Self Defense against assailants in NYC

I know this question has been asked before and NYC has its own set of laws but I just wanted to ask once more incase anyone has new insight.

My girlfriend and I have both lived in Brooklyn for about 9 years. We each have had our fair share of crazy, unpredictable people that anyone who lives here is familiar with. Today was the last straw when around 4pm, a stranger approached her quickly on a heavily trafficked street in Bushwick, and according to her, he looked like he was going to pull the bag scam so she veered towards the curb where incoming traffic was flying by. She quickly sidestepped so she wouldn’t go into the street and stepped back towards a chain link fence where he then lunged toward her and tried to punch her in the face, winding up to do so. She ducked out of the way and he missed. She pivoted and walked backwards down the sidewalk, keeping eye contact, and then ran a few blocks when she made it to the corner.

She knows what to do in these situations, as this isn’t her first rodeo, but this was the first time that she missed being assaulted by a few inches and is obviously pretty shaken up. She’s been catcalled, harassed, and messed with, a few times with me, but this was the straw that broke the camels back and now we are trying to figure out a potential solution to put her at ease.

A lot of self defense posts I’ve read today have comments that basically amount to “learn situational awareness” or “learn some self defense tactics.” These are genuine comments but it’s hard to justify when you encounter 50 to 100 people daily while walking around. You also don’t expect an attacker in broad day light on a street with traffic running through it. I also am unsure if self defense training can help when you are startled or ambushed in the dark but I know nearly nothing about it other than some BJJ training I have, so please correct me if I’m wrong. We are aware of the age old common sense of not walking in unpopulated and poorly lit places alone at night, being inebriated alone and also just generally keeping your wits about you, but it’s hard to justify anything when you walk out of the coffee shop in the middle of the day on a busy street and then someone targets you and tries to assault you for no reason.

We are trying to find piece of mind. Any ideas?

Submitted July 09, 2019 at 11:33PM by hydnhyl https://ift.tt/2LbqIpB