall have paid to the Chief of Police a permit fee of $35.00, which shall be non-refundable in the event the application is denied. Such permit shall be valid for a period of seven years from the date of issuance and shall be non-transferable. Any permit issued hereunder shall be revoked by the Chief of Police if the applicant no longer meets all of the conditions set forth hereinabove.