Bad Things Happen, So I Happen First

[Seshat]

Keys in the fist are good, we talk about those, about the right way to make a fist, purses as blunt objects/distraction. We suggest elbows to the solar plexus, blows to the soft tissues of the throat, slapping cupped hands over ears, bending fingers back against the joints.

I would utterly bless you and your instructor if you found the disabled people in your community, and developed self-defence techniques for them.

The disabled are, as a group, even more physically vulnerable than women-as-a-group, and are typically dreadfully easy targets.

(Heck, what you're currently doing is also vitally important! It's just there's this other problem too....)

Of course, if I actually did get attacked, I'd probably just run like the scared little Nancy-girl I am.

I'm surprised Igorina hasn't said this: the REASON for all these fighting techniques is so that you can break free and run like hell.
(One of the reasons the disabled need special types of training. I can't run like hell; and the mobility scooter I use has a speed cap below most peoples' running speed, due to silly legal issues that don't take my safety into account.)

Also, when you run like hell, run TOWARDS, not AWAY. If you run away, you'll probably run blindly and end up in a blind alley or something.

But run towards.
Run to bright lights and people.
Run to the 'security' area in a train station, or to a police station or fire station or ambulance station or hospital.
Run to a petrol station that's open at the time you're being attacked. Even if the operator doesn't let you in, they can buzz the silent alarm and they're a witness - and most attackers don't want cameras and silent alarms and witnesses.

When out and about, part of your situational awareness should be knowing where to run-toward. Have two or three ideas.

Your car, and your home, are not run-toward locations. You have to fumble with keys before you're safe, and you have no help.

[Magpie]

Ok, this thread has been raising a question for me: what, exactly, is the use of the security call stations? If I'm trying to run, wouldn't I be well out of the vicinity in the 2-3 minutes it takes campus police to arrive?

[Kristev]

And don't forget the utility of using anything around you as a weapon. Humans are very vulnerable. Even a trashcan lid can do some damage to a foe (enough to get away or parry a gun or knife) if applied with enough force.

[AccountingDrone]

(One of the reasons the disabled need special types of training. I can't run like hell; and the mobility scooter I use has a speed cap below most peoples' running speed, due to silly legal issues that don't take my safety into account.)

the bounder does 11.6 miles per hour. Fast enough?

My personal self defense is a hand gun. I have no expectations of escape, and I will not bother trying any form of self defense other than killing my target.

[crazylegs]

most attackers don't want cameras and silent alarms and witnesses.

If you're female (and I'm pretty sure Seshat is) when you scream you have that particular "woman in trouble" sound - that noise that's so very piercing.

Your voice is a tool, use it.

[Ree]

My personal self defense is a hand gun. I have no expectations of escape, and I will not bother trying any form of self defense other than killing my target.

I'm pretty sure there was a mod warning NOT to go into discussions of gun ownership because threads on that topic tend to get heated and controversial. That is a fratching area.

If anyone wants to debate the pros or cons of gun ownership, please take it to fratching. Threads about that subject tend to go south fast around here.

Oh look! Yes there was.

We've had to moderate a couple of posts and issue an infraction for ignoring a mod instruction already.
Please keep that in mind.

[AccountingDrone]

I'm pretty sure there was a mod warning NOT to go into discussions of gun ownership because threads on that topic tend to get heated and controversial. That is a fratching area.

Oh look! Yes there was.

We've had to moderate a couple of posts and issue an infraction for ignoring a mod instruction already.
Please keep that in mind.

sorry, it was a comment on how i defend myself ... admonsihment taken =)

Look - a shiny new wheelchair that goes real fast ...
<me tries to salvage something out of her post>

[Magpie]

If you're female (and I'm pretty sure Seshat is) when you scream you have that particular "woman in trouble" sound - that noise that's so very piercing.

Your voice is a tool, use it.

Unfortunately it sounds about the same as "drunk student" or "student trying to get a lot of attention".

[Seshat]

Ok, this thread has been raising a question for me: what, exactly, is the use of the security call stations? If I'm trying to run, wouldn't I be well out of the vicinity in the 2-3 minutes it takes campus police to arrive?

Cameras and witnesses. The theory is that you run towards one of those stations, slam the help button, and stay there (in sight of the camera) while the attacker is discouraged by the knowledge that everything they do is being recorded; and help is on the way.

Maybe crazylegs can tell us if they work or not.

the bounder does 11.6 miles per hour. Fast enough?

Definitely - but for 'pedestrian' wheelchairs or scooters, Australia requires no more than 10km/h. My husband can outpace my scooter by going to a fast walk, my best friend at a slow jog.

If I have a faster scooter, it becomes a road vehicle and cannot be taken into, say, shopping malls.

If you're female (and I'm pretty sure Seshat is) when you scream you have that particular "woman in trouble" sound - that noise that's so very piercing.

Your voice is a tool, use it.

I am - and thank you, crazylegs!

[crazylegs]

Maybe crazylegs can tell us if they work or not.

Unfortunately there not something that has made their way over here yet (not in my neck of the woods anyhow).

What it does mean however is that help knows exactly where you are - that alone can make such a difference.

[Magpie]

I don't think my campus has ones with cameras. (These are a campus-only thing around here). Is it a good idea to stay there though? If I have a chance of outrunning an attacker (which, I admit, is rather small, given my fitness level), should I try to take it, or should I stay by the alarm?

[Record Store Tough Guy]

There is nothing wrong with running away.

When I started martial arts, my first instructor told me that martial arts was a good way to build up cardio so one could run away faster than the bad guy could chase.

This. A thousand times this. In a self-defense situation your first priority is not to kill or hurt the attacker, but to escape. Never, EVER fight when you have a clear escape route. It could get you killed. Fight only when cornered, and only long enough to get clear and run like hell.

[Treasure]

Unfortunately it sounds about the same as "drunk student" or "student trying to get a lot of attention".

Every girl should have 3-4 distinct types of scream:
"the passion" scream (ooh or ahhh)
"the sorority girl mating call/ I'm drunk and having fun/I'm at a concert in the nose bleed section, and I want the band to hear me" scream (whoo!)
"the You're in so much trouble you're grand kids will be born with ringing ears by the time i'm done with you (usually used on siblings, is typically all 3 names said as one word, and no mom's not going to save them)" scream/yell
and most importantly:

"the I'm in trouble, somebody help" scream, you know the one we got in trouble for when we used it at 8 when our little brother threw frogs on us, and we got 6 adults trying to get out the back door at once - yeah, that's the same blood curdling scream for "help" - if you can scream that word, all the better

[AriGriffin]

This reminds me of the SCA filk song, I'll See Your Six. http://merryrose.atlantia.sca.org/ar.../msg00191.html for the song lyrics.
I heard of a heavy weapons combat fighter that worked in a convience store. One night, he wore his new chain-mail under his uniform to break it in. That night, a punk came in, asked for cigarettes from the case behind the guy, and then stabbed him when he turned around. The chain-mail took most of the blow and saved his life.
When/If I have kids, they will learn how to defend themselves.