I've been seeing new women's self defense product sites popping up all over. They advertise pink tasers and lip stick pepper sprays created, packaged and marketed specifically for women. Do these sites really believe in their products? or is it all about profit? It certainly makes an important personal choice confusing. If it's on so many websites it must work, right?
Well... "work" is a relative term. Weather a personal safety weapon (self defense item, or one of many other descriptive yet unwieldy titles) gets you out of bind depends on many things, among them quality, circumstances of use, lifestyle and level of practice.
Let's take stun guns for example. In Sayoc Kali (a very technical weapons oriented Filipino Tribal Martial Art) we've played with stun guns. I've been zapped many times with the 600,000 volt guns and though it hurts, it doesn't incapacitate us.
The good and the bad: a stun gun shock only lasts as long as the device is pressing into a person, and people tend to move as soon as they feel pain. Now, that's good, right? Make the attacker jump back so you can run. But since stun guns leave no lasting impression you'd better be able to run or exercise your next option immediately or you lose your chance. Running is one of your most important self defense options, especially in an unfair fight, which most attacks are for obvious reasons. But what if you can't run? What if you're trapped or you or your child are injured? What if your child is too young to run fast and needs to be carried? The recovery time from a stun gun jolt is immediate, so unless you stun and run, he's on you again. Plus, now he knows and you've lost the element of surprise, which is another important element in a seconds-long life and death struggle.
Stun guns also need to be charged and checked regularly, and most are bigger than other options and therefore easier to disarm. Clearly, I'm not a huge fan. Anyone out there please correct me if I'm missing something.
Tasers, however, are another story. I was once zapped with a relatively old and not very powerful one and it was quite painful and rendered me unable to do very much besides spasm until I was released. So you're attacker isn't going anywhere until you unhook him, which is a plus! But tasers require more practice and knowledge than many moms are willing to put in. And they only deploy once. After that, they have to be reeled in and reset. So you get one chance to aim. Since they only work once, that means one person... what if there's more than one? Tasers also don't work close up, which is a problem since most women are attacked at closer ranges. Tasers also need care and charging. And they're expensive. Technology is improving all the time so keep checking to see what's being offered. There are new stun guns coming out that do more supposedly, so I'll have to do some research. They are also making liquid tasers now that work from a longer distance and dont require you to reset your wires and pop in another canister in order to use it again on the second and third gang rapers. (Wonder if it's still considered harmless pain compliance if you shoot someone in the eye with a liquid taser? What happens when you electrify an eye?)
Pepper spray - especially kubaton types with a hard metal shell for striking - are much cheaper than stun guns and tasers, and at least have the ability to temporarily blind an attacker and make it difficult for them to breathe, so there are effects that last long enough to at least hinder an attacker's ability to attack you. Pepper spray also allows you to maintain a certain distance which is one of the most important issues when a woman with child is up against a brutal criminal or criminals. But pepper spray isn't perfect. A person on certain drugs or who has experience with pepper spray or who is extraordinarily angry can ignore the effects. Pepper spray also requires practice. If you spray the chest instead of the eyes and you have a small canister with only 3 one second shots you could be out of spray and out of luck pretty quickly. So you have to make choices like stream spray or cone spray. A cone spray fans out so you don't have to be as good at aiming when you're under duress, but you use more spray so the containers tend to be larger. Nothing's perfect. (go to Pepper Spray University for more info.)
You can also try a tactical flashlight which can temporarily blind a person in daylight and especially at night and can also be used as a blunt weapon.
The above are all known as non-lethal self defense options (read my blog Protective Offense Tip: Non Lethal Self Defense Options for more information). See My Amazon Store for Non-Lethal Self Defense Weapon recommendations.
You can also make your own self defense weapons. But that's another Blog!
There's always the cheapest weapon around... a good strong pen. If you're in real danger, nothing beats something sharp. But check yourself. Make sure you are prepared to do this or you won't use it when it counts. Your brain might stop you from stabbing if you haven't given it serious thought before hand. I'm one of those crazy people who thinks that a women with kids should be prepared to do anything necessary in an emergency. So I don't think it's at all far fetched to be prepared to use lethal force to protect yourself and your children. What would a lioness or a bear do.
That said, you can't use a pen from ten feet away, so if you are lucky enough to have some warning, something that works at a longer range could be helpful.
Guns are a hot button subject. More women than ever are getting certified. One of my biggest issues with guns is that you don't need to have any training to buy one. Ownership of a gun carries a lot a responsibility. You need a lot of training in safety and use, especially if you weren't raised in a gun culture.
How would you feel if you bought a gun for protection and then one of your kids shot the other with it. Or you did? That said, how would you feel if a criminal with a gun was in the house and you got the gun away from him or he dropped it, but you didn't know how to use it, so he took it back and shot you or someone in your family with it?
I don't have the answers. But these are questions you need to ask yourself. You should be prepared for emergencies. Criminals are out there. They are a part of life. No woman who was ever raped by a stranger ever expected to be raped.
How far are you willing to go? Self defense has to fit into life. That's a big concept that no one talks about. There are people willing to spend eight hours a day learning to protect themselves, and those who aren't willing to spend an hour a year. You have to know yourself. You can practice throwing knives or screw drivers. It's effective.... but will you carry them? What are the laws in your area? Screwdrivers are legal, but what do you say afterwards. You just happen to have them with you? You'd better be prepared to answer questions. You may think none of this technically matters if you're in a life or death struggle. Live first, deal with the rest later. That's partly true. But if you're carrying a bunch of screwdrivers or a gun it's obviously pre-thought, so you need to be prepared to explain yourself to police.
I don't want to over complicate an already complicated issue. But I do mean to show that it takes a little more than just buying a taser online and throwing it into your bag, to protect your family.
We shouldn't feel silly for considering or even discussing options related to self protection. All animals have defense systems. Why should we ignore ours? Our jungle is just as dangerous as the ones in Africa or South East Asia. Even though we don't like to think of it that way.
If you're going to take the precious time you have to reach into your bag, you should be reaching for the best resource available to you. It should be something YOU are comfortable using. Something you've thought about ahead of time. Something that fits into your bag and your life.
All said and done, nothing should be relied on as a be-all-end-all. No weapon is one size fits all. Always have a backup plan - a plan a, b and even c. Think of life as a chess game and look a few moves ahead.
For women interested in acquiring self defense skills, this sort of knowledge is indispensable. If you have questions, please feel free to respond below to this blog or to contact me.
Be well and be safe,
Teja
Go to my Amazon Store for Self Defense Weapon recommendations.
(I'd like to know what other instructors out there think about stun guns, tasers and pepper spray. I'm particularly interested in those who have direct experience.)
TIPS FOR CHOOSING YOUR PERSONAL SAFETY WEAPON
Test you're readiness:
Step 1. Grab the bag you normally keep your wallet and daily items in. Sprint or exercise at a high level until you can only say two words before needing to breathe. (Warm up for five minutes first! Please get a doctor's permission or don't do this if you are pregnant, over 60 or have any health issues.) Do the sprint because the result of high level exercise mimics some of the effects of fear (heavy breathing, sweaty palms that make it hard to grasp, lack of concentration and coordination partly do to a temporary lack of oxygen in the blood, etc.)
Step 2. Reach into the bag while still running and try to find something specific that is not pre-planned - a pen or specific credit card. Chances are you will find this very difficult.
This time prepare:
Step 1. Educate yourself about personal self defense weapons
Step 2. Chose one or two you think work for you financially, morally, physically, etc.
Step 3. Find something you own that looks like the personal self defense weapon you're thinking of purchasing.
Step 4. Put it in your regular carry bag in an easy access spot. A small pocket near the top of the bag, for instance, or attached to a carabiner dangling from the strap of your bag or a key chain.
Step 5. Repeat the first step of the readiness test (Grab the bag you normally keep your wallet and daily items in. Sprint or exercise at a high level until you can only say two words before needing to breathe.)
Step 6. Repeat the second step of the readiness test, but this time with your proxy weapon, ie: Reach into your bag while still running, grab your weapon, turn on your imagined attacker and use the weapon.
Step 7: Try the last two steps with a slight change in scenario. This time STOP running and try to find your weapon and make it work (aim, press a button, whatever) within one second. The idea here is that you are waiting for a bus or strolling with your kids rather than already running away.
8. Use these ideas to inform your purchase and to practice with it.