by Gila Hayes
Defense training is often scenario-specific. Women are advised to kick the assailant in the groin or jab him in the eyes. Both strikes are fine if the assailant does not block the groin kick or reflexively deflect the jab to his eyes. Protecting eyes and groin are deeply ingrained human reflexes that can prevent a counterattack from connecting.
In unarmed combat, I’m a strong believer in low kicks to break joints, injure limbs and disrupt balance. Unlike men, women’s power is centered in the lower body and legs. A smashing kick to the side of the assailant’s knee can break or disable the limb sufficiently for you to escape an attack from side or front. Even a kick and downward shin scrape can momentarily surprise someone making a rear grab enough for you to break free.
Women can deliver a disorienting palm-heel smash to an assailant’s face if they are grabbed from the front. Bending the knees and dropping the hips, then rising dynamically to slam all your power up into the palm-heel smash turbocharges the blow.
If you are knocked to the ground, orient your head away from the assailant by spinning on your back. Use your legs to kick and trap the assailant’s legs. A strong leg trap can put the assailant on the ground while you roll to your feet to escape or draw a gun. You may not have time to stand or find yourself unable to get up. When deciding where to carry a canister of defense spray or a handgun, be sure you can reach it quickly from a variety of disadvantageous positions and that it won’t be lost if a purse or backpack is grabbed.
While every instructor has some favorite empty hand skills, a book isn’t the place to learn unarmed defense techniques. You can’t learn fighting from a book any better than a written manual can prepare you to pass the road portion of the driver’s licensing test. Find martial arts instructors who will work with you on stance and speed, recovery skills to get back on your feet, choke-hold escapes, ground-fighting techniques, improvised impact weapons, and weapon retention and disarming. Seek out empty hand techniques you can perform naturally and reflexively to buy the seconds necessary to escape or draw a firearm.
A hard palm-heel smash is a disorienting blow that allows the small person to deliver considerable power. Here, Jacqueline practices the steps with a practice partner.
Notes
1Tony Blauer Personal Defense Readiness, P. O. Box 278. Victoria Stn., Westmont, PQ, Canada H3Z2V5 www.tonyblauer.com
2Modern Warrior, 711 N. Wellwood Ave., Lindenhurst, NY 11757
CHAPTER 11
Non-Lethal Tools
An intermediate (non-lethal) weapon is meant to deflect an assault before it turns lethal, or to gain time and distance to draw and use a gun. The greatest value of non-lethal weaponry may be the legality of open carry. Devices like the Kubotan, mid-sized pepper spray canisters and other tools are legal to carry openly in the hand in many places. Thus their immediate availability is a strong argument for intermediate defensive tools, even if you legally carry a handgun as well.
An intermediate defensive tool is not an appropriate response to a lethal force attack! On the other hand, using a gun or other deadly force is justified only when murder or crippling injury is imminent. Must I wait until I know I’m going to be killed to use some degree of force to stop someone who is hassling me? No! I need to react quickly to employ non-lethal or intermediate force to deflect or escape before the situation becomes deadly.
Finally, in a gun-phobic society, we are finding more and more places where the law prohibits firearms possession. Setting aside the issue of constitutionality, we’ll discuss non-lethal weapons to carry from your car into the courtroom, from the parking lot into the post office, through other restricted areas, and in your place of employment.
Pepper Sprays
Pepper spray, an aerosol deterrent that has all but replaced Mace®, has become the most commonly-carried self-defense chemical. Pepper spray is based on oleoresin capsicum (OC), a naturally-occurring chemical compound found in red peppers like chilis and habaneros. OC, compared to earlier chemical restraint agents, can boast greater effectiveness against drug influenced, intoxicated, deranged, and enraged individuals. It is also used as grizzly bear deterrent and is effective against dogs. Only strictly trained attack dogs have been shown to withstand an application of pepper spray.
When pepper spray was gaining popularity between 1987 and 1989, the Federal Bureau of Investigation made extensive studies and tests of pepper sprays. In one report, the FBI showed that virtually 100% of 59 people sprayed suffered some inflammation of mucous membranes and upper respiratory systems. Inhaling the spray caused coughing, shortness of breath, gasping and gagging. Eyes closed involuntarily as the OC contacted sensitive tissue. Skin inflammation was common, ranging from redness to acute burning. Perspiring or fair-skinned people suffered greater skin discomfort.
Practice for safety in gun-free zones: Jacqueline drives a mini-baton into the nerve of assailant’s leg while tucking her chin as defense against a choking attack.
FBI results confirmed a principle also apparent in police reports about OC: success depended on discharging enough OC at the target. The FBI suggested at least one three-second burst or three one-second bursts. Not surprisingly, the FBI tests showed the OC is more effective in enclosed areas, and my experience has shown that the user is very likely to suffer cross-contamination if discharging OC indoors. Be aware that wind will disperse OC if it is sprayed outdoors. Indoors or outside, you need to quickly leave the area after discharging OC into the air, to avoid secondary contamination.
Various reports, combined with personal experience, show that coughing and respiratory discomfort after OC exposure usually diminish in 15 to 20 minutes in fresh, uncontaminated air. Skin irritation may well linger for half an hour or more, burning even after the oily agent is washed away. The best antidote for OC contamination is soap and water to remove it from skin and plenty of running water in which to bathe the eyes. Police often carry Sudecon wipes, but in my experience the wipes do not remove as much of the irritant as does a generous application of soap and water. Generally, the effects of contact with OC spray will disappear in 30 to 45 minutes if the agent is washed away.
Private citizens who discharge OC in self defense should retreat rapidly and then, from a place of safety, call 911 to report the incident and request assistance for the person sprayed.
Pepper spray sounds like a good solution to many self-defense problems. However, it is like any other defensive method: it can fail, especially if the user is untrained or unfamiliar with the delivery system.
The Best Tool For The Job
When and why do aerosol defenses fail? The answers are many and should be thoroughly covered in a user’s course taught by a manufacturer-certified or law enforcement-certified trainer. In the private sector, success of an aerosol defense requires that the substance sufficiently distract or hinder an assailant so the intended prey can escape or begin a more forceful defense.
OC spray is marketed in varying intensities, ranging from 2% OC in a base carrier to 17% concentrations. However, the important measurement is stated in Scoville Heat Units, which should be in the 2 million unit range for best results. In selecting an OC spray for intermediate defense, the delivery system is more important than the concentration. Defense spray manufacturers market several delivery systems: an aerosol fog that comes out of the container in a cone-shaped cloud, cans that deliver a thin, solid stream, and foam containing OC.
For civilian self defense, I firmly recommend the cone-shaped aerosol cloud. Your goal is to escape by temporarily distracting the assailant. The stream delivery system affects only the area it contacts, and is harder to deliver to the eyes, nose or mouth, since it is only a thin stream. The foam carrier may linger on skin, but it has limited effect on respiration and can be blocked from eye contact. The coneshaped cloud, however, billows out from the container and is difficult to keep out of the nose and lungs and settles on the skin to cause irritation, as well.
At a pepper spray class at the Firearms Academy of Seattle, Barbara exper
iments with one of the newer delivery systems, the PepperBlaster, which discharges a pressure-driven stream of OC. The orange practice unit delivers a blue dye, which students were able to evaluate for quantity, dispersal and distance of delivery.
Against experienced subjects holding their breath or shielding their eyes, lay down a fog of OC through which they must come to reach you, then move away laterally when they enter the OC. For example, if you are crossing a supermarket parking lot when an assailant rushes at you, yell “Get back! Don’t come any closer,” in a commanding voice. Have the OC spray ready in your hand. Your non-dominant arm should be fully extended to deflect the assailant and protect the spray canister. If he doesn’t obey your command, fog the space between you.
After breathing or contacting the mist, the assailant may crouch defensively and bring his hands to his face and double over protectively. These results are not guaranteed, however. Some people are quite unaffected by pepper spray. Other offenders have experienced it before, so they know they can achieve their goal despite the discomfort. If it does distract the assailant, choose the nearest escape: return to the store or get into your car. Call 911 immediately to report the attempted assault and your use of the chemical defense.
If you discharge the OC you carry, replace the canister after the incident to be sure you have a sufficient quantity if you ever need it again. In all likelihood, your perception of the time lapsed and amount of spray expelled will be distorted by the fight-or-flight experience. When you buy a new canister, give it a brief test spray to be sure the nozzle is functional. You should continue to test the canister every four to six months to be sure the aerosol propellant has not escaped or the nozzle become clogged. Plan to replace OC spray units on a yearly basis. Although the OC remains potent, it is useless inside a defective canister.
If you discharge OC to fend off an assault, you need to move swiftly on an angled path away from the attacker. If you merely back up, the attacker, continuing his forward momentum, can run right into you and finish the assault. Always disengage and run for safety. Don’t mistakenly believe that OC is the magic formula that will take an assailant to his knees.
Pepper spray sounds like a wonderful defense tool, doesn’t it? I certainly like having it among my defenses. But, please, do not make the mistake of believing it is more effective than it really is.
We possess and learn to use aerosol restraint sprays, empty-hand techniques, and other intermediate weapons to buy the time needed to escape or reach a gun. A spray will not perform well in high wind or at great distances. It takes longer to affect a person wearing a baseball cap and wraparound sunglasses, if it is effective at all. Don’t rely entirely on the spray!
Legal Concerns
Despite the common defense tool that it has become, some states restrict purchase, carry and use of OC sprays. Many incorrectly classify the aerosol agent as a “tear gas,” which technically is a lachrymator (tear-inducing) agent, while OC is an irritant agent. Restrictions range from age limits for purchase to a licensing requirement. A few states strictly prohibit possessing OC. Violations can result in charges ranging from misdemeanors to felony charges. Before carrying OC spray, especially if you bought it outside the area in which you wish to carry it, call a local law enforcement agency, the attorney general or municipal attorney and inquire about laws covering its use and possession.
If you discharge pepper spray, lay down a heavy cloud of the irritant agent between you and the assailant as you escape.
As of this writing, OC sprays are illegal on commercial airlines, and your canister will be confiscated if detected when you attempt to take it through security with carry-on baggage. More severe penalties are allowed by law. Cabin pressure changes could result in canister leakage, a problem for which you do not want to be responsible. If traveling, it may be better to buy a canister for use during your stay, then give it to your hostess or business associate before flying back home.
Laws and regulations change too frequently to report with any accuracy in this book. Please be responsible for yourself and research the law before obtaining any sort of defensive tool.
“What’s That Stick on Your Key Chain?”
The great value of any intermediate weapon is the ability to carry it openly and ready for use, in your hand. During the women’s exposition I spoke of at the beginning of this chapter, a few women came up and smugly showed me the small OC canister in their handbag. “That’s good,” I encouraged, “but you ought to start carrying it in your hand. Don’t fool yourself into thinking you can dredge it out of the bottom of your bag when you see trouble.”
The most natural intermediate weapon to carry continuously is the mini-baton. It attaches to key rings, and at 5-1/2” long by 5/8” diameter, fits naturally into the hand. Takayuki Kubota developed the first mini-baton in the 1970s for California executives needing a defensive weapon. Looking for items the executives carried regularly, he developed a defense system using the expensive writing pens all the gentlemen used. The pen was later replaced with the grooved metal or plastic mini-baton we know today as the Kubotan.
The Monadnock Company used to produce a similar mini-baton called the “Persuader.” Of identical dimensions to the Kubotan, instead of grooves the Persuader has ridges that dig into nerve and bone during certain techniques. The ridged Persuader is less likely to slip off a pressure point than is the grooved version. Nowadays a variety of manufacturers make and sell mini-batons, and these are sold through numerous martial arts suppliers.
Neither the ridged nor the grooved mini-baton is of much value without appropriate training. Mini-baton escape techniques are based on nerve and pressure points. Pressed or jabbed into specific physical locations, the baton causes sharp pain, distracting the assailant. As he loosens his grip or hesitates momentarily, the defender escapes.
Other control techniques employ pain compliance. Applied properly to the wrist, the mini-baton can effectively disengage an assailant who is grabbing the front of your clothing; continued pressure can drive him to the ground. Grabs from behind are countered by driving the end of the baton into the delicate bones on the back of the hand or into selected points on the arm.
Because leverage and pain compliance are at the heart of mini-baton techniques, size disparity is only a limited disadvantage to the petite mini-baton user. However, in teaching Persuader techniques, the Firearms Academy of Seattle staff has run across a few students with very high pain tolerances who exhibit little response to the pain compliance techniques. It is reasonable to expect that as many as one in 15 people can endure this level of pain, so you must be prepared to switch to another tactic if the technique, properly applied, fails to elicit an immediate response. Remain fluid: if the pain compliance approach doesn’t work, quickly switch to a destructive technique.
Mini-baton training also includes jabs and flaying with the keys on the end of the baton that can inflict more pain and actual physical injury, depending on the location of the strike. Breaking free of a grab may entail breaking the assailant’s fingers by levering them up with the baton. Key flays and destructive techniques are capable of causing great physical injury or even as deadly force, and this type of strike may cost the assailant his vision or result in broken bones or permanent disability. In a fight for your life, however, you are justified in inflicting this kind of harm if no other reasonable alternative exists.
Just as we recognize the uses and shortcomings of pepper spray and other alternative defenses, the mini-baton is not the best defense to every kind of attack. It is extremely valuable, however, for the legality of carrying it in-hand nearly everywhere. The secured areas of airports and aboard airliners are the most common places that prohibit possession of a mini-baton. Most other locations, like post offices, courthouses and schools, allow possession of this small easily carried defensive tool while prohibiting more effective forms of self defense. In these locales, the mini-baton is worth more than its weight in gold.
Facing the Blade
Until you understand just how fast a deadly assault can be acted out, you may be puzzled by all the emphasis on having a defensive tool already in hand. In 1983, research by Dennis Tueller of the Salt Lake City Police Department showed conclusively that an attacker can dash across 21 feet in less than the two seconds it takes a skilled handgunner to draw a pistol and fire two accurate shots (that cannot be expected to take immediate effect). The Tueller study taught us this critical lesson: maintain an extreme distance from anyone who could pose a cutting or bludgeoning threat; move off the line of force established by a charging attacker; and recognize the absolute and deadly danger of knives and other contact weapons.
Distance equals survival in a knife fight. Defenses that increase distance between you and the knife-wielding assailant can give you time to draw a gun or escape. A four-cell aluminum flashlight or an expandable baton extends your reach 12 to 20 inches, distancing you from the knife and giving you a striking weapon with which to disable the offender.