gearcarrot

There are a lot of people out there who offer their opinions of self-defense and related self-defense gadgets. I advise my readers to take all self-defense information with a grain of salt, as many, myself included, have had little opportunity to actually put said information into practice.

I offer my opinion as I offer any other of my writing: take it at face value, without any credentials or preconceptions, this is one person who is sharing his thoughts. Hopefully those of you who read it will think my advice sane advice, but like all information presented on the Internet, advice should be questioned and considered by yourself before you take it as good advice.

Self-defense gadgets appeal to our very instinctual nature. As humans, we are not built for unarmed violence (although we can be very good at it). We are built to be tool users, hence the opposable thumbs, the ability to swing our arms with great force, and our upright stance which frees our hands from the burdens of walking.

So naturally we are more comforted by having in our possession any kind of device which could conceivably be used as a tool of violence. You don’t have to be a human scientist to figure that out. Just think how many times you’ve put your hand in your pocket to fondle your pocket knife during times of stress, worry, or even danger. Or the reassuring weight of your CCW handgun. Or even, if you cannot carry either of these, a handheld flashlight, which can be used as an improvised club, kubaton, or fistload. Walk through a dark alley? Hairs prickle on your neck? Bet you’ll be subconsciously fondling your weapon of choice.

However, in effective self-defense, one must be aware of their natural instinct because some natural instinct leads to serious strategic fallacies. First thing to remember is that any self-defense technique or self-defense gear suffers from the “magic talisman effect,” where if you learn it or carry it you think you’ll automatically be safe from an attacker.

“If a mugger shows up, I’ll teach him a lesson.” If you’ve ever thought that, or anything similar to that, then you’ve felt the “magic talisman effect.” This brings me to my first point about self-defense: knowledge of self-defense techniques and carrying of self-defense gear may embolden you and cause you to walk into more dangerous situations than you would if you were completely unequipped.

My second point is even simpler. Self-defense starts before you get to self-defense. Or more aptly put, self-defense begins even before a conflict starts. When self-defense is most effective, you do not have to pull the trigger, swing a bat, throw a fist or stab a guy. Self-defense can be thought of in tiers, where your actions are dependent on the level of threat. Guy walking down the street wearing a hoodie and baggy jeans? A low tier. Someone just broke into your house? A pretty high tier.

The lowest tier of self-defense, but nonetheless the most important, is awareness. You should always be assessing your threat level. Look and listen. Be aware of your gut instinct. Keep your ears open and your eyes moving. Assess the threat and do your best to avoid it. If you’ve walked into a confrontation, then your most vital part of self-defense has failed.

Walking around with earbuds and the music cranked up takes away from your awareness. Sunglasses help with your awareness, because potential attackers cannot see that you are visually assessing them.

A lot of manufacturers of tactical flashlights like to spread the opinion that a tactical flashlight can aid in self-defense. “Blind your attacker and scare them off! Big scary crenellations to take on the deadliest of foes!” And so on. Do not believe this kind of marketing for one second. There’s a reason the serious tactical flashlights are shown paired with firearms.

However, high-output flashlights have their place too. A bright light can aid in your awareness and shows that you are not simply another sheep. A sweep of a light across shadows can instantly tell you if someone’s hiding there. But be careful not to get too fixated on the idea that the flashlight will reveal all potential dangers. An attacker can still get the drop on you, if you aren’t paying attention.

Going further than that, if you are serious about self-defense it is important to do training and drills. All of the best gear in the world means nothing if you cannot use it when you actually need it. Are you mentally prepared to fight, and perhaps kill another human being? Are you capable of drawing and deploying your weapon of choice under stress? If you are truly prepared, you should be able to say yes, without qualifiers. Not, “if I had to.”

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Self Defense by carrot