Having the knowledge and ability to defend your own life is absolutely vital in the field of Law Enforcement. It is however also vital for citizens to be able to defend themselves as well.
I know I focus a lot of firearms and the proficiency of their use in my posts. This one will focus more on different types and methods of self- defense skills that are in my opinion, necessary for everyone to at least know.
I am well versed and confident in my skills in self-defense, it is what do everyday 24/7. All of my skills combined are what gives me this confidence and it took many years of practice to get to where I’m at. The skills are all perishable and new methods are always being developed, therefore you are never done learning. Please note that this is not an end all posts to cover all self-defense situations, it’s merely a way to get you thinking.
Before I get any further, I’ll ask you a hard question: if you, whether it be by yourself or with your loved ones, are cornered by a person who is bent on causing harm to you or your loved ones, will you be able to protect yourself or your loved ones?
That’s a very hard question to ask and most people go on with their lives without any incidents like this. I’m all about being prepared for the worse case scenario, so I’ll never be surprised. It’s not living in fear of everything, that is not what I’m saying. All I’m saying is to know yourself, your own abilities and have a game plan.
The best way to win a fight is to avoid one. Situational awareness is key here: knowing what and who is around you, where your routes to escape are will assist you in identifying possible threats and how to get away from them.
When you find yourself cornered however, you will either have to comply or fight back. Depending on the situation, if your compliance will end the confrontation, well that’s your best option. If all they want is money or stuff, is it really worth your life to fight over? That changes when your life or person is being threatened; you now have two choices again, this time, compliance means giving up, being at the mercy of your attacker-or you can fight back and never give up.
Ideally, a pistol would be your best option against a imminent threat to your person. The fact is, most people are not familiar with firearms or live in areas that make it extremely difficult to carry a firearm concealed. With that option taken out of the equation, you will have to resort to other options.
Martial arts skills are very useful when you have to go hands free. I myself have practice TaeKwonDo for a few years back in high school (I wouldn’t recommend it as a base for practical self-defense skills) but it is better than nothing! I studied Kung Fu later on, it is much better than TKD because it is more well rounded in hand techniques, rather than being dependent on 80% on foot techniques. There’s a time and place for kicks. Kicking leaves you vulnerable for a takedown if your leg is captured and you also need a lot of room to kick, if you’re in a confined space, it’s not very practical. It doesn’t matter what you study, any martial arts system, including TKD will help your dexterity, coordination and keep you in some sort of shape. Don’t have time for a class? Go find a self-defense class that will teach you simple and effective techniques that, as long as you practice them, will give you the know how and ability to use them when you need them.
Muscle memory comes into here. No matter what skill involving your body, you will need to practice a movement thousands of times to build muscle memory so that it will become second nature to you so you no longer have to think about it. It is true for martial arts as well as shooting.
Self-defense weapons. There are many devices and tools out there for self-defense. Know your local, state and federal laws of what you plan on carrying!
Knives are great tools and could be used in a self-defense situation. I however, would use a knife as a last resort because I’m not a skilled knife fighter and chances of getting cut myself are high.
Pepper spray is another option. It can be useful to cause pain and temporarily blind your attacker, but keep in mind that it will not disable or incapacitated them.
Stun guns are not tasers and will only cause pain compliance and will not incapacitate your attacker either. They are not legal to carry everywhere.
Taser makes a civilian model, which I have myself. It isn’t legal everywhere to carry. It has a range of only 15 ft and if you get both probes to make contact with your attacker, they will be incapacitated for 30 seconds, allowing you enough time to leave the area. Taser will replace your taser device when you send them the police report of the incident.
Batons and kubatons are also not legal in most areas. They will make a greater impact on your attacker.
This doesn’t cover everything like I said. These are all things for you to think about in order to stay safe. It’s your life, don’t let others dictate how you live. Peace Officers are out there on the streets to protect you. They are increasingly under a lot of stress from being short staffed due to decreasing budgets and etc. When you are face to face with an imminent threat, you’re on your own for at least a few minutes in the best case scenario if you were able to make the 911 call. Officers are not everywhere so you should at least be able to defend your life until they arrive.
Probably the most effective take away from this is situational awareness, no matter where you are at. You can most likely avoid most incidents by being aware.
Stay safe and I hope I got you thinking!