Mace, Tazers and knives.

Anyone here ever been maced before?
Being maced in the face is probably right up there with taking knee to the groin area, but the effects are much more long lasting.
If your hesitant to carry mace banaka(the stuff you spray in your mouth to give you minty fresh breath) is a great substitution although I am not sure if could cause some permanent damage to the targets eyes.
Tazers are a little harder to use than mace due to the fact that it would most likely have to be hidden in your purse. In purchasing a tazer i prefer the one that have the sharp points that could cut through clothing and even skin.
I dont know muchabout knives.

 

Note to anyone in England, remember that both mace and stun guns are illegal, your best bet if you really want an equivalent is a can of hairspray in your purse.

 

Right, I'll be sure to carry some hairspray in my purse from now on.

 

If you cant carry mace you can always use banaka.
Works almost as good but it also gives you a minty fresh breath.
Its alot smaller than a hair spray so you can keep it in a pocket instead of having to keep it in your purse.

 

Note No.2 for anyone in England.

Afformentioned can of hairspray becomes an offensive weapon as soon as you point it at your attacker.

 

Original Poster:

I have had experience with mace...
I was in a hallway when this guy grabbed a woman and she maced him full in the face. It stunned him and he stood there trying to wipe his eyes clean, so she maced him again and retreated into her room. I had to walk past the area to get out (He was between the exit and myself)... as I walked through, I held my breath but it still made my eyes swell and burnt my lungs... I was gasping and feeling pretty bad by the time I got past him. Also, I had tons of mucus in my nose and mouth... not pleasent... even for an indirect walk through.

Also... it reminded me a lot of taing the CS gas hits in the militray for training... it'll loosen your bowels, clogg you up with mucus and burn your eyes. I found the mace just about as bad.

 

My sister is a nurse who is sent to visit people in their homes and some of the other nurses carry bear repellant. Unfortunately it has been used more often against the nurse than it has helped them. They have just assumed by carrying it they are protected. You need to practice with it, know what situations to use it in, know the wind conditions, and many other factors to use it effectively and safely. Same for most weapons - you have to train with them and be prepared to commit to using them. You just can't brandish a knife and hope the assailant starts to whimper and call for his mommy. They intend to hurt you so you have to be prepared to defend yourself. Again, one day self defence courses and carrying these type of weapons often give women a false sense of security without practice and drilling needed to make them effective.

 

Knives are bad! Ok, so my balisong is my special friend and I'm being a hypocrite. The point is......knives are too easily redirected. They're probably the single worst weapon for an untrained female in self defense. An untrained anyone, really. It's just too easy to slip up and hurt yourself or turn the weapon over to your attacker.....

 

Mace & pepper sprays are non-lethal, and very convenient to carry (although there are restrictions as to where you can carry it like courthouses, airlines, Federal buildings, etc.), ... does keep your attacker at a distance.
There are several varieties that can spray the attacker with a UV dye allowing for later identification. There are some that produces a foam which expands essentially blinding the attacker.

The new tazers that are now out can now stop an attacker at a distance. They have a great success rate (anywhere from 80% to 90%)

 

Knives, CS and Electric devices.

I personally like knives, though they may or may not be your best option. Knives are readily avaliable in your home and there are many that can be easily carried concealed. They can be used to intimidate an attacker and they can do major damage. Let's look at 2 different peple; untrained and trained.
Untrained: I am not an advocate for drawing a knive in hopes to intimidate an attacker, especially when in the hands of an unskilled person. Though a knife can still be a devistating weapon to defend one's life with and if you're looking at being raped or murdered then you better use it if you have that option. I feel it would be best used as a suprise, not letting the attacker know about it until you are placing the point of the knife 6in into them.

Trained: If the attacker has displayed a knife then I'd draw mine. Other than that same as above.

Stun guns: Scare tactic. don't bet your life on them. Been hit with a few and they wouldn't stop me from grabbing a beer from the frig. Taser's may be better, I've never been shot with one. Though they seem a bit hard to carry around on your person.

Sprays: They work to a point, nothing like the CS in the military. The last time I got sprayed was an accident, though my eyes water I coughed and snot ran out my nose, I laughed while walking out of the house and was well aware of what was going on and where I was and the person who sprayed me was. Even if they spray doesn't work great, it can give you an advantage to deliver some good strikes and allow you to get away.

I'm not an expert nor do I pretend to be!

Ken

 

I took a class in high school taught by a rape victim who learned wing chun, TKD, and aikido, soon after her incident.
One point she made that always stuck was: what if you dropped your weapon, left it at home, locked it in your car, or (if you have a purse) can't get to it in time because your cell phone or wallet is in the way?

The best weapon in the world is your own body, so you really shouldn't rely on anything other then yourself. Now I'm not saying its completely useless to carry one, but still keep your hands, feet, knees, elbows, (and my favorite) your forehead, always at the ready.

 

Very good point. Weapons are useless unless you have then on you, and fighting empty hands should only be a means to get to a weapon.

 

Note No. 3 for anyone in England.

This is all about intent. If you're carrying the hairspray because you are going to a mate's house to 'do' their hair or coming home from the hairspray shop, and you then take it out and use it in self-defence (with reasonable force) then that's legal.

If, on the other hand, you carry it with the intent of using it as a weapon IF you should find yourself in a situation where you need to defend then that would be illegal.

There was an excellent episode of 'The Bill' which covered this quite nicely I thought - although in that instance it was oven-cleaner.

Mike

 

dont bother with a taser, its a one shot deal, and if you miss, itll take forever to reload and rewind

 

now what does the law in england allow you to do when attacked?

 

I heard you could scream for help. Wait maybe dats illegal too.

 

Flooris, if you haven't got anything constructive to say, I don't believe this particular thread is the correct place for your unique brand of intelligence (and a thread you started as well unbelievably).

In the UK you can defend yourself using 'reasonable force', this is obviously dependant on the situation. If your particularly interested member Patrick Bateman (a Police Officer) has done a nice piece on Yoda's CEA website that I would suggest you read.

You aren't allowed to carry weapons but you can improvise them from common everyday objects, it all has to do with intent. If you are carrying around a steak knife when somebody mugs you, and you stab them I think questions will be asked.

Colin

 

Steak knife really a common everyday object?

 

The articles FF mentioned...

http://www.cea.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/ceaweb/law-force.htm

http://www.cea.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/ceaweb/law-hitfirst.htm

http://www.cea.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/ceaweb/law-assault.htm

http://www.cea.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/ceaweb/law-weapons.htm

http://www.cea.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/ceaweb/law-blades.htm

 

If they allow 3 inch blades why dont they allow mace?
I would think 3 inch blades would be a more offensive weapon.