bigboywasim

Talk about expect the unexpected.

LiveLeak.com - man gets hit in the face with fire extinguisher LOL

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Heroic Wolf

Whoa, brilliant find! This is one of the most random things I've ever seen/heard of. I guess a lot of decently heavy everyday items can become face-smashing projectiles, lol

Lone_Knight

He dropped lol

Tant01

I hope you guys are AWARE enough to REALIZE (in a most literal sense) the significance of improvised weapons.

Attack or defense, eh?

Stay safe folks...

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"In all countries where personal freedom is valued, however much each individual may rely on legal redress, the right of each to carry arms - and these the best and the sharpest - for his own protection in case of extremity, is a right of nature indelible and irrepressible, and the more it is sought to be repressed the more it will recur."

James Paterson

Garland

how could I use my mousepad as a weapon?

Or a single kleenex?



You said ANYTHING! Out with it!!

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homo homini lupus

sikal

Mousepad is pretty easy. They can take a fair amount of abuse so can be used for some flexible weapon stuff - I can't think of anything that'd be easy to explain in much detail in this medium but it could be used for locking and choking. It could even be used for striking though it mostly just makes a loud noise.

The simplest usage for it - and it's applicable to the kleenex, too - is to blind your opponent. Just slap it over their eyes. It will obscure their vision for the split second necessary for you to slam home your next shot (i.e.: maybe an elbow). Also, many people's first reaction to having their eyes covered is to try to remove the cover - which will tie up at least one of their hands for a fraction of a second. The mousepad could serve a secondary purpose at this point - if I hit him in the face I might get cut on his teeth but the mousepad would protect my striking tool from such things.

And virtually anything can be used as a distraction. Use the kleenex to blow your nose when you think a fight's about to start then wad it up and toss it at one of your would-be attackers. Most people will flinch away from it - it's kinda gross - and that can buy you a split second to get a head start on your evasion or to launch your own attack.

Improvised weapons are all about "thinking outside the box."

Mike

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Louisville Martial Arts Academy - Louisville, KY

Asian Fighting Arts - Dayton, OH

Lansdale's Self-Defense - Nacogdoches, TX

DJColdfusion

Shove the mouse pad in their mouth as deep as you can get it and then work the smother.

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Michael Wright

I love this stuff, it always cracks me up

I've watched guys, who I know can hit like a train and wrestle a bear, run around in a "self defence" drill looking to grab a shoe, a plastic bottle, or a fucking kleenex to fight with.

Just have faith in your empty hand skills, and kick the shit out of him!

Tant01

One of the most effective improvised weapons I ever used was a wire antenna.

I still wonder who's car I broke it off of....?

That thing drew blood...

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"In all countries where personal freedom is valued, however much each individual may rely on legal redress, the right of each to carry arms - and these the best and the sharpest - for his own protection in case of extremity, is a right of nature indelible and irrepressible, and the more it is sought to be repressed the more it will recur."

James Paterson

Heroic Wolf

Car antennae? Jackie Chan does that in one of his movies, Rumble in the Bronx I think it was

TTEscrima

The study of improvised weapons is a realistic and important part of the toolbox for anyone who thinks about SD long enough to realize empty handed is the weakest possible SD option. You may be facing multiple opponents or gasp someone bigger, stronger and faster perhaps even better trained. I've seen Mike Brewer post about needing/using improvised weapons, I also remember the old man confronted by a drug addled knife wielding Gracie who had wrecked the car he carjacked before attacking the old man for his bike, the old man used his helmet as an improvised weapon to put and end to the assault. SF also thinks enough of improvised weapons to teach a course on them. Who knows what a little training with improvised weapons could have done for the people on the 911 flights facing terrorists armed with box cutters. When SD is the issue being too cool for school can lead to being too dead for the dance.

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Heroic Wolf

An old man stopped a knife-wielding Gracie with a bike helmet? Anybody got the link to the story?

TTEscrima

Ryan was arrested twice due to his aggressive behavior. In 2000, he was arrested for stabbing someone at a Rio de Janeiro nightclub. On 14 December 2007 at afternoon, he was arrested for stealing a car (in which he ended up injuring a 76-year-old man's finger with a knife) and attempting to steal another car and a moto.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryan_Gracie

At 7:00 AM on December 15th, 2007, Ryan Gracie was found slumped over and unresponsive in a jail cell in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Gracie had been arrested at approximately 1:30 AM for stealing and crashing a car, and then attempting to steal a motorcycle to flee from police. Ryan was hit on the head by the owner of the cycle, whom he had threatened to kill, and then detained by several cyclists until the police arrived.

Gracie tested positive for marijuana, cocaine, and an unknown antianxiety drug.

Psychiatrist Dr. Sabino Ferreira de Faria was called by Gracie's wife after his arrest and attended to him at the jail.

The doctor has allegedly stated that he administered the following drugs to Gracie to calm him down: Haldol (a powerful antipsychotic), Fenergan (which has a side effect of sleepiness), Topamax (for Migraines), Dienpax (tranquilizers), and OmniPlex (relaxant).

The doctor remained with Gracie most of the night, and was notified of Gracie's death as he was returning home. The cause of death has not yet been released by the medical examiner.

Ryan Gracie, son of Robson and grandson of Carlos Gracie, was born on August 14, 1974 in Rio De Janero. He was a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and won 5 fights in Pride FC, the McDonald's Company Judo Cup, the 1997 Pan American Jiu-Jitsu Championship, and the 1997 Brazilian Championship (Non-Gi). He was an instructor at an academy at 260 Gomes Carvalho Road in the Vila Olimpia neighborhood of the South Zone.

Ryan had a history of many run-ins with the police, and at one time had shot himself in the femur, almost costing him the use of his leg. In Brazil he had a reputation of being a tough street fighter, and was said to have an ongoing feud with fellow BJJ practitioner Wallid Ismail. An acquaintance once said of Gracie, "He was a crazy guy. In America, the police would have just shot him."

Ryan Gracie, the "Bad Boy of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu," Dies in Jail Cell | Bleacher Report

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Michael Wright

Those are all fair points. Although my response was partly tongue n cheek, just to clarify my position on this (clears throat and adopts straight face)....

Within the context of the examples I was responding to on this thread, I can state categorically that my empty hand response is not a weaker option than a mouse mat or a kleenex. I would find it very hard to accept that it is for anyone.

In terms of my second examples, I sited self defence drills I see that promote the use of all kinds of weird and wonderful day to day items as weapons in a fight, when really a lot of the time you are just overcomplicating your training with gimmicks. In my experience, and the experience of the people I train with, our empty hand response is (and has been on many occasions) perfectly effective without the addition of a shoe, a stapler, or a string of sausages.

However, I have no issue with your point that when you are facing odds that make empty hand alone a dangerous option, then of course utilising an effective improvised weapon as an equalizer is a good strategy. I have trained this approach and taught it for 15 years, I am first and foremost a PFS man.

Therefore my point is one of drawing a sensible line between where empty hand should stop and effective improvised weapons should start. If people would really rather spend their time developing techniques with tissue paper, than I’d say they have some serious questions to ask about their empty hand. However, if I was faced down by three guys and a pool cue was handy, you can be sure I’d be grabbing it. It’s all a question of sensible perspective.

sikal

The thing about training improvised weapons is that you want to be able to think of a way to use virtually anything as a weapon. It's about developing the mindset. If you don't train yourself to recognize potential weapons then you're restricting your possibilities.

It's never about "searching" for a weapon in a fight. It's about recognizing options that you might be able to take advantage of. Would I grab a mouse pad to fight with? No. I'd be more inclined to grab the mouse or keyboard first. But if I happened to be holding a mouse pad then why throw it away (unless I throw it into the guy's face to create an opening for attack).

Personally, my empty hands are my last resort. My body is susceptible to the "three Bs" (bruise, bleed, break) and it feels pain. These things can - to one degree or another - inhibit my ability to fight. If given the choice between using a body weapon and using something inanimate I'll choose the inanimate. Even if it's only for one shot or as a distraction or some sort.

Mike

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Louisville Martial Arts Academy - Louisville, KY

Asian Fighting Arts - Dayton, OH

Lansdale's Self-Defense - Nacogdoches, TX