Self defense is always an important concern with rising crime rates due to a struggling economy. While many homeowners own guns of some sort for personal protection, these may not always be readily available. Being able to adapt to adversity by utilizing common everyday items for your defense only requires a little quick thinking on your part.
Remember the basics. Most criminals are opportunists and failure to lock your doors or close and secure windows will give them the opportunity they are looking for and will leave you in a vulnerable position. Don’t create a situation where you are vulnerable from the start. Even without a firearm that is handy, you should never consider yourself defenseless.
When utilizing everyday items in a defensive manner, you should always seek those areas of the body that are the most vulnerable such as the eyes, throat area, groin etc. As an added bonus, most household items won’t carry the same legal consequences as a firearm or hunting knife but can often be sufficient to thwart an assailant or an attacker.
Here are just a few examples of household items that can be utilized for self defense.
1.) Pens and pencils.
2.) A roll of coins (a roll of quarters works great) in your fist for a little extra “punch”.
3.) Car keys are great for poking and scratching.
4.) A cane, broom handle or walking stick. They make excellent improvised clubs.
5.) Small heavy objects like a can of food, a skillet, a lamp, heavy vase, fire extinguisher etc. make excellent improvised weapons.
6.) A hot cup of liquid such as coffee, soup etc. That heavy coffee mug you lug around every morning even comes with a handle and can have as big an effect as a club.
7.) Baseball bat, golf clubs etc. These can have a devastating effect on an assailant.
8.) Umbrella. Most have a nice pointed tip.
9.) Aerosol sprays. Wasp and hornet spray shoots up to 20 feet and can easily blind an assailant.
10.) Kitchen utensils such as knives, forks, pots and pans etc.
Most weapons are designed to give you an advantage over an assailant or attacker and many household items can do just that. Being able to defend yourself is important and the advantage can be yours by being able to improvise when necessary to defend yourself, your family and your home. The next time you’re strolling through the house, take a good look around you and you might see just how many improvised weapons you have available for your self defense.
Got big coffee mug for self defense?
Staying above the water line!
Riverwalker
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17 comments:
Great, GREAT post! You must have the mindset that you WILL prevail, and use any and all tools that are available. It's You vs. Them, and you must win.
I teach in one of my classes that predators have no forgiveness. They have consciously entered your home or "personal space", and are not there to make friends.
To: Chief Instructor
Unfortunately, we don't always have what we need hands when someone decides to try and take the advantage.
I almost always carry a very large ceramic mug full of hot coffee...for other reasons sometimes that aren't that obvious.
It's important to remember that an intruder is in your space...and that gives you an additional advantage because it's familiar territory to you.
Thanks Chief Instructor!
RW
A sudden burst from a strong flashlight into the eyes of the burglar might buy you a few extra seconds to find a better weapon. That would be my plan. A burglar is invading *your* home, and no one knows the house better than you. I'd just want to get myself into a better position to either attack or escape. Also, when I hear strange noises in the house, I always tell myself not to panic. Most of the time it's the neighbor's cat that's broken in, but at least I was able to assess the situation rationally and come up with a quick plan.
To: Mike
Excellent point Mike! Anything that will give you time to escape or come up with a better weapon shouldn't be overlooked.
Thanks Mike!
RW
I think #4 really is bad advice. Those items do not have the mass to make them effective as clubs. Try smacking me with a cane or ordinary household broom handle, and I'm going to walk through it. And I'm not that big. I'll have a nasty welt, your wear and tear is likely to be worse.
A couple of items found around the house that may overlook:
Oven Cleaner. This WILL blind and/or scar an assailant, and generally takes the fight right out of them.
Can also cause lung damage.
Two liter soda bottle.
Yup. A plastic 2 ltr. empty soda bottle can be a LETHAL weapon if properly prepared. Go to a sporting goods store and pick up an air valve or two for basketballs. They are pretty cheap. Got an air pump and a drill? You are set. I also use some rubber cement for this project, so a tube of that would be handy as well.
Take cap off bottle, drill hole just big enough to force the air valve in. Cemenet that sucker into the cap, make sure there are no leaks around the valve. Let rubber cement dry completely.
Screw cap back on bottle.
Inflate bottle with air...be careful, too much and it can explode! The bottle will be hard as a rock and can do just as much damage. I saw someone sustain a skull fracture from one of these in a street fight. The bottle wielder then unscrewed the cap, replaced it with a non-valved cap before the LEOs arrived on scene.
Guy with knife--0
Guy with plastic bottle--1
Guy that had started the fracas (with an attempted stabbing) ended up in the hospital for 2 weeks and in jail for 6 months. Bottle wielder was seen as justified in his self-defense and the police hazarded a guess that the knife guy must have slipped and hit his head because there was NO WAY a plastic bottle could do that much damage!
To: der drache
While they may not always be as effective as you need them to be, they are still better than nothing. A properly placed blow could still slow down an assailant giving you time to escape or seek other protection.
Each situation will probably be different, your mindset and the will to survive can be a huge factor.
Thanks der Drache!
RW
To: Lamb
OUCH!
Oven cleaner and 2 liter bottles going on the list.
Thanks Lamb!
RW
If you just keep a disposible nearby for those aerosols and you've got yourself a handy dandy flame thrower.
I drink water from a big heavy 1 quart German beer glass, made of actual glass. It would probably really hurt to get whacked with.
To: tjbbpgobIII
Wow! An improvised flame thrower from an aerosol can...you really do mean to thwart the bad guys! OUCH!
RW
To: theotherryan
Tell me you're kidding, right? You don't really drink water from a nice beer mug do you? LOL
I have a couple also but would hate to waste my beer by smacking someone upside the head. maybe they'll wait till I finish it?
Those big mugs could do some serious damage to the thought processing equipment!
Thanks.
RW
I have wasp/hornet spray in every room in my house. It shoots a LONG way and is brutal. Will get them far enough away that I can point and and shoot more effectively.
MelTX
To: MelTx
That wasp and hornet spray is some nasty stuff but very effective.
Great tip!
Thanks MelTx!
RW
if you have time you can Vaseline your whole body preventing an attacter to get a good grip on you. and it helps by slipping off the attackers punches.
The wasp spray suggestion is VERY BAD ADVICE!!
Even if you wish to disregard that it’s illegal to use (The canister labels states "It is a violation of Federal Law to use in any manner inconsistent with this label. NEVER USE INDOORS!”), what justifications are there for using wasp spray? There is zero proof it will be effective.
The problems with wasp spray are many. First no human testing has been conducted. Second, the canister deploys a stream. Try hitting a threat at 20 feet away with a slow foamy stream from a wasp spray....it won't happen.
Most wasp sprays will not spray 20feet, regardless of their label claim. Check it out for yourself.
If you are going to use a non-lethal form of defense, use pepper spray. Unlike wasp spray, pepper spray has been designed to specifically stop humans, dogs and even bears. Pepper spray is legal to use in self defense and is trusted and relied on by police departments worldwide.
The biggest advantage pepper spray provides is it doesn't require pain to incapacitate because of its inflammatory effects. Superior to wasp spray, pepper spray slams the eyes shut and causes a loss of breath sensation which makes it effective even if the attacker is drunk, on drugs or is emotionally disturbed and cannot feel pain. When facing a threat and you've chosen a non-lethal option, do you want something that can stop a wasp or a bear? Go with pepper spray. It’s legal and PROVEN!
What about this self defense products? Anyone try use them? Which on the best?
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