-Does a whistle or a high voice scare a dog?
-Does pepper gas guarantee you safety? I have some pepper gases but their triggers are poor quality, i accidentally broke one of them so i carry a few of them but it makes me anxious
I want to run in a place but there is sometimes 2-4 dogs there as a group
I am considering going with a cycle
I mean them standing reasonably close to you where they could easily lunge or jump at you without leaving you enough space to defend yourself.
What is appropriate here? Do you verbally convey to them to stay away or to not approach you? What about when you're walking randomly on the street and people keep walking all around you faster?
For example today I got a delivery by this random guy who I've never seen before, he was built like a hulk, speaking roughly and moving, all of a sudden guy says: "Alright I need $50 and walks up within arms reach".
Fuck yeah I was intimidated first he's got at least 100 lbs on me and at least a foot and a half on me if not two.
And he lugs heavy shit around with ease, while I have injured backs.
I absolutely rely on self defense tools to defend myself, there's no way I could've been able to fight him off physically, sure a well placed punch or gouging might do something, but I can't run away due to my injury and he could just grab and pin me down and its over.
So yeah, in terms of self defense my only option is to not let people come close and to gauge if they're malicious or not. But they come close close anyway.
I thought about commanding people like: "STOP. Don't come closer." but that sounds fucking weird and autistic. And odds are they'd get confused and come close anyway. So wtf is the best option to do in this case?
Thanks y'all.. Sorry if it sounds stupid, it is. But it is what it is heh.
I know there are like..different muscles in our arms and I wish to know which muscles I must train so that I could potentially make my stabs more impactful or stronger. (For self-defense purposes)
Last year i got in a fight, in an act of self defense and as i was punching this dude in the face, i found out my punches are hurting me instead of him, in other terms, i have weak punshes, ballon hands....you get the point! Today i bought a punching bag and some boxing gloves and i don't know if they are enough to learn how to fight and punch properly because as you might know, it takes one good punch to end a fight before it even starts. Is this enough to learn how yo defend myself? Are there any good youtube channels where i can learn more about self defense?
For context, I lived in Baltimore city for years and have had many encounters with aggressive people in the past that I have always been able to de-escalate or distance myself from successfully. However, all of these situations have had some kind of build-up or they were far enough away that I had a few seconds to process the situation and react accordingly.
Last night, however, I had an encounter that left me questioning my ability to react and I am hoping for some advice. I was doing a return at one of those Prime kiosks when suddenly I heard someone come up and start breathing heavily behind me. I turned and there was this scraggly guy heavily mean-mugging me and breathing hard. He was about an arms length away. I am embarrassed to say that I froze and out of instinct stared back, after a few seconds I gave him a nod and he wandered off staring down a few more customers before he exited the store. He was probably just homeless and unwell, but the situation has made me question my ability to react at the drop of a hat now that I conceal carry (I’ve had my ccw permit for about a year). How do you prepare yourself for the truly random acts of violence you may encounter and how do you prepare yourself not to freeze when the situation occurs?
As a woman, I've been told self defense would be useless to defend myself if I ever get attacked by someone who's stronger than me. Is it true?
to throw out. Any suggestions. Something sturdy like a Silvercross but cheaper. $5.00 to $10.00
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I know that in a modern world with guns and knives, chances of someone trying to strangle me with a garrotte from behind is very small and it's rather a movie cliche, but still, is here any viable self-defense techniques against that? I heard that judo and wrestling helps because it might allow you to get a hold on the attacker and throw him over your back, although you need to be careful to not to crush your own throat by doing that, because garrotte is still wrapped around your neck and tightly squeezing it.
There's 2 most common scenarios with a garrotte:
Scenario 1: standing up position, garrotte attack from behind.
Scenario 2: sitting into the car behind the steering wheel position, attacker is using the garrotte from a backseat behind the driver.
Hi, first time poster here (F). I live near a smallish park and tried to walk the outer oval road circling the park twice by myself so far. The 1st time a German Shepard type dog was catching a ball from his owner, saw me, starts barking and tears off after me. I was still near enough to my car to run to it. The dog jumped on the door with the owner running behind, putting dog back on leash, saying he's friendly, pls don't report this. I love dogs & figured this was a one-off, so I didn't. I didn't go back alone till last week. This time what looked like a fox (definitely not a dog) was walking slowly the opposite way. Seriously...in a residential area (but the back side of the park is wooded). I yelled, I stomped my foot, but it was still coming like a complete boss. This time I half-sprinted, half-ran thru the park back to the car, looking back as I could. I saw an elderly woman getting into her car. She drove towards mine & said she thought it could be rabid. So I was thinking I can't go back there w/o something for protection. I have an old wooden nightstick from my Grandpa but that's not long enough. I'm hoping someone has an idea besides pepper spray? (I'm too afraid to get that close)
I bought one cause I love it. It's long and thin, making for good range and a swift swing. The head is small & pointy, allowing a certain degree of pierce, but it's too wide to actually cut into skin, making it relatively easy to attack in a nonlethal way. It is also not considered a weapon, you can put it on the wall in any establishment
This is all what I assume based on the physics of it, but luckily I've never needed to defend myself with it. Is there anything I'm overlooking? Is it actually a reliable weapon?
is there any rule against a 17 year old in ohio having pepper spray, if it was purchased by an 18 year old? i'd feel a lot safer having it on me.
Out with friends. Late night busy downtown. Drunk people all around. Super ghetto dude talking shit, I talked shit back (maybe a mistake), he starts walking away still talking shit so I still am talking as well.
Cue the classic walking back towards to me “SAY SOMETHING ELSE SAY SOMETHING ELSE”
Keeps storming up to me. I wait till he gets right on me and just front kick him right in the chest and he goes down like a box of rocks. Me and my friends all ran after that. Idk if I feel bad or what.
I truly hate I even have to ask this question, but after about 3 instances in my apartment complex of people with untrained bigger dogs I’m sick of it and honestly scared every time my dog has to go out. I want to get somthing I can protect myself and my dog with in case it gets to that point. What can I use or carry with me at all times that would possibly be helpful in this situation?
I have no training in martial arts or anything like that, but I still want something to help defend myself and fight back if in an emergency. And since I don't know when that energy could happen, I want something I can easily carry with me at all times.
I’ve been training solo at home — mainly MMA-style stuff like jab-cross-low kick combos, takedowns, elbows, and general striking. I’ve drilled them a lot, but during real street fights, I notice I freeze or don’t actually use what I’ve practiced.
Sometimes I remember a move in the middle of the situation (like a lead hook or a double leg), but I hesitate or don’t follow through. It’s like my brain is overloaded, or the pressure messes with my reactions.
What’s the best way to make my training come out naturally in high-stress situations? Is it more about sparring, mental reps, visualization, or something else?
Would appreciate advice from anyone who’s been in real situations and made their techniques instinctive.
I live in a neighborhood that has quite a few aggressive dogs. Unfortunately a few months ago, one of those owners left their gate open and two of their Rottweilers attacked me and my dog (I ended up in the hospital, thankfully with only a few stitches, and my dog was okay). Since then I've been looking into something to carry on my dog walks so I can fend off another dog in case something like ever happens again (something my neighbors have also encouraged). Ideally a stick that's retractable so it's not in the way when I'm walking, but that I can easily and quickly extend in an emergency. I've had trouble finding ones that are easily/quickly retractable. I bought one from Stealth Angel, but even the long one was quite short and the unit as a whole was very heavy, too heavy for me. Any product suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
I’m 14, 5”10, and 145 pounds. I’m not really athletic or crazy strong like some of the other kids my age, but I want to learn how to fight. There’s a lot of violence in the world, and I’m seeing more and more news of kids my age online getting jumped or getting into fights and I want to be the last person that happens to. I want to be able to protect myself and my loved ones. I never instigate fights and haven’t ever really gotten close to a real fight. I’ve gotten punked by my friend is play-fights and that was kind of embarrassing. I’m looking at a personal trainer as a LAST RESORT. Is it necessary to have my parents find me one, or are there things I can watch online to learn. Thank You 🙏🏻
Morning all!
Our little boy has recently turned 4. He's tiny, I can't see him being taller than around 5' 4" when he's fully grown.
I'd like to encourage him to get into a self defence sport to teach him self discipline, respect and ultimately to protect himself (and to be able to deliever a solid uppercut should he need to).
Can you recommend the best route to take, maybe Taekwondo, Karate, Jujitsu etc?
Thanks!
Maybe I looked around too much at the gym. I did it because I was comparing my weaker ego and body to everyone else's. I'm more focused though now on my own thing and equipment though. I now know that adults, people in general are stronger then me. Every single man or woman in the military serving or having served could kick my ass in a matter of seconds. Good for them. They win.
The point is, there's a lot stronger physically people then me.
I think that's good for me to realize.
I still want to learn Krav Maga. I like to pick the brain of an instructor who teaches me about Fight or Flight well. If he doesn't and he's too angry, F em, I quit, and I'll find someone new.
But there is a strength in admitting when you know you are physically weaker and need improvement.
I think it makes you less of a tough guy and less macho which is ironically a strength.
My fighting mentality will be: "Don't look for the fight"... "Hit him if he attacks you like if he's high or drunk"... "Run away and go to the Cops immediately"... "Don't be afraid to be afraid"
Like I would just p3pp3r spray him and walk away...maybe a Lil push but like I'm not fighting anymore so is stuff like boxing, wrestling even worth for SD?
Also every SD guy says: if it has a w3@pon just run. Ok then why am I here? I'm not fighting it so is it even worth learning?
So in the winters, I like to walk to my local grocery store and one day I had to go to the ATM which is on the main road and this young guy starts following me. He would cross the road at the same time as me. He was trying to make me aware that he was following me.
He looked like he was in his early 20s, wearing regular athleisure and for some reason aimlessly walking on the streets? Did not understand his deal. He seemed to have a lot of time on his hands. I guess I seemed scared because this has not happened to me before ( Or at least not so obviously, usually when people are following you they try not to make it obvious, but this guy actually wanted me to notice).
He did this twice. The first time I ran into a lingerie shop where men are not allowed and then the grocery side and he seemed to wait inside the store to find me. The other time he saw me and waited outside a stationary shop for me to come out (I spent at least an hour in that stationary shop, had no idea he had seen me go in), then he proceeded to cross the road at the same time as me and try to catch my reaction when I realized, so we'd make eye contact (MOre like just have me look in his direction since he was still pretty far away)
I have a feeling he enjoys seeing me scared. Maybe he was trying to get my attention and/or hit on me and he thought this would be a good tactic. I think i managed to lose him both times before I actually got home but IDK honestly. He didnt seem like he would attack me or was stalking me to locate my home.
I normally am dressed very unremarkably, both these times I was wearing a black hoodie with some black skinny jeans and a black generic surgical mask. I had my hair tied up to make it less obvious that I am a girl. But I guess it is still obvious somehow? Maybe the skinny jeans (the only pair that fits since I am kinda chubby these days) or maybe my chest is still somewhat visible (the outline) from a baggy and thick jumper.
My Q is: what were his intentions and how do I react in the moment, or to scare him off and stop him from being a nuisance
I’m 5’2, 125lb 22 year old female. I live in MN and I love to go on hikes but I rarely can find someone to come with me. Sometimes against my better judgement I go alone as long as the trail is decently populated. I just had a scary experience this last hike and I’m looking for other options. I’m trying to get in better physical shape so I can run if I have to, however I have asthma and it’s been really difficult to increase my stamina.
Someday I will get a gun, I grew up hunting and doing shooting sports so I’m quite familiar with them. I just can’t afford one right now. I have gel pepper spray but I think I would feel a lot safer if I had some kind of incredibly loud alarm. Since I stay on trails that are decently popular I have a good chance someone will hear it and I feel like that combined with pepper spray would be a good deterrent. I’d love to take self defense classes but I don’t have the money or the time currently. I’m comfortable using the spray, but I’m worried about how ineffective it’ll be during a windy day. I’m not comfortable using a baton or knife because I don’t have any training and it could easily be used against me.
I’ve looked at alarms online but I don’t want a cheap keychain one. I want something that will really hurt your eardrums if you’re close. Does anyone have any recommendations?
Yesterday, my friend (24F) and I (24F) were walking from our apartment through downtown toward the beach when we noticed a guy who looked a little rough (maybe drugs or homeless) standing in the middle of the street, watching us as we approached on the sidewalk.
He stuck his hand behind his back (I thought maybe he was reaching for a weapon in his waistband) and began approaching us. He didn’t walk directly toward us but veered off to the side, then started following us from like ten feet behind, keeping his hand behind his back.
I immediately changed our course across the road and he crossed too- back to the side he had originally been closest to when we first saw him. At that point, I picked up the pace, but my friend didn’t. I didn’t want to say “move faster”- I was hoping she’d sense the urgency and keep up with me. She was only a step behind me, so I didn’t leave her in the dust, but it was frustrating that she wouldn’t stick by my side. I totally would’ve moved faster if she had.
We turned a corner where there were more people around and restaurants and the man stopped following us. We crossed at that intersection, and though he saw us, he didn’t continue following.
After about 30 minutes at the beach, we headed home along the same route. Right before we got to a walking bridge, we saw him again- just standing and staring. I said, “Oh hell no,” and made us turn around. We took the long way home and didn’t have any issues.
What I’m wondering now is: How do you prevent someone from following you? How should you respond if you suspect someone has a weapon? I’d also like to understand the difference in how you should react to a gun versus a knife. Is there a way to tell the difference between someone being creepy versus having violent intent and how do you spot that?
Also, my friend and I got into a bit of a tiff about how we handled the situation. I tend to be way more cautious, and she doesn’t want her life to be controlled by fear or creepy men, so her response is often to get angry instead. When I asked her if she would’ve taken the footbridge alone, she said she would have. I genuinely don’t understand how she thinks she can’t get jumped in a split second.
The fact that she gets angry at those things happening and won’t budge for people like that makes me worried about her. Like she stops using common sense because she refuses to let creeps change her day. I don’t think she should live in fear or let creeps change her day to day- but if your gut is telling you something is off, can you please listen to it and act accordingly?
We were both pretty emotional after the incident. When we got back, we had a convo about it. I was anxious and fighting off crying, and she was just angry. She said, “I can’t believe in all of this you’re upset with me.” That was hard to take because she was kind of right. I know I should be upset at the creep who followed us, but instead, I was directing my frustration at her and how she needs to be more cautious.
I’m deeply disturbed by what happened, but truthfully, I’m upset at her responses too. Neither of us can really protect ourselves or each other and I just wish she would err on the side of caution sometimes. Especially when she’s alone. I can’t believe if she were alone, she would’ve walked past that man in close quarters on the footbridge. I am not asking her to live in fear but to recognize danger, respect her intuition, and stay safe.
Any feedback/advice would help-I just want to process this and learn from it and have another conversation about it with her.
Hi everyone. I'd like to get your opinion about a guy and how I should deal with him.
He's one of my roommates. For a long time, he's been messing with me. He leaves trash on my stuff, talks loudly when he knows I'm sleeping, and so on... I often see him walking quickly, he seems agitated, but he's definitely not using drugs or drunk.
We've had arguments in the past, and every time he walks past me, he gives me a threatening look.
I should mention that he's physically much stronger than I am. And that's exactly why I don't understand why he's challenging me — what's the point?
Right now I can't move out, so I have to hang in there for a few more months.
So I ask you: do you think he's looking for an excuse to start a fight? I'd really like to understand this person's psychology so I can figure out how to handle the situation.
Why is he doing this? What is he trying to achieve?
Title basically. What do you think gets you to end a fight in the most reliable and "safe" way? I'm just talking about 1v1 and no weapons though, because both just introduce too many variables to give a general answer.
I moved into a neighborhood with a fairly sizable number of homeless people nearby. My back fence is along a thoroughfare that doesn’t get much traffic in the middle of the night. From my understanding, paintballs can be quite painful without protection. Would this be a deterrent if I happened to be up late at night and catch someone attempting to get over the fence?
So I was trained up in community defence a while back, I’m getting back in shape and wanted to reacquaint myself with that role in my friend group, just in case.
So I bought a tactical umbrella on Amazon; i assumed it’s basically a baton that can also keep me dry.
It arrived today. The baton element is ruined by the nice soft bunch of fabric, and the pokey element is ruined by the spring action not actually locking up.
It’s by the brand UZI - and I think it might be totally useless! Thoughts?
I'm a pretty small guy.30 yo male 5'7 180 lbs but my healthy weight is 150. Owning a firearm is not an option. So should I just buy pepper spray and get in shape so I can run away real fast. Or would learning a combat sport give me any real advantage? I also have some chronic knee and shoulder stuff that I'm currently working on but inhibits my ability to generate any kind of intense striking or grappling.
