New: Weekly Martial Arts / SD systems Discussion Series. Interested?

Hello, r/SelfDefense Community!

Most of us are reaching the end of our training season which is not only an opportunity to rest for a while, but also reflect on the past. We have been brainstorming ways to start new discussions in order to provide value to all!

I am excited to propose a new initiative: a weekly (or bi-weekly) series aimed at deepening our understanding of various self-defense systems / martial arts and their practicality in real-life self-defense situations.

We will select one martial art or self-defense system to focus on each week. The idea is to have an in-depth discussion:

• How does this work? A new post will be shared by the mod(s) which will serve as an introduction to the martial art/SD system of the week.

• Comment: You will all get to share your thoughts and your valuable insight. The post can be highlighted and labeled so that people who are interested in that art/system can read your opinions in the future.

• Discuss and debate!

  • What are the advantages and the disadvantages of the martial art/system?
  • What is its practicality in real-world self defense scenarios?
  • What are the best practices you have come across as regards to the training methods relevant to self defense?
  • What are the best strategies to use for real life situations?

• Rank it and provide feedback!

  • How effective do you believe that martial art/system is for self defense?
  • How quickly can a newcomer learn basic material, strategies, etc?
  • How easy is it to adapt your training and techniques to real life self defense scenarios?

I believe this could be a fantastic way to gain insights, share knowledge, and help each other become better educated about the various styles out there. Your participation will be key to making this initiative successful and informative. Let us all foster respectful discussions in order to help people make informed decisions about their training.

Are you interested? Please comment below if you'd like to participate in the creation of these posts. Volunteers which can "represent" their art/style/system will be of tremendous help. Please, comment your suggestions on how to make this series even better.

We can also add some questions in the comment section which will be answered by all of you (e.g.: any of those listed above or any that you will share in the comments section).

If there's a particular martial art you want us to start with, let us know!

We should promote striking, grappling, and hybrid arts/systems.

Looking forward to your thoughts!

Submitted July 05, 2024 at 10:56AM by theopresent https://ift.tt/FQCYIm1

I got an idea for self defense!

How about liquid ass spray???

Submitted July 05, 2024 at 02:46AM by arkofthecovet https://ift.tt/p9WgIoi

How to protect self on a bike?

I had a scary incident on an isolated nature bike path today. A tweaker on a bike was giving me creepy vibes. I unfortunately ignored my gut instinct (first mistake) and ended up behind him. I planned to pass him as quickly as possible, but he glanced back and saw me coming, so he swerved his bike to the left to block my path. I sped up and zipped around him, yelling "What are you doing?" as I passed. He punched me in the shoulder (very weakly).

I'm assuming his intentions were most likely to steal my expensive-looking bike. (Not sure what his plan was, since I'm a fit adult man, and he was a tweaked out, scrawny man-child.) Or he was just looking for a fight.

Far less likely is that he was trying to stop me to talk to me, try to sell me drugs or something, and punched because he was angry I yelled and blew past him. Or he was on drugs and wanted to turn around, and thought he had more time. (I don't think so since he definitely saw me as he was veering and seemed to go out of his way to block me, and after the incident he continued going the same direction as me.)

I'm processing the incident, and am generally thankful it went as it did, and he didn't have a knife, or have a strong punch, and that he wasn't successful in stopping me. I've been running through it to learn from it, and to better understand how to keep myself safe in the future. I'd love to hear your thoughts on what I could do better next time.

What I did right (I think)-----------

Noticed the sketchy tweaker and recognized him as a threat

Took the strategy of running away rather than stopping

Resisted temptation to curse him out once I was past him, rode away quickly

What I did wrong (I think)-----------

Ignored my instinct (I should've stopped or turned around at first vibes, shouldn't have followed him)

I'm curious to know if you have any ideas about what could help in this situation. I think the key strategy was correct--to get away--but my main curiosity is what happens if he had successfully blocked me, and I was forced to stop. It seems like too late at that point to reach for pepper spray or any other kind of weapon. I'm not trained in self-defense/martial arts.

A second, scarier question would be how to handle that scenario if he'd stopped me when I was with my ten-year-old son biking.

Submitted July 03, 2024 at 12:10AM by bonsaitreehugger https://ift.tt/2g1eivw

What to use if u cant use a gun

I just moved to arizona from California and within a few weeks of living here i had a gun pulled on me during a road rage incident while doing instacart (i was backing out slowly and some hood dude was speeding through the parking lot and got mad when he almost hit us, he brake checked us / blocked us in and got out of his car and started waving a gun around saying “u wanna get f*** up today”

This incident made me realize theres more guns here than i thought there was. I would get a gun myself however i was 5150 in my home state of California and spent a week in inpatient in 2021 so i technically cannot own a gun legally, i was considering getting a pepper ball gun or something similar , i currently use a cold steel ti lite 6inch bladed knife for self defense but so many people here seem to conceal carry there guns so its not as effective as it was in California, at this point im debating if just getting something like a small derringer or antique looking gun would be worth it and just take my chances until my dumb 5 year ban is up. It seems better than getting gunned down by a angry hood dude for something as dumb as road rage. But at the same time it makes no sense you can get all that time just for merely owning a gun because youve been to a mental hospital some years ago. They are basically making it the same thing as being caught with a gun as a felon. Ive never been convicted of a felony only mental health issues that alot of americans have themselves

Is there anyone else with a recent 5150 or baker act? What do you use for self defense? And please dont say “a good pair of running shoes and a flashlight” because that tactic is completely useless when someone is pointing a glock with a red dot sight from freaking call of duty at your face

Submitted July 02, 2024 at 02:46AM by wowwheredyafindthis https://ift.tt/HwtG9My

Self defense, what should I carry?

Is it worth it to have both pepper spray and a stun gun or should I just have the spray? Maybe a bright flashlight?

Submitted July 02, 2024 at 01:02AM by AFlightlessBird_19 https://ift.tt/psELC9R

Assaulted and Robbed, looking for advice

3 days ago (Friday) I (M 19) and my friend (F 19) were attacked and robbed on our way to school by two men on a motorcycle. We had just stepped out of a bus and had to make our way through a short street which led to a road and our school just across that road. The men on the motorcycle had passed us through the street but turned around and then attacked us it all happened so quickly, they didn't ask for our belongings just kept hitting me in the face even though I told them just take my bags because I didn't want to escalate the situation with my friend being there after one of them implied he had a weapon. They eventually made away with my bags, but my friend held on to hers but got a few minor scrapes on her knee. I didn't experience an adrenaline rush nor did i freeze which i'm not sure why fight or flight didn't kick in. Though running probably wouldn't have been smart with the ongoing vehicles using the road I'm looking for advice as this is a route I usually take to school on a daily basis and not sure what to do. What could I have done differently?

Submitted July 01, 2024 at 04:13PM by Thin-Ice_9 https://ift.tt/kCw1DrV