A lot better than that horrible "use your keys like Wolverine" idea.

This is the real question here.

Goddammit I'm cooked then

I've also heard one of the best home defenses is a good dog. Just the act of it barking, I hear, scares people away because the house is now alerted.

I apologize, I mean how do you navigate all the jargon you see in laws to get the answers.

Too big to carry.

I could switch to a net, throw the little stabby fuckers into the trebuchet, and then launch them.

Boring answers are the most correct ones.

Avoid, run, defend, is how I've heard it

A modern day shillelagh

I just googled it. Safe to say you will get a credible answer mostly likely. You dont need to study a lick of law. Just find a law site in search results that you can judge as credible or not.

Hardwoods will be heavier than softwoods, better for self defense, but softwood are usually more straight.

The keys as a punchdagger trick does work, the problem is that it hurts you just about as much as it will hurt them too. It should always be used as a last resort where deescalating and running away are not going to work.

Better to go to the hospital for your wounded hand than be dead because you lacked the strength or power to fight them off with regular punches.

My point was anything is useful when your life is at stake. Not technique or weapon is perfect. Better than being dead though.

Sure. Am just saying that a gun is not a 'good, viable' self-defense tool, as the title suggests. That's not true in most places.

The best defense is being able to run.

Yourself, along with some martial arts training.

You won't be doing any Bruce Lee moves with basic training, but even basic training can make a big difference.

One of the first things you learnt in most martial arts is how to balance and move. This, combined with some basic blocks, is often enough to disengage and retreat quickly. It also helps train your brain to drop into defence/combat mode when required. This stops you freezing up for a critical few seconds.

Any weapon is mostly useless without the training to use it in the heat of an encounter. If you're going to train with something, it might as well be a weapon you will always have available.

My preference is Tae Kwon Do, but any general martial art will be hugely beneficial.

Oh, and as a side effect, martial arts often help train a mindset change. You know you can defend yourself, and so subconsciously project confidence. It makes you less of a target to begin with.

I apologize, I mean how do you navigate all the jargon you see in laws to get the answers.

https://www.usconcealedcarry.com/resources/ccw_reciprocity_map/ne-gun-laws/

The laws across the US are a patchwork of random thoughts that are constantly amended poorly. If you have any questions you should ask a local lawyer (this is a recommendation from a Paul Harrell video from youtube) since none of us will be there to bail you out of jail or pay legal fees in the event something goes wrong.

Scandinavia fits the bill, probably more.

shovel to dig a trench

Shoes you can run in.

Well that plus nobody wants to fuck with a big ass dog. Little one, maybe, the barking and even a little dog nippin at you isn’t pleasant but I can promise you nobody is breaking into a place with a shepherd staring right at em.

Umbrella is spear with other uses

Roll of nickels.

I’m gonna take from this thread that most people are both heavily armed with random dangerous shit in their pockets including knives and guns, very skiddish and ready to fight, severely untrained, while also being willing to use anything else in your immediate vicinity as a weapon including water bottles and wooden walking sticks fashioned with dangerous sharp spikes on the end.

I am keeping a safe distance from all of you until further notice

Training.

People already commented about running. Best answer. There are plenty of martial arts that can help too.

Whether it's a gun, a blade, a club, a spray, your own body, an alarm... they all require consistent training to actually function in the crisis moment.

If you haven't been practicing and can't execute the defense without thought, it's not likely to serve you when the time comes.

Probably the best defense.

An umbrella built to be a defensive baton, no I am not kidding.

If you aren't in an enclosed narrow space and having an umbrella/parasol this is by far your best option besides pepper spray type options.

Something like this (not recommending this site specifically just using as an example).

https://www.primalsurvivor.net/tactical-umbrella/

I can run real fast.

exceeding 12" in length.

Even better: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulgarian_umbrella

Although that might be more of an offensive umbrella...

oh, I'm sure police are going to verify whether that is a real gun or not before they empty their clips into you.

Flame throwers are legal in every state. Doesn't make it a good idea.

Yea that's the complication that is the reason i don't use it while walking around the streets of my city. It is useful for scaring away someone who might be otherwise unarmed trying to break in though. The police in my city are bogus but if you tell them it is a less lethal and don't reach for it. They will just take it off you before searching you. Obviously, people aren't going to be reaching for them. When I was last frisked they asked me if I had any firearms on me or knives. Most cops have to do it this way. But there are still bad apples out there that might overreact. Cue recent news cases. But in my whole lifetime I was only ever stopped by a cop once while walking. I don't think it will ever happen again unless I act sus or something.

I have a small 4000 lumen flashlight that will blind my attacker if they look at it for too long. Bonus feature, the flashlight will lock itself if the wrong button combo is used.

I disagree with your second comment; I think a slower, easier target would be a better companion in these situations. Preferably someone you don't mind losing.

Finland

Highly illegal lots of places with the argument (much like having a baseball bat in your car and using it on someone - "why do you have a baseball bat with you but no glove, cleats, baseballs, uniform etc?"). So... "why do you have a dangerous liquid made for a specific purpose on you and used in a non-labeled manner?" Mace, pepper spray, even bear spray should not do permanent damage to an attacker. Wasp-type spray can blind someone for life. Malicious wounding is a serious felony almost everywhere.

@CaptainMan251@lemmy.world , if you’re hoping to get good input from this thread you really gotta elaborate on the situations you’re worried about in order to differentiate between useful and useless advice.

A barky dog is good advice about some types of home security. It’s no use if you’re worried about walking down the street

I'm not looking for any particular advice. I like hearing what others think, which is why I left it open ended

Agreed. Don't carry wasp spray. Also, don't keep it, or any other aerosol container, in a hot automobile.

Also best to try to avoid any and all situations in which the need to defend yourself could possibly materialize. This life hack has worked well for me for the past 63 years.

As a person who volunteered input, I think that’s a great way to hear bad ideas.

You either don’t know that and are going to have no filter between what’s useful input that should be internalized and what shouldn’t, possibly putting you in a dangerous and unnecessary situation or you do know and you are interested in what used to be called pot stirring and is now more often referred to as engagement farming.

But it’s not just a great way for you to hear bad ideas, it’s a great way to give bad ideas somewhere to be heard!

No matter if you know that you’re soliciting bad input or not, since the forum is public, the question by its very nature deals with safety and security and the input is solicited in an unfocused way, the results will not just be heard by you but also by everyone who looks at the thread, which is in the front page of some bigger instances.

Now rather than benignly hearing what people think or creating engagement you’re providing a space for any kind of suggestion to be given equal time, Wolverine claw keyrings get to stand alongside “speak to a lawyer about your local laws” because there is no greater context or detail that can be used to weigh one against the other.

The point of this reply isn’t to make you feel bad or call you out, but to make clear the effect that Just Asking Questions has when applied outside its usual political argument territory.

You in particular could, as the op, take action to change the state of the thread by providing more information, a jurisdiction, some specific details you’re interested in knowing about or just delete the post.

I can't, but I take my brother with me who's even slower.

I thought this was a stupid idea, so I punched myself in the tummy with a sucker.

can confirm that it hurts like a motherfucker

Or I could, like, not. And you can go about your day all the happier

Yeah. You can also, when presented with a decently well laid out explanation of the negative effects of a situation you brought about and have unique power to rectify, take no action. That’s true.

BAC of 0% and situational awareness and a buddy

Number one thing is knowing where and when not to be somewhere. If this is more so about a woman and avoiding a sexual abuse then literally having an object visible is a strong deterrent aka like an umbrella. Usually attackers will avoid everyone except for who they think is an easy target.

Katana swords worked for a lot of people

you carry a person on your person at all times?

Cyberpunk reference?

Its you! Our defender!

Who run Bartertown?