There are several reasons for maintaining a protective blocking arm. The first is psychological. An attacker is looking to intimidate you fast. He is also looking for an easy target, to get what he wants in a quick manner. When you are in a defensive posture, right away he might think twice because you do not appear as an easy, and defenseless target. The second reason is that you are actually covering your face and head from his view. You are blocking his vision of where to strike you first. But you can see him from under your arm. You have an advantage. The other more critical reason, is that he might strike first with everything he has. A block will deflect a lot of the power of the hit. It's better to injure your arm then your head or face. Also a blocking arm can be used to push him back.
If you strike him hard enough in a vulnerable point, he could fall forward and crash right into you with his head or body. Better that he makes contact with your blocking arm and not your head, and he won't be able to grab hold of you as he falls. The other reason, if he has a weapon, he is going to attack your head first, because he believes that is the quickest way to intimidate you and gain control. If he knocks you in the head with something hard you are going to be dazed. Use your arm to block from the start and you will have a greater chance of defending yourself. Last a blocking arm can immediately turn into a strike.
Here are some common items that can be used as a weapon: A purse or bag which could include a backpack, or messenger bag, cell phone, hair brush, aerosol spray bottle, pen, small umbrella, heel of your shoe, newspaper or magazine that will be rolled up.
We are going to review all these items to teach you how to use these common items to your advantage against an attacker. I would also like you to point out, that one important weapon is missing, and is deliberately missing and that is any KNIVES. The reason for that is very simple. It's an obvious dangerous weapon that your attacker will definitely use against you if he has the chance. So, I want to show you how to use common items that your attacker won't suspect as weapons, and can hurt him. A knife or any gun is absolutely the last resort defense!
You don't want to give your attacker any ideas, or deadly weapons, that he can turn on you. Bringing a knife into any confrontation heightens a confrontation to a potential lethal fight. Frankly, you don't want to survive a horrible sexual assault attempt, or violent attack and then have a harrowing legal battle, to defend your choice of using a knife. If you killed a man with a knife, the court might not see it as self-defense. If you knocked a man out with a bowl from your cabinet, they are definitely viewing that as self-defense.
I know it sounds a bit crazy, but that is how the legal system can view the use of a deadly weapon such as a knife or a gun. It's the last resort.
So let's begin now. A heavy purse or bag is going to be very effective weapon. The area that you are going to hit with a purse is the groin or nose. Push, or slam the purse right between his legs. If you can do it multiple times, you do it with as much force as you can. If you have long straps, you need to grab the purse real close on the bag, because your straps may tear away, and then you lose your purse or bag and all the contents within. If it's a heavy bag it might be a bit unwieldy. You will maneuver the bag between you and him, in a block of defense. This is what I would do to start.
If you have the bag across you, if you have it draped on one shoulder, you would maneuver in front of you, don't waste time by taking it from across your shoulder. If he is trying to hit you, you can grab the purse and slam it up hard into his nose, this is a great block. Also if he is coming at you with a more deadly weapon, that could puncture skin or stab you, you can put your purse between him and your body to protect yourself from the weapon. Better that a knife or a sharp weapon hits your purse instead of puncturing a vital organ or causes serious harm. You can do this with a few different types of bags, purses or backpacks.
A cell phone. Obviously one of the best helps a phone gives you is your ability to call for help. However you should be aware that you can actually use it as an effective weapon. It's hard, durable and compact. You have it at home, and usually on your person, or in your bag. You are going to take it in your hand like you are holding a bottle of water and you are going to hit hard into the attacker's groin, right between his legs.
Swing hard up into his groin. If you can hit him multiple times aim for the groin, again and again. Hey guess what you can always get a new phone! If he attacks from the back, swing the phone down and into his groin. Even though he may attack you from the back, you will still have your arm up in a defensive block. In one moment he may be attacking from the back and a moment later, he is attacking you from the front, so keep your blocking arm, is still up and ready. If you need a follow up strike your blocking arm is ready to strike.
Also if he is facing you, and he is in very tight, and you don't have room to swing it, hold the phone in both hands by the ends if you can and slam the phone straight into his nose. Hit him multiple times if you can manage it. Hit him hard in the eardrum. If you are holding the phone in one hand, the other arm comes up as a blocking arm. The last resort, drive a straight shot into the side of his head at the (temple area.) That will hurt. If you still have your phone after all of that, and it's still working, keep it as you run and call for help.
My next item is a hairbrush. Brushes come in many sizes and shapes, some with handles and some without. If you can grab a brush without too much difficulty, the brush would be a great weapon, one with a handle can be easy to grab. You can hit him in the groin, nose, knee cap, or side of head (temple area) or eardrum. For the discussion assume that we are hitting, or striking in some of the vulnerable body points, groin, nose, ears, eyes, side of the head, and knee caps.
When you strike the groin a hairbrush, it's a straight shot into the groin, or backwards and downward swing or upward swing into his scrotum. You can use the back or the bristles side, to swing up, like you are swinging a paddle. You can smash it into his nose, or chop downwards into his nose. You can do a straight shot into the temple or into his ear. Another vulnerable spot is his knee cap. You would swing that down firmly like you are swinging a ping pong paddle, down on his knee with the back of the brush. It may break, but that's okay, on to the next. How hard you can hit with a brush? See for yourself. Take your brush and hit the back of it against a hard surface like a chair, imagine if this was the attacker's knee cap.
Now that I have mentioned the hair brush, I also wanted to mention the hair comb or ornate sticks that that can hold the hair up. You will use it in a stabbing motion. That goes into the eye or groin.
Aerosol spray bottle or can. Very simply. Spray it into his eyes. You would also use the spray can just like the hairbrush and swing it upward or downward into his groin. You have to be real careful with an aerosol can, because under pressure it could explode.
A pen or pencil. Use a pen or pencil in a stabbing motion. You can aim for the eyes, groin, or side of the neck like this. Keep the blocking arm up and ready.
Small umbrella. This is a small, compact and light-weight "club." The groin is the best target for this. Swing upward, or downward into the groin; use the end and do a straight line into his groin
You can also open the umbrella into his face, and with his vision momentarily blocked, kick him or knee him in the groin. When he finally gets the umbrella out of his face, you can punch him into his nose. I am pretty sure he won't expect that. Another effective way to use an umbrella is to block a punch, or an intended strike. You can use the closed umbrella to strike down on his wrist if he is lunging at you with a weapon. Keep your blocking arm ready and up.
Heel of your shoe. Step on the top of his foot. Kick your heel backwards into his groin if he is attempting to grab you from behind. Kick front into his groin or knee cap. If you are down on the ground and you can reach his face, kick him in the face. If your heel breaks off in the struggle, or you have a broken heel, from a previous party, stab downward with it just like you did with the pen. Groin, or eye if you can reach. If your shoe is off but the shoe and heel is still intake, take the shoe in your hand and chop downward with the exposed high heel.
With a good solid heel, whether it's high heel or not, or a good solid walking shoe; a good kick in the shin bone, knee cap, or groin is a very painful and effective strike. If you have teenagers or small children, teach him or her about the shoes. The school uniform usually comes equipped with a heavy duty dress shoe to match.
Newspaper or magazine. Both the newspaper and magazine look very ordinary. Don't they? Here we have O Magazine and The New York Times Newspaper. If you use these correctly they can also be a surprisingly effective weapon. By rolling up the newspaper or magazine you now have a sturdy, light club. You can use this as a club just like you did the umbrella. The vulnerable points are the groin, and nose. A hard slap or slam motion into his nose and a thrusting motion with the rolled up magazine or newspaper, into his groin. You can use this to block a strike, or bring it down hard on his wrist as you step out of the way. Hold the rolled up newspaper or magazines with one or both hands and thrust it into his groin. Slap it down hard on his wrist as a block.
These common items you probably have in your purse or you have at one time carried your favorite magazine. Knowing that you can make weapons out of common items, gives you an advantage. If you are being attacked, you have resources. Common items as what I've described above, will not be viewed as a weapon by your attacker. You now will have the element of surprise. I hope that none of you reading are attacked. But be prepared, and things will go better if it does occur. Good luck.
By Katheryn Hoban
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