Tips on how to defend against common attacks, how to use everyday objects in self-defense, how to tell realistic defenses from phony defenses, how to develop mental toughness for self-defense, how to select a self-defense system, a self-defense instructor, or a martial arts school.
A lecture by a law professor and a former defense attorney on why you should not talk to police officers. Here I quote one of the many reasons given by the professor why you should not talk to the police (beginning at 21:10 of the video): “Police make mistakes … innocently, inadvertently, unintentionally. Any statement, [...]
Read more →Avoid large gatherings, especially those that occur on a schedule. They are pickpockets’ place of work and terrorists’ target. Yes, stay away from crowds, and never mind feel-good declarations like those following bombing at the 2013 Boston Marathon: “The 2014 Boston Marathon will be an act of defiance and courage,” “Let’s show them! I’ll run [...]
Read more →Training in an effective self-defense system shortens your OODA loop. OODA stands for Observe, Orient, Decide, Act. In the smallest-scale tactics (i.e., in hand-to-hand combat), the loop boils down to this simple interpretation: Observe: Be alert. See what and who is around you. Orient: As you observe, orient and position yourself so as not to [...]
Read more →Why have I decided to produce Unbreakable® Umbrellas for Real-Self-Defense LLC rather than Kubotan-like key chains or tactical pens? Here are my reasons: 1. An umbrella is longer than a Kubotan or a pen, so you can hit your attacker from a greater distance. (In defense, distance is your friend, at least in the first [...]
Read more →Having an “arm extender” in a physical altercation is better than being empty-handed. Even if your arm extender is such that striking with it won’t disable the attacker (a rolled-up magazine or a piece of clothing, for example), you can use it to set up a decisive empty-hand action. Your strikes, by slowing down the [...]
Read more →This self-defense tip is about defending against a knife attack by using an umbrella. I will begin with techniques and tactics suitable for the Unbreakable® Umbrella. That’s because these are easier to practice than those possible with regular umbrellas. They are more reliable too. Because the Unbreakable® Umbrella is as sturdy as it is and [...]
Read more →This self-defense tip continues the subject of defending against a knife attack using everyday objects, which began with tip number 69, Everyday Objects as Improvised Weapons of Self-Defense: Rolled-up Magazine vs. Knife, Part I. In the tip number 69 you can see that a strong whack with a rolled-up magazine at even the serrated edge [...]
Read more →Before I show you how to disarm a knife-wielding attacker, here are a few facts: A knife-wise attacker can make five or more knife stabs or cuts in one second, each to a different body part, and can maintain that intensity for a few seconds. (By “knife-wise” I mean an attacker who knows about attacking [...]
Read more →In the previous self-defense tip, I have shown how to use a rolled-up glossy magazine to deflect a knife or even knock it from an assailant’s hand. Today’s self-defense tip is about defending against a knife attack by using a jacket or any suitably substantial piece of clothing. Pay attention: The piece of clothing must [...]
Read more →It is summertime and crime is rising—lowlifes are out and about, and you need to arm yourself as best as you can. I have already written about turning such everyday objects as pencils and credit cards into improvised weapons, for defense or for attack. This self-defense tip, and a few others that will follow it, [...]
Read more →This self-defense tip continues the theme of looking ahead and avoiding needless risk. See the video of an avoidable streetfight. Two drunks are arguing on a sidewalk, and a couple, a man and a woman, walks by them at an unsafe distance. One drunk, to show off to the other one, backhands the woman as [...]
Read more →About a month ago, in Vermont, Melissa Jenkins, mother of a 2-year old boy, was lured out of her house and killed, for fun. She was killed by a couple, a husband and wife. The husband, Allen Prue, used to plow Jenkins’ driveway. He also had repeatedly asked her out on dates, which she declined. [...]
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