My girlfriend no longer feels safe taking the metro. She's always expressed that it has been sketchy for women, as far as being harassed by sleazy guys, but now with constant delays, broken down trains, and overcrowding on a regular basis and no assurance of this improving for at least several months, many people riding the metro are pissed and more aggressive than usual.
It’s important to think about your options when you are in a potentially confined space. I talked to Liz about some things she could do pre-emptively if things kick-off in a bad way and she becomes targeted for violence or gets caught up in someone else’s aggression-think mob/riot attack. Everything that we have done for training still stands with the main goal being escape, but when something is building up this could be an opportunity to ready a force multiplier that provides your some range, such pepper spray, to aid in getting away-contrast this to an immediate attack, where you would not likely have time to access a self-defense tool.
Rather than clipping it her keychain and wishing her the best of luck I walked her through how she could nonchalantly access and get it at the ready, and we practiced accessing it, unlocking it, and firing it at a target, to get her familiar with how it works and its range.
The first spray attempt didn't hit our target, too far away. It shot out with more pressure than I expected though, the target was about 12 feet away. Then I had her try again to a closer target and told her to paint a horizontal line at the target, telling her that would ideally be your target’s eye-line. As it sprayed it misted from the canister and the mist came back towards our faces… so there’s that. Fortunately it didn’t get into our eyes. It’s important to note that using it outdoors with a stronger wind could have rendered that effect
The intent of this post is not to promote or denounce the use of pepper spray-it of course can fail, be used against you, have no effect, enrage, or incapacitate a person. You can never know the effect it will have-but it should never be a crutch.
Just a post on how to think outside the box and understand what tools could be used in certain situations, and emphasize that you should learn how to effectively use something if you are going to carry it, to increase your useful options.
Train smart, stay safe, & keep your cool while waiting for that blue line,
Evan D.
Owner/Lead Coach
NOVA Self Defense
It’s important to think about your options when you are in a potentially confined space. I talked to Liz about some things she could do pre-emptively if things kick-off in a bad way and she becomes targeted for violence or gets caught up in someone else’s aggression-think mob/riot attack. Everything that we have done for training still stands with the main goal being escape, but when something is building up this could be an opportunity to ready a force multiplier that provides your some range, such pepper spray, to aid in getting away-contrast this to an immediate attack, where you would not likely have time to access a self-defense tool.
Rather than clipping it her keychain and wishing her the best of luck I walked her through how she could nonchalantly access and get it at the ready, and we practiced accessing it, unlocking it, and firing it at a target, to get her familiar with how it works and its range.
The first spray attempt didn't hit our target, too far away. It shot out with more pressure than I expected though, the target was about 12 feet away. Then I had her try again to a closer target and told her to paint a horizontal line at the target, telling her that would ideally be your target’s eye-line. As it sprayed it misted from the canister and the mist came back towards our faces… so there’s that. Fortunately it didn’t get into our eyes. It’s important to note that using it outdoors with a stronger wind could have rendered that effect
The intent of this post is not to promote or denounce the use of pepper spray-it of course can fail, be used against you, have no effect, enrage, or incapacitate a person. You can never know the effect it will have-but it should never be a crutch.
Just a post on how to think outside the box and understand what tools could be used in certain situations, and emphasize that you should learn how to effectively use something if you are going to carry it, to increase your useful options.
Train smart, stay safe, & keep your cool while waiting for that blue line,
Evan D.
Owner/Lead Coach
NOVA Self Defense
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