Women Taking Charge: A Guide to Violent Attack Survival—Part 2—Weapons

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I just talked to a personal security expert who I respect more than just about any other expert including the loads of experts who have sprouted up on-line. I’ve known this expert for decades and he talks reality. He’s traveled the globe doing security and bodyguard work and has done training workshops for decades. One of the areas he talks about is how difficult it is to fend off a life-or-death violent attacker, even if you’re an expert. Several years ago, a highly rated professional mixed martial arts fighter fought off a home invasion intruder at his home. He prevailed, but barely. He told the press that it was the toughest fight he’s ever had. That he was barely able to take the guy out who had no fight training. Some experts and so-called tough guys made fun of him saying things like he must have been a sissy or truly incompetent, even though many of his professional fights were on video and he was rated as a world class fighter. The fact is that fighting from a surprise, in the dark, with a new fear in the mix, against an enraged attacker is different than fighting in a cage or a ring. This is fact. Surviving a violent attacker is tough business not to mention when a knife or a gun is involved in the attack.

So, what’s the average woman to do to protect themselves? If an expert fighter barely fends off an attacker, what can you hope to do?  Well, the options are somewhat limited but they’re out there. You can stay home and shelter indoors and stay away from the thugs who are on the prowl. Not very practical for everyday living and how would that help you against a home invasion? You can learn great self-defense and practice regularly. Or you can use survival tools.  Like pepper spray and firearms. Are they worth serious consideration?  Yes, they are and I’m going to cover them in this article.

Pepper Spray:

I’m not going to bore you with what pepper spray is made from and how it works because pretty much everyone knows what it is and what it’s supposed to do when you spray someone in the face. Pepper spray is used by law enforcement and people who want to protect themselves from attackers. There’s also pepper spray that’s used to fend of attacking dogs and bears. I saw a grizzly bear that was following a hiker too closely get a short burst of bear pepper spray and the bear immediately turned around and ran away.  

I’ve used pepper spray numerous times in police work and several times on men who were completely out of control. One man told us to shoot him because he was not going to comply with our orders to stop destroying an office area. When sprayed, about three to five seconds later, he started rubbing his eyes, having trouble breathing and having terrible pain in his face. He started bellowing that he’d do anything we ask him to do and pleaded for us to stop the pain and his trouble breathing.  I’ve used pepper spray numerous times and it never didn’t work. Never. That’s not to say that it will always work on everyone, but a firearm will not always work on everyone either.

Pepper spray is an excellent tool to carry for our protection. However, it needs to be used properly to make it work well and basic training and hands on practice should be done before carrying. Remember my story about spraying that man who was tearing up an office and taking about three seconds for the pepper spray to kick in and kick his butt? Being trained will help you to deal with that gap if it occurs and training will also ephasize that you must have your spray ready at hand, always, not tucked away in a purse or backpack.

Firearms:
How about firearms, specifically. handguns? Well, the best personal self-defense tool is a firearm. Period. And for on-the-go self-defense, a handgun. They work best to stop an attacker and you do not have to be very close when deploying it. A firearm takes solid training and regular practice to keep up with the basics and hone your skills. 

A big issue with handguns, for many people, is that they think that when they get a gun, they’re invincible. They don’t realize that the gun needs to be ready at hand to be IMMEDIATELY pulled out and ready for use and that takes training, dedication and practice. Having a firearm is a tool to help you survive a violent attacker and if you’re trained well and are ready to deploy it at an instant, you have a good chance to survive an attacker.

Crime isn’t going away any time soon. In fact, today, as I write this article a female was doing her morning jog at 4:30 in the morning when she was kidnapped. They haven’t found her yet.

Stay aware of your surroundings and consider carrying a self-defense tool.

Steve Kovacs
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Steve Kovacs

About Steve Kovacs

Steve's the bestselling author of 'Protect Your Kids! The Simple Keys to Children's Safety and Survival'. He's written many articles on a wide variety of topics and has three published books. Steve's a three-time survivor of violence in his youth, a former police supervisor and a graduate of The Police Executive Leadership College (PELC) and was also an award winning part-time college Criminal Justice instructor. For several years, Steve did written and radio political and current event commentary and was the former host of the long running 'The Kovacs Perspective' Internet radio and TV talk show. Steve presently owns a small businesses in Ohio--The Mayfield Academy of Self-Defense.

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