Bad Self Defense and False sense of Security

I’ve talked about this before but these guys do a great job explaining why certain feel-good, yoga studio self-defense just doesn’t work. Let me say this. I have nothing against the yoga pant lady in the video. She looks very fit, in great shape.

I’m not being sarcastic. Being fit is far more likely to improve her health and long term quality of life, so there’s that to be said.

The key is this: If you can’t get it to work against a partner that is the least bit non-cooperative, then it wont work in the streets. In the street you won’t have a partner, you’ll have an enemy, and he will be VERY non-cooperative. He will be downright combative.
Stay safe.

FerFAL

Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”

(Video) Brazilian Police Woman shoots Bad Guy

Hi FerFal,
Just an article: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5724427/Gunmans-attempted-robbery-families-waiting-outside-school-Sao-Paulo-foiled-mother.html
Apart from the praise of her awareness, the lady showed quite a good tactical movement (even the robber down, she immediately went for cover, still maintaining aim), and it's also worth noticing this form of concealed carry: in her bag.
I wouldn't bet she can draw a gun from her bag without alerting the robber, but she did, and exactly how you wrote about the 4-o-clock carry: partially turning away, covering her gun right until taking aim and then shooting immediately, without warnings, without 'just wounding', right for the most probable way of downing the attacker.
In addition to it, this is quite a good pro-gun argument. I don't think too much wannabe-robbers will try again at that school.
Take care,
G.
Ps.: I just wish our police would be this alert too...
.

Hello G.
Yes, saw it a couple days ago. Brazilian police do not mess around. Lots of hands on experience and it shows in the determination displayed when actual fights go down.
She did several things right, many that are quite hard to do in the heat of the moment under such stress.
She picks the right time to make her move, shoots several times, manages not to shoot any of the several bystanders, moves for cover behind the engine of the car, then moves forward again and kicks the gun away form the attacker.
Just a well trained lady with nerves of steel.
FerFAL
Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”

Murdered in the Amazon: When Survival Fantasy meets Survival Reality

British teacher ‘murdered’ on Amazon kayaking trip joked about being killed days before

Emma Kelty, a former headteacher from London, was  murdered during a solo kayaking trip in the Amazon jungle.

Ms Kelty had posted frequent updates on her journey in northern Brazil on Facebook.
‘In or near Coari (100km away) I will have my boat stolen and I will be killed too. Nice,’ she wrote, joking about the danger she faced.

You see, this is what many people in developed countries don’t understand. Even in our community, many preppers don’t understand this either: The difference between fantasy and reality. A little tip people. When someone in the Amazon jungle is out there to kill you and steal from you, you take it seriously. You don’t assume its some empty threat and carry on.

For example, if you have half a dozen guns and over a thousand rounds of ammo “for when SHTF” and you don’t have body armor, then my friend you’re living in a fantasy world. No one shoots a thousand rounds of ammo at an enemy without getting returning fire. Heck, if you empty a full mag its probably because you’re in a fight for your life too.
Bug out bag with snares “for trapping” but no cash? Nope, not realistic.

This woman had lived a sheltered life. She had gone on adventures in the 3^rd world before, she hadn’t lived in them though. For her it was living out what she otherwise saw in Discovery Channel. She saw the amazing jungle (and it is amazing) but she didn’t see the drug smugglers, slavers, pirates, the illegal gold miners, the jungle natives that have a VERY different concept of right and wrong. Not to mention the dangerous animals and diseases.
The danger in these places is extremely real. They are places of amazing beauty and fantastic people too, but also very dangerous.

I don’t mean to insult the memory of this poor woman. In fact I congratulate the courage to go live life in her own terms. But these are the kind of mistakes you only get to make once in those parts of the world. They don’t care about political correctness. They don’t care if you mean them no harm. All they care about is that they have someone to steal from, rape and kill, and some of the most brutal people will do all three without a second thought.
In preparation for this dangerous trip, Emma Kelty had taken self defense classes in London. She wanted to learn to fight and “disarm” potential attackers.

How can anyone possibly think this prepares you in any way to deal with people that live in the jungle, swinging machetes all day, stronger, tougher in every way, not to mention armed?
We need to keep it real folks. Not doing so gets you killed.
FerFAL
Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”

"Girl with a gun" scares Off Intruder: 5 Lessons Learned

An idea for a blog post.  Teen girl in Spokane WA scares off intruder with pistol.  Much good about this.   But not sure I'd want to show off the pistol and my entire home though.

Thx for all your work over the years.  I appreciate it.

Nathan

http://www.khq.com/story/35905776/i-didnt-want-him-back-teen-talks-about-tense-moments-scaring-away-wanted-man

/

Hi Nathan,
Thanks for the link. Yes, loose lips sink ships and all. Shouldnt show around their place as much.
I love reading good news like this. I’ll be explaining a few points I believe are important and we can all learn from, but the fact is this girl was saved because she had a gun and that’s what matters the most.
The most important lesson being: When facing violent people, guns save lives. The most likely outcome is similar to this story, where both the potential victim and even the aggressor walk unharmed. When these things happen no one takes notice. There were no shots fired, there’s no corpse to be bothered with and no one will do a movie about it, but none the less it’s the most common outcome when good people use guns and it’s the best outcome in which no one gets hurt.
Now some folks will argue that the best outcome is a dead bad guy in this girl’s room. We’ll just have to agree to disagree on that one. Most people, especially teens, don’t want to carry that with them the rest of their lives. Even if you are somewhat less sensitive regarding these matters, trust me they simply are not worth the time and money involved with the legal matters. Most tough guys will start crying the moment their lawyer hands them their legal expenses bill. If it can be prevented, better spend that money on some nice family holydays.
Now, even though this story no doubt had a happy ending, there are things that could have gone a lot worse very easily. Let’s go through some of the things done well, and what could have been done better:

1) The girl was armed. Above all, having a gun is what makes it or breaks it in these situations. She was armed, and that makes all the difference in the world.

2)The gun was within quick and easy reach. Had the gun been next to her bed with a combination lock of some kind, she may have not had enough time to use it. This is a key part of armed self defense.

3)Poor weapon choice. A 22 LR revolver is not a good option. Now in this case it served her well. Keep in mind even a replica gun would have done the same thing. You can “scare” an intruder with a replica or blank firing replica. You can scare someone with a Derringer, or with a gun that isn’t even loaded or operational. That does not mean you should overlook the possibility of the gun actually being used. For revolvers a 38 special would be my recommended minimum. For autos 9mm, both with premium ammo.

4)Training. I just can repeat this enough. Get proper, professional firearms training. It will teach you how to use the gun, how to keep it, and what gun to use. Never in my life have I seen a defensive shooting class were a student was using a 22LR.
Training is what gets you through the fight when the bad guy ISNT scared as easily and you actually have to shoot. Training is what keeps you alive when there’s no bad guy around, by preventing you from doing things such as keeping your loaded gun under your pillow. Save money by taking a class with a qualified instructor. Trust me it’s the best money you’ll ever spend on self-defense.

5)Home security. Even better than having to chase away a home invader is not having him in your teen’s bedroom in the first place. Doors, windows, they should be kept locked. “what about hot climate?” Well, find a solution. I’ve always liked to have bars on my windows. I like them, I like knowing no one will crawl through the window. If done well and the bar has a nice design and goes along with the house style they don’t look bad either. And it allows you to leave windows opened safely. Some shutter designs also allow good ventilation while keeping the shutter closed.  If nothing else, know that leaving windows opened or cracked with no barrier of any kind means anyone can just crawl into your kid’s bedroom.

FerFAL
Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”

3 Easy Steps to Home-made Pepper Spray

Warning: Laws vary from Country to Country, even from State to State. Know and abide by your local laws before making any kind of home-made pepper spray.

In one of the most embarrassing incidents in Argentina’s football history, fans of Boca Juniors Club attacked rival players of River Plate Club as they went into the pitch after half time. They used a home-made type of pepper spray known as “mostacero”, which is typically made by inmates in prisons. This liquid was made using cayenne pepper and acid. While cayenne pepper isn’t among the hottest peppers, the acid in the mix is a particularly evil addition which can cause permanent injury or death. Before you get any ideas, remember that liquids and gases for self-defense that cause permanent injury or death are banned in most countries.
Commercial OC spray is still the best non-lethal defensive tool at hand. Its cheap, you can have it delivered to your door and it works very well within its intended purpose of use. I recommend SABRE RED, as this is the one most often used in Argentina with good results.

SABRE RED Pepper Gel - Police Strength $12.99

The active ingredient in pepper spray, capsicum, is actually the same component found in most hot peppers, so while not as practical as commercial OC spray, a home-made version can be effective as well.
1)The first thing you need to do is to get yourself some peppers, the hotter they are the better. The hotness of the pepper is rated in Scoville Heat Unit. Commercial Capsaicin pepper spray has around 2.000.000 SHU. Ghost Chile Pepper is considered one of the hottest peppers in the world. Usually exceeding one million SHU, its about 400 times hotter than Tabasco Sauce. At the moment the Carolina Reaper Peppers are officially considered to be the hottest in the world. The practical difference in SHU may be marginal so I would suggest going for the one you have available in powder form. You can use dry peppers but this will require processing it into powder.
You will also need alcohol, mineral oil, an empty plastic bottle (small, half liter soda bottle will do) to mix the ingredients and a container to use the pepper solution.
2)Pour the ingredients into the plastic bottle. Use latex gloves, a face mask and if possible do this outdoors or at least in a well-ventilated area. The mix will stain clothes pretty bad as well. Mix 2 tablespoons of Ghost Pepper powder. 1 tablespoon of mineral oil and 7 ounces of rubbing alcohol. Close the bottle with its cap, shake it well and let it rest in a cool dark place for 24 hours.
3)Using a cloth or rag to filter the solid particles, pour it into another container. Make sure you use gloves, mask and eye protection here as well. Once you have the filtered solution look for a spray bottle to keep it handy. Water guns have been recommended at times, but most of these tend to leak very bad so check before using. Small spray bottles work nicely. Lens cleaner bottles are small and throw a jet when pressed hard. Try getting one that throws a jet of liquid rather than a cloud of particles so as to have better range.
That’s it folks. Not as handy a commercial OC spray, but better than nothing.
FerFAL
Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”.

Defensive Tools for Women and Seniors

Hello,
I enjoy reading your blog and have followed much of your advice.
My question
Do you have a suggestion of a defensive tool that would be appropriate for a senior woman who lives in a country where a gun would not be the answer.
Knives would be too easily turned against me, and has you have pointed out, are very serious in a close fight and hard to defend against.
Thanks for any suggestions and would bet that other women would benefit.
D.V.

Thanks D.V.
Whenever possible I recommend having a handgun, but I do understand sometimes this is not possible, especially for defense out of your home.
As you correctly state, a knife requires a certain physical strength to be used effectively for defense. Women are more than capable of doing so but they are at a disadvantage compared to men when it comes to size and physical strength, and that difference can increase as years go by.

Knives can be very effective defensive tools, but some physical strength is required.

Defense for Seniors

The first line of defense here is the same no matter how old or young you are: Avoid confrontation whenever possible. Avoid dangerous areas and try not to wear expensive watches or jewelry in places where it may cause trouble.
When it comes to physically confronting attackers there’s a couple things to understand about a criminal’s psychology: Like any other living being, criminals don’t like getting killed or hurt. Put a gun to their face and they will not like it. More often than not they turn and flee. Something similar happens with knives, but we’ve already gone through the limitations of such a tool for some people. OC spray may not kill, but it does hurt and burn, another stimulus pretty much every living being tries to avoid. A criminal may not be as scared when facing OC spray, but a blast will burn his eyes and make it hard to breathe and see, giving you the time to escape or get help. As of recommended brands, Sabre Red has a well-deserved reputation for being effective. In places where pepper spray many not be legal, there may be other alternatives. In some cases you can still find spray that is intended for bears or dogs. These may be legal in your area and would work as well.

SABRE RED Pepper Spray

Still looking into what criminals don’t like, there’s one thing that doesn’t get discussed as much but it is very much true: Criminals don’t want attention while committing crimes. May that be trying to break into a house or mugging someone on the street, they don’t want people noticing them or approaching them during their criminal acts. Here’s where a small personal panic alarm may be very effective. The device produces a 130dB ear-piercing alarm when pulled from the keyring. This can be very effective when screaming or blowing a whistle isn’t possible due to being attacked or even frozen by panic.

Vigilant PPS22BL 130dB Panic Rape Emergency Personal Alarm Keychain + LED Light

Finally, as part of the often recommended EDC, a bright flashlight can be very helpful as well. Flashlights are legal everywhere, and a bright flashlight (+200 lumens) can be used to light up anyone engaged in suspicious behavior. Remember, criminals do not like being in the “spotlight” and literally doing so will surprise them and may make them feel uncomfortable enough about the hole thing that they may go looking for a more defenseless victim. Tactical flashlights that have a strobe more are powerful enough to momentarily blind and cause confusion. Cops know well how a flashlight shined into a person’s face puts you in a more advantageous position, both physically and psychologically. For specific tactical/defensive use application, the Surefire E1D is a good option. The small Eagletac D25C that I favor works well too, with a mode that turns on on high with a strobe just one click away, yet unscrewing the head of the flashlight it enters the most commonly used modes for utility use.
Stun guns may be another option as well. The electric cracking can be intimidating as well as effective. Some models resemble tactical flashlights combining both the advantage of a tactical light and a stun gun in one tool.

VIPERTEK VTS-989 - 19,000,000 V Heavy Duty Stun Gun - Rechargeable with LED Flashlight

FerFAL

3 Great Knives & Multitools for Women

 
Spyderco Delica 4 $57.03 




Leatherman Squirt PS4 $24.70


Victorinox Rescue Tool $72.82

Women and SHTF: Dressing Code and Defense

As a woman who likes to look cute, I am curious about how your wife changed her dressed after SHTF. Yourbook talks about your dress code of jeans & tee, but did your wife change her manner of dress as well? What was her "uniform," if so? (Besides the obvious pants instead of a skirt, such as, did she still wear a skirt if it was cool enough for leggings underneath?) Thanks :)

~R

Hello R,

My wife used to joke, saying that if it wasn’t for her I’d live in a dark and damp cave full of skulls, bones and weapons littered all over the place, maybe lit by a couple burning torches. While I don’t think I’m that much of a weirdo my wife does have a point. She does balance me making me more “normal”, which is something I appreciate.

Her dressing code is pretty normal too. She likes dressing nice and that never changed even when things got tough. She used to work in one of the most dangerous parts of the Buenos Aires, an industrial district close to the docks. You have all sorts of factories and shops, among and all around them its mostly poor, very low income houses and shanty towns, and crime is rampant in this area. I’m talking about criminals walking around on broad daylight with their guns openly carried Mexican style (in spite of it being illegal), the kind of place were police officers move around in their patrol vehicles with caution, them not being the ones that are at the top of the food chain in the location. Any drug raid or crack down of known safe houses, would usually involve over a hundred police officers from different departments.  My wife was at work when criminals broke in during a robbery, again, on broad daylight. 

In spite of all this my wife never dressed down and always looked nice.  For her it was mostly jeans with some shirt or top, blouse and jacket or coat.  Skirts she didn’t like so much. Besides its not a good idea to sit on a dirty bus seat wearing a skirt. Sometimes she would wear sandals or some other kind of open shoe, but in winter and especially when going to work she would use ankle or mid women’s boots.  She would walk around a lot running errands and taking the bus, and the sidewalks are mostly in terrible condition. If you add to that that broken glass and all kind of junk that is littered all over the streets it makes sense to have something that covers your feet better.

While dressing very revealing sure is a bad idea, I would say that rather than dressing a specific way its more about being careful and aware of your surroundings. You don’t have to dress with a dirty blue overall looking as if you just crawled from under a truck to avoid getting targeted by criminals. Sometimes its more about walking with confidence and noticing the people around you. If something looks out of place or a suspicious person is moving towards you, then hurrying away, or even run in the other direction. My wife did avoid wearing any fancy jewelry, especially highly prized gold which criminals are drawn towards like flies to honey. Instead she would wear some cheap yet tasteful jewelry and accessories that you could tell weren’t expensive.

 

Regarding weapons and such, my wife never carried a firearm. She did have a purple Spyderco Delica with her at all times and carried a can of OC Spray. This she kept not only at hand, but in her hand when walking from the bus stop to her workplace. If you can carry a gun, by all means do it and get used to doing so safely and practice drawing and shooting from your normal carry layout. 
 

  Spyderco Delica4 Lightweight FRN Flat Ground PlainEdge Knife (Purple) 

Sabre Red Maximum Strength Pepper Spray - National Breast Cancer Foundation Pink Case
 

So, in a nutshell: Nice hair, make up, dressing nice and feminine doesn’t go away when SHTF. Of course a more informal outfit like jeans allows you more freedom of movement if you can get away with it and don’t need to stick to a more uptight office dressing etiquette. For footwear, getting shoes that you can actually walk with is common sense, but if its comfortable women shoes or boots that you go for as long as you can walk comfortably on them that’s fine. As long as the clothing you go for isn’t unusually revealing, its more about self-confidence, body language, keeping an eye on whats happening around you and a firm grip on your purse.

Take care people,

FerFAL

Defensive Knives for Women

Join the forum discussion on this post!
FerFAL

Sex Trafficking in USA on the Rise

It appears that sex traffickers are looking for
fresh meat in USA now. I guess it’s only a matter of time before
billboards go up offering “jobs” to young women. Fernando, you haven’t
talked much on the subject of sex slavery after SHTF, so maybe you
should bring it up.
B-

Hi B, sorry for the delay in replying. As the society degrades on all levels you start seeing more of this type of crime. In Argentina it got very bad, and sex trafficking and slavery is extremely common. Here’ are some articles that tell to some degree how bad the situation is already in USA, and I can tell you right now without a doubt, tis going to get worse.
Sex trafficking in the U.S. called ‘epidemic’
Teen Girls’ Stories of Sex Trafficking in U.S.
American Sex Trafficking Is On The Rise
Human trafficking on the rise in border region
Parents should watch over their kids like hawks. Keep track of who your kids talk to, who they are chatting with on line, investigate any unusual behavior. Even when adults, eighteen or older they can become victims.

The victims may be of a very broad background:
1) It used to be that sex trafficking meant mostly girls from Eastern Europe, Mexico, or some other disadvantaged background. Kidnapped or tricked with the promise of work, these women found themselves in a foreign country, not even knowing the language or local laws.

2) Girls from troubled homes as mentioned in some of the stories of the links above. Usually linked to domestic abuse and drugs, these girls fall for the lies of “boyfriends” who are actually pimps and slavers. Forced to use drugs, beaten, raped and themselves and their families threatened to be killed, these girls soon comply to the demands of their kidnappers. There’s often mention of a “breaking” period involving beatings, rape , torture and humiliation so as to break the will of the victim and dissuade them from escaping or asking for help.

3) Girls from “good” homes that are kidnapped from the street, malls, beach or park. What follows is usually similar to 2). In Argentina there’s a growing amount of cases like these, even involving young women, housewives and students that are just snatched out of the street. They are kept locked or chained, drugged and forced into prostitution. These are probably the most concerning cases to people that think “it will never happen to me”, because it goes to prove that it can actually happen to anyone, even if you’re careful and don’t come from a troubled background.

4) Girls tricked by the promise of work. Given the hard economic times, expect this tactic to become more and more common. In many cases young girls are promised modeling or promotional jobs, in some cases its promise of work as bartenders in good paying restaurants or working in boutique stores and it does sound legit. Anything that sounds like a good honest job. It usually involves moving to some other city, state or country and that’s where the nightmare starts, out of the girls family and friend circle where they are more vulnerable.
Join the forum discussion on this post!
FerFAL

Traveling to Argentina: Women Raped in Cafayate, Salta

Kena Lopez Moreno was raped in Cafayate last month.

Yesterday, twenty one year old Swiss volunteer, Jael Krummernacher, was raped in the city of Salta. Krummernacher had traveled to Salta doing evangelical mission work with the Anglican Church.
Last month Kena López Moreno from Mexico was raped in Cafayate.
On July 29^th  last year, two French tourists Cassandre Bouvier and Houria Moumnihad been brutally raped and murdered.
On February 11^th 2012, Meriem Hammontene and Melina Cognac, also French, had been mugged and sexually abused in Salta capital city. Sixteen days later, American student Small Lauren Frances was raped in her motel and just a few hours after that 23 year old Japanese tourist Ushiki Risako was raped in Cafayate by a local tourist guide.
http://www.eltribuno.info/salta/154294-Hay-varios-casos-recientes-de-agresiones-a-mujeres-foraneas.note.aspx?origen=metarefresh

Adding insult, the Security Minister of Salta Maximiliano Troyano blamed the victims by saying and I quote “people have a bit of excessive trust when visiting foreign countries”.
http://tn.com.ar/policiales/00084668/el-gobierno-de-salta-desautorizo-al-ministro-que-minimizo-los-ataques-a-turistas

I’ve posted more than enough about the topic of relocating to isolated parts of South America. People, wherever it is you decide to go if you ever relocate, do your research well. look up both good and BAD aspects of the potential location.
For some reason I also get a significant amount of email from people that are either visiting Argentina or have loved ones traveling that way. A couple of pointers here: No, Argentina is NOT as safe as the first world country you probably come from. Don’t ever forget that. As long as you stay in the well-known locations, surrounded by lots of tourists like yourself, chances are you’ll be ok. Play Indiana Jones or even more to the point, Lara Croft, and those chances decrease significantly. If you’re feeling adventurous, try backpacking across Europe first. Europe is safe in comparison. South America isn’t. Women backpacking across Argentina and Latin America in general often fail to understand how different these places can be. Maybe influenced by movies, or after reading about how wonderful this or that place is, they fail to see the danger in lawless, isolated parts of the world. What one young woman may see as spiritual and worldly adventure, in the mind of an unscrupulous local she is just another dumb white woman he can have his way with. Local women in these northern provinces get raped all the time, they even get kidnapped and turned into sex slaves, sent to brothels all across the country. A naïve young woman with a life experience limited to safe environments is in an even greater disadvantage.  Even for seasoned and experienced female backpackers, its simply not safe.

Some parents have emailed me about their children going to Argentina on mission work with their church. If you’ve already made up your mind, then good luck and have a nice trp. Now if you ask me, I can only say that I wouldn’t do it, I wouldn’t send my own son or daughter. Even with a group, its simply not safe enough, especially when you consider that missionary work is usually performed precisely in the kind of places you should avoid from a safety perspective.
This may seem a bit off topic, but it is about safety and I get too much email asking about this to ignore it.
Stay safe,
Join the forum discussion on this post!
FerFAL

Self-defense Recommendations for Women?‏

Hello again:

I'm currently in the process of going through your book (with a pencil to underline everything important), and I peeked ahead to the section on self-defense for women.  I'd been wondering about this topic for a while and I was wondering if you had any more specific recommendations, especially per my particular situation.

Now I have to admit up front that I'm not much of a natural athlete and I'm not in the greatest shape.  I recognize this is something I have to work on a lot, probably more than the other areas of my preparedness plan.  I'm not so bad that I'm out of breath after going up stairs - I can hike for about four miles on hilly terrain, lift moderately heavy boxes, etc. - but I certainly don't yet match your description of a person fit enough to take on SHTF.  Also, I know absolutely nothing about martial arts and thus would not be able to tell if someone was selling me trash in that area.  In the past I've also been prone to the "I don't need to learn how to fight because I have a gun" attitude, which your book and blog successfully showed me was incorrect.

So since I knew that I needed get myself into a women's self-defense class, I went online and started to look for local classes.  And apparently, women around here don't need to defend themselves, because I could find next to nothing (at least close by).  Most of the classes / schools were in the major cities ~50 miles away, and of all the remaining options, I'd say about 75-80% of them were just karate.  Since I knew you generally recommended something more mixed than that, I decided to keep looking.  Also, 90% of them were very guy-oriented, and you had said that women need an instructor who specializes in training women.

One of few remotely promising options I found was this site:  http://www.abdct.com/womens-classes.html.  Like I said, I honestly can't tell whether or not something is worth my time, and there's not really anyone I know who knows enough to ask.  Does this guy look good to you, or is this more "martial arts BS," as you say?

Another option is a local group of karate schools where two of my guy friends got their black belts.  Like I said before, these don't appear to be as mixed as you recommend, but it's still out there.  I also remember reading on one of your self-defense posts that you weren't into the mental/emotional stuff in karate/taekwondo, you just wanted to learn how to fight - that would be more along the lines of my thoughts as well.  Link:  http://www.gabrieleskaratekickbox.com/welcome/

I also have no idea how much any of these options will cost.

I don't want to become a professional fighter, I just want to be able to handle myself if I have to, like you say.  I can see plenty of non-paranoid reasons to take a self-defense class, economic collapse or not.  Just for starters, the current rape statistics on American college campuses (25% of female students being the victims of rape or attempted rape).  Those odds aren't comforting to say the least, so it sort of amazed me that there weren't more classes.  Basically, how do the above options look to you, and do you have any more detailed recommendations for women's self-defense?

Thanks!

Hi Katy,

First, allow me to apologize for not answering sooner. Seems that every time I spend a bit of extra time doing something else email gangs up on me and I’m a month behind replying.

It’s good that you are seeking ways to improve your ability to defend yourself.

While you mostly see relatively young, fit guys in defensive shooting classes and training, the truth is that women and senior citizens are the favorite target.

Put yourself in the bad guy’s shoes: Who would you rather chose as a victim?

My description is somewhat ideal. Its understandable that we’re not all alike, we’re all different people, different bodies and lifestyles. The important thing is knowing your limitations but at the same time not be afraid of some self criticism so as to improve those things that are within your power to do so.

I can hardly think of anything more boring that 30-45 minutes on a stationary bicycle, yet I do my best to drag myself to one when I go to the gym.

Being strong and fast is important though. Not only for fighting but other situations as well. Something as simple as running away from all sorts of threats is within our genes, yet so many people wouldn’t be able to run if they had to.

Some time ago my wife was with my son, shopping in the centric part of town, perfect normal day, about noon, lots of people walking down the bullevard. All of a sudden she heard shots and she had to run with our baby inside a store. Someone had tried to rob a store and started a gunfight with the guard. Its just one small example but I guess you understand my point. IF you have to evacuate your city on foot for whatever reason you also need to be able to do so, the amount of stuff you’re fit to carry will tell how much of the much needed gear, food and water you’ll be able to take with you.

The first link, ABD, that seems to be a god combination of martial arts and practical self defense. There’s nothing wrong with martial arts in itself. The problem is that as time went by its has become less and less “martial” so to speak, to the point where  it is often not nearly as good on the streets as some people may be led to believe. As I often mentioned, some of these classes do all they can to avoid something very natural in a fight, which is getting hit.

Check this out, from the FAQ in that same website that says they train you “for the real thing”.

Will I be getting hit? No. Our classes are very SAFE. We use pads, shields, and safety equipment constantly, and the injury rate is VERY low.

Most people do not want to get hit. Some are down right scared of it. In a competitive combat sport or martial art, this occurs naturally when you compete, against someone that wants to beat you. The downside is that some of these martial arts aren’t focused on self defense and leave important things out.

I would still chose the first one, since it seems more self defense oriented. Train as much as you can but always remember, you really don’t know how good or bad you are until you fight against a partner that really wants to defeat you. Its better to get hit in the face with a glove in the gym than getting punched for the first time bare knuckle in a fight for your life.

Its not a bad idea also to cross train. If you get into karate you can learn a lot, and its specially valuable if you don’t shy away from sparring sessions.

Whatever it is you do, know that its FAR better than doing nothing at all. Remember that you need to train at least some with a non cooperative partner, don’t fall for a false sense of overconfidence (which most defensive schools will try to push) and never forget that your main objective is self defense.

Also keep in mind that you have weapons available. Knives can be terrific defensive weapons id you invest a few classes on knowing how to use them. Knives require physical strength and if you don’t know a few basics it can be taken away from you much easier, so don’t overlook some minimum training.

The Spyderco Delica is a fine choice when it comes to a compact, defensive-capable blade, both for men and women.

  

Consider yourself lucky, knives that can be easily purchased in USA and other countries are banned or seriously restricted in UK and other European countries. Take advantage of this opportunity. I got my wife a (purple :-)  ) Spyderco Delica. Its scary sharp, solid and easy to open.

Take care Katy.

FerFAL