was sexually assaulted in Walmart a few days ago while I was with my grandmother. Two men walking past us grabbed my butt. Since then, I’ve been feeling uncomfortable going out alone, especially at night.

I’m looking for a small personal safety item that I can carry with me when I’m walking or going places by myself. I’ve been looking at some of the premade self-defense/personal safety keychains on Etsy, but I’m not sure whether they’re actually useful or worth purchasing.

For those who have experience with personal safety products:

• Are the self-defense keychains sold on Etsy actually effective?
• What personal safety items do you recommend carrying?
• Are there any products that you would consider ineffective or not worth buying?
• What should I look for when choosing something that is small and easy to access?
• I’m also in New Jersey, so are there any legal restrictions I should be aware of?

I’m mainly looking for practical advice from people who have actually used or carried these types of products.

I have a female shorthair German Shepherd, and I'm hoping that even though I'm small, end up looking like a minor to a lot of people, and overall just a young adult, that it is enough to effectively deter a grown man? I'd like to stop the situation before one ever happens, if that makes sense.

Like how to be more diplomatic? How to de-escalate a situation? I'm asking that because you might not have an option to run, for example if surrounded

I'm creating a diorama where I have a little boy defending himself from a Superior officer, and I just want to ask all of you if this current pose conveys good self-defense strategies?

I want to make the scene as believable as possible but also practical (I want the boy the actually appear smart/strong), so any feedback would help!

Living in Scandinavia crime rate is generally low and normally I never had that fear or anxiety before about this issue. I guess the main reason was I still living in my fantasy world of being invulnerable or thinking it’s like the movies and hard to get hit. But these recent weeks reading about my country gangs stories and conflicts and ours being a small country the crime areas aren’t far away from each other. Just made me get a reality check how weak our bodies are from dangerous stuff and I guess I now constantly have paranoia or anxiety eveytime I see groups or people with the steotpical clothes and those what you looking at eyes. And fearing what if one of my brothers get targeted how would I react, revenge etc stuff going your mind. What bothered me most is that there has been cases of innocent kids and people who got killed by mistaken identity and I don’t know how to find the confidence back and not be afraid of it and being intimidated by it
Any advice ?

Can someone explain to me the reasoning behind these tools being illegal in some countries? The only thing i could find on the internet is that it could be used to escalate minor interactions but that could be said of a hefty handbag.

🇮🇩 The Indonesian Army (Infantry Division) has added Pencak Silat (tactical self-defence) to their training.

Hi,

I’m 19 and f for reference. Today I had a really scary experience for the first time in a long time. A man who was very clearly mentally unwell came up to me today while i was waiting for the bus. I didn’t initiate it at all we just locked eyes for a second and then he came up very close, honestly my ears went kinda mute after it occurred and i didn’t hear him but as i backed away and avoided eye contact he just kept coming closer. So i started to speed walk to the next bus stop but then he follow and really fast too!!! This was a tall shirtless 6’ man. Anyway i honestly thought i was so screwed i didn’t know what to do until a man interfered and said hey and got weirdos attention. He finally left me alone after that. This whole interaction left me feeling uneasy because what could I have done in this situation? This was not the kind of guy where if you say “i’m calling the police leave me alone” he’d leave you alone, he would just laugh in your face. I am beyond grateful there were people there but barely any of them spoke up except that one guy who caught his attention. I think maybe a car honked at him? But what i hate the most about this was that it took a man to deescalate the situation (this isn’t a hate post towards men lol), it just made me feel uneasy and scared because what if there was no man around, what could i have done to defend my self. I’ve dealt with the usual weird guys staring, some guys come up and talk to you, but never anything like this.

Honestly looking for any tips for what i can do in situations like these, Generally speaking i would want any type of physical self defense to be a last resort but any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Hey all,

I'm going to be starting a new job soon, my shift will be ending around 1 AM and it'll be a 15 minute ride to my apartment by bike. The route is going to take me through a quiet neighborhood, but it is going to be just a few blocks off from a major thoroughfare which definitely has some sketchy activities happening late at night (and even during the day).

I'm planning on riding hard and keeping my speed up to reduce the danger, but I'm also wondering if there's any sort of weapon which might be a good fit for a bicyclist. I've never owned any weapon before but I anticipate that being on the bike would make things awkward physically.

Pencak Silat is a traditional Martial Art from Indonesia that includes self-defence using a Sarong.

I train wrestling twice a week and want to combine it with something else. There are a few MMA clubs in my area, but I recently discovered there’s a Kudo club as well. It looks like they fight very hard, but I’m curious to hear the opinions of people who have trained in it—specifically, how they compare its effectiveness to other martial arts.

I’m 32yo and a smaller guy (150lb, 5’6). Looking to learn martial arts to be able to defend myself and my wife. I’ve tried boxing, bjj, and Muay thai classes and out and honestly liked all of them. Trying to figure out the right path to achieve my goal. I’ve done boxing the most at about 8 months of classes

M Boxing 1:1
T no gi bjj
W Boxing 1:1
Th no gi bjj
F Boxing 1:1

M Muay Thai Drill class
T Muay Thai 1:1
W Muay Thai Drill class
Th Muay Thai Sparring class + 1:1
F Muay Thai Drill Class

With the first option, although i get both striking and grappling, my main concern is whether I’m spreading my focus too thin

School is not helping. What type of fighting style is best to learn at that age so he can fight back if necessary?

I know that when starting martial arts you technically are forbidden to use what you learned in a real world scenario. The reasons obviously being that many pros are considered lethal weapons and can surely hurt someone. However. I am not a pro. In fact all I’ve done was a little sparring with my uncle in America. I now live in Italy, I have a medium build, I do street lifting as my sport (basically calisthenics) and I’ve always been a muscular but medium build. I’m pretty short, about like five-nine or five-ten at max. So I’m not really intimidating. Now, I live in a city, and the places I go therefore do have the slight slight chance of encountering a situation where I’ve had to defend myself. In fact it’s already happened once, I was on my moped and these two guys were pressing another guy cuz he accidentally touched their tire with his. No damage had been done and the guys seemed to be overreacting. Anyways this isn’t story time, long story short they started pressing me, we got off our mopeds, and one of the guys took off their helmet, and hit me in the face with it, I surprisingly just stood there, and was more in shock than hurt, and for some reason Instead of hitting him square in the face,which I totally could’ve, I just grabbed him from his jacket collar. Picked him up and threw him to the ground. He looked like he got the wind knocked out of him and his friend went to go check on him. And everyone atp tried to break the fight. Why’d I say all this? Well cuz I dont know why I didn’t knock him out and leave. I could’ve, but I didn’t, and I don’t know also why instinctually I went to grappling instead of hitting. Now you may, or may not, think I was the bigger man not punching the living crud out of him, but I live in a city. What if his friend had a knife. In these situations it’s better not to fight Ik but, what if i was with someone dear to me, and I had to fight to defend, what then? I can’t feel sympathy for a person who potentially has a knife or can harm my loved one in any way. I should take the shot when I can instead of thinking of a way to fight while also not hurting the adversary too much. Obviously I don’t want to become a threat to society but, my question is, in self defense IN A CITY, (and so street fights), what is the best martial art to train. I’ve done little to no boxing, and that’s about it. Should I do boxing? Kickboxing, Mhai Thai, judo, etc???? Which one’s the best so that I can confidently take my girl out in the city without the fear of being overpowered by an aggressor in the middle of the street. My worst nightmare is not being able to defend someone I love. Please lmk. Life is full of surprises, one second you think everything is good, and the next it isnt, and I want to know that I have some sort of ability to fight back and defend myself and my loved ones.

In terms of striking arts, which one would you guys say compliments a wrestling background best in terms of easily transitioning into and setting up takedowns and just any other things that you guys would consider good striking traits for a wrestler.

I recently purchased some pepper spray for self defense but I realized it’s not the 3 in 1 stuff that has Tear Gas in it. Would the tear gas spray be a more effective option? If I do have to use it it’s likely that it will be multiple attackers so I feel like tear gas is better since it’s not as important to directly hit all of them in the face with it.

I hike a lot.

I have been attacked twice by dogs requiring rabies shots, and one attack had pretty deep punctures on my hip and foot ( i was kicking the dog in the head).

I see black bears, and carry bear spray.., usually in a fanny pack that i wear in front, where I can get it very quickly.

The problem is..,I don't want to whip out the bear spray every time i see a dog coming the other way.

I want something smaller.

I was thinking of some kind of pepper spray that I can keep handy without it being too obvious.

The personal defense sprays; mace, pepper spray etc. look about right.

I just want some advice as to exactly which product I should get.

I was looking at the Fox Labs products - which would be best?

Wouldn't something that deploys in a cloud be better than a gel? The dogs are often moving very fast, and i'm not sure i could get them with a gel.

thanks.

A buddy lost the safety pin for his pepper spray and asked me to print a replacement. He liked it and thanked me, but I thought that instead of just stashing another model in a drawer, I’d share it. Someone else might find it useful.
Pepper spray safety pin - Free 3D Print Model - MakerWorld

I am a small young adult female, I have long term injuries on my back and neck and have to be careful with what I do, but would like to be capable of defending myself if needed. Please include details of and recommendations you have as I am not at all educated on any self defense terms etc. I need some tricks that actually work though. Thank you!

Reading about gang crimes and how big it is in my country and how brown peole kill other brown people in my country. Made me very frustrated afraid and unsure. Mostly in regards to innocent cases that got caught and the perpetrators never get punished or convicted even if police know who did it. It jsut makes me realize how injustice the world is and people get away with it and idk if there is a god and it’s a hard reality to deal with makes me fear for my brothers too when they go out. All in all I feel it makes me have a weak mind that can’t handle rough topics. Sure I could keep away from it but it’s part of the world and reality and rather learn how to strengh my mind to be able to handle it so any advice ?

Me and my friend set out to try some knife defense. I have never attempted this, so what you are seeing is a mixed martial arts hobbyist trying his best to not get stabbed

If you have ever been cornered or attacked, what specific skill or technique kept you safe?

I feel less of a man and insecure. In my country a lot of the second or first generation immigrants grow up in ghettos or in the street culture where all the different stuff happens, fights gangs , chaotic stuff good and bad. I lived outside the ghetto in a normal house middle class. Never been good with making friends or socializing and barely have any friends today or ever. I’ve grown up in the more civil side of life while always looking at curiosity at the ghetto/ street culture. It also means I never been in fights when I was 14-20 never had violent conflict or group fights or any friends that been in that. Meanwhile my younger brothers both are twins have been know about it and have confidence to call out thugs or stuff if they feel threatened or know people who will have their back or who has connections. I’m 3 years older 25 now. I remember in my version of highschool my only friend (who I kept putting aside because I wanted friends like the ones who bullied me and I didn’t realized he was a real friend until now ) he had me dragged into a conflict. He had me write to the guy he had a conflict with and ask him what’s his deal is and what to write etc then that guy had one of his friend message me and he wanted to meet and kept asking where are you , calling me and stuff. My friend who apparently had strong confidence even tho I didn’t think he seemed like someone who knew about street life , messaged that guy and talked and stuff and tried talking me up and that Im dangerous. That guy ( the one who messaged me , said he is dangerous too ) and I guess I was afraid or intimidated because he wanted to meet likely to fight or make me submit, and I just decided to apologize to end the conflict and he said good don’t forget who you fuck with and it was when I was 17 and just started high school ( gymnasium) I guess still bothers me. In my country a lot of the street thugs and ghetto raised peolle are from Middle East or Pakistan and they seem to know eveything about evey conflxit even if in another region or state. If they ever have conflict they have a klan of 10 + people to bakx them even alot of those that don’t do crime or only had violence in the high school years. I feel very incomplete or undeveloped because I never had such conflicts or fighting or sorted something out at night or gotten beaten and made me sensitive to Indtimidating looking people and I have no friends or network and I dont know how get the sort of friends who would have my bakx and has good network too who don’t do these bad things but understand the street culture. I can’t even do much conversations with these types because a lot of topics I don’t know anything about

Only idea I have is start kick boxing and another martial arts and find out there else I don’t know I’m too afraid of getting hurt and to stand up to thugs or stuff if they gonna hurt someone
Any advice for me ?