maleficent

A gentleman (and I do mean that sincerely) member of TFP forwarded on the following information to be shared with the ladies of the lounge:

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1: Pepper spray is useless against a determined attacker. It's better than nothing, and it will probably kill a rapist's mood, but anyone who's been hit with it more than once will have built up a resistance. The same goes for stunguns. Police hate them because they can take down about 30% of criminals, less if they're drugged. Unless you're highly trained, carrying a knife is not advisable. It's very difficult to use it well, and you risk hurting yourself in a struggle if you lose control. If you do carry it, the best way to defend yourself is to slash at the soft side of any major joint. You will sever critical tendons and render anything from that point outward useless until after major reconstructive surgery. If you slash the armpit or inner thigh, the attacker will most likely bleed out within 45 seconds, but it is unlikely that any court would convict you for self-defense. Keep in mind that carrying anything with a blade of 4 inches or longer is illegal in most US states and is either a misdemeanor or felony.

The most important thing to remember is that you cannot carry a weapon solely as a deterrent. You should not expect to brandish a knife and scare off an attacker. You will not be able to carry a gun and shoot to disable. If you are not willing to shoot at an attacker's center of mass (middle of the chest,) you should not carry a gun. If you do shoot the center of mass, there is a 6% chance that a follow-up shot will be needed. There is still a 2% chance that a second shot will not produce reflexive neurocirculatory shock (disabling of the peripheral nervous system.) If two shots do not stop an attacker, the third should be placed directly between teh eyes, below the hard part of the skull but still high enough to disable the central nervous system. If you read that and aren't sure that you want to carry a gun to defend yourself, then you are probably not prepared to kill in self-defense, and should not carry unless your attitude toward lethal force is more definite.

2: There are two ways to hit a guy that will drop him almost 100% of the time (unless he's drugged.) The first is a sharp blow to the family jewels, the second is an eye gouge. Biting used to be an option, but you're likely to get some sort of nasty disease these days. The original post referred to someone who said she felt bad for ripping muscle on a guy who was trying to rape her, but as a male, I fully believe that someone who is trying to sexually assault anyone deserves to lose an eye or a ball. There is no good way to describe the pain caused by a hit to the testicles, and the only comparable thing that I can think of that could be experienced by both genders is to be punched in the eye itself, not eye socket, while someone twists your nipple with a pair of pliers.

If someone grabs one of your arms, the easiest way to dissuade him is to twist so that his elbow is facing up, and bring your other fist down on it. This will either dislocate or break the attacker's elbow, allowing you to get away. A friend of mine who was taking a martial arts class showed me this move, and although I am 8-9 inches taller than him and outweigh him by around 100 pounds, a light, nondamaging hit to my elbow proudced a momentary bout of excruciating pain.

Bending back fingers will also cause excruciating pain, but this is not guaranteed to stop a determined attacker.

3: If you can't hit, but can grab, your best bets, depending on your range of motion (unless he has both wrists pinned to your sides, one of these should be possible,) ar either the underarm pinch, or twist-and-grab on Mr. Winky's two best friends. If your wrists are pinned, either kick backwards toward the groin, or if you're facing him, pick between pushing forward and kneeing the groin and headbutting his nose.

4: You also have a range of psychological techniques to try if you can't physically resist. As Squishor mentioned, the "I thought we were friends" can really mess with someone's head. Using forceful language to define yourself in his mind as somethign other than a passive victim has been shown to work by killing off the rapist's fantasy of domination.


A final note: If the unthinkable happens and you are sexually assaulted, do not be afraid to report it. You did not do anything wrong. You have nothing to be ashamed of. If you don't report it, there is a good chance that the person who did it will do it again to someone else.

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