Here's a combined umbrella and brass knuckle, from what I can see called an Umbuster (umbrella and knuckle buster - geddit?).
Although it may potentially be a handy protection gadget (perhaps something for the James Bond wannabe?), I would definitely check my local laws first.
I do suspect this would be classified as an illegal weapon many places.
UK (Scotland) A 35-year-old African man who attempted to rape a woman in Glasgow has been jailed for four years.
The man, who was caught on CCTV attacking the 35-year-old in July 2008 after she had become separated from friends after a night out, blamed the devil for his actions.
The man attacked the woman as she stood alone in a street in the city's Royston district. He was convicted in November 2009.
Here's a video showing why a punch with a closed fist is highly overrated as far as self-defense goes.
You can see that the person doing the slap here clearly knows what he's doing. First, he holds his left hand to his chin in a defensive posture - some times referred to as a "fence".
He then drops his left hand, which draws attention away from his right, and then wham...
Note also that the person who does the slap turns the man on the ground on his side. It may also (hopefully) look like he's going for help. Probably a bouncer.
Ohio -- An 80-year-old man have had a rough week. First, he was beaten during a home break-in and then later shot while trying to learn about guns.
When intruders broke into his home, the Columbus area resident was tied up and pistol-whipped. Four days later was shot in the hand during a self-defense lesson.
Australia -- The Emergency Medical Service Protection Association in Australia, which represents 800 Queensland paramedics and ambulance workers, have said assaults were becoming both more frequent and severe.
As a consequence, the ambulance Service bosses are becoming increasingly criticised for failing to provide adequate self-defense training to paramedics who are reportedly being assaulted at a rate of two a week, according to news.com.au.
Wow, titanium "I-knee-do" to the groin ... I really do hope this left a lasting and painful impression.
Australia -- A 72-year-old Olympic swimming great reportedly fought off an intruder who threatened to kill her, according to int.iol.co.za.
The 72-year-old Australian swimming legend claimed she might have "lost it" when she confronted two youths who woke her when they entered her daughter's home in Noosaville, Queensland. She said a young male grabbed her around the throat threatened to kill her.
"With that I grabbed him around the ear and hair and kneed him in the groin," she said. "I have got a titanium knee so it must have hurt him," she added.
Here are some quite interesting -- and perhaps even shocking -- statistics about domestic violence arrests (from mirror.co.uk):
UK -- Researchers have found that female suspects are proportionately more likely to be arrested when police investigate allegations of domestic violence.
Despite the fact that women were the victims in 91 per cent of cases, police detained female suspects once in every three incidents, according to a study.
T put things in perspective, men, which are the offenders in 92 per cent of cases, are arrested only once in every 10 incidents.
A Bristol University researcher (Prof Marianne Hester), said the difference was because women were more likely to arm themselves during rows.
She said that women were using a weapon nearly always in self-defense which is treated as a more serious offence.
Brian Moore, Association of Chief Police Officers' lead on domestic violence, said: "It is often only after arrest that an investigation establishes a history of violence."
692 people held for domestic abuse between 2001 and 2007 were studied by a team lead by Prof Hester.
There' a new US based study which has been presented by the Emergency Nurses Association. The study shows that workplace violence is all too common in the nursing profession. However, it is not the co-workers, but patients and their families it stems from.
Over 3,000 nurses participated in a survey and more than half said they had experienced physically violence on the job, according to channel3000.com. What is even more alarming is that one in four said they had been subjected to a physical assault more than 20 times in the last three years.
"They'll spit, they'll pinch, they'll grab, they'll kick at you," one nurse said. She was not terribly surprised by the findings."The ones that just aren't getting what they want out of their visit, they get very verbally abusive and in your face."
From javno.com, here's a really great article you should absolutely take the time to read and absorb.
It is about the ever present dangers of so called date rape drugs like Ketamin, Rohypnol and GHB. Stay safe out there!
Israel -- An annual report from the Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel is shedding light on the phenomenon of sexual assault in workplace environments. The number of complaints on harassment at work has risen by 12% in 2008, according to ynetnews.com.
The report which is being submitted to the Knesset (the Israeli National Assembly) is focusing on a particularly touchy subject - sexual assaults in the workplace.
Last year the number of complaints regarding sexual harassment in the workplace rose by 12%. Reports on workplace harassment reveal that 81% (!) of employees have complained of sexual harassment, 11.4% of them referring to rape and attempted rape, and 7.6% to indecent assaults.
These two robbers are not exactly the sharpest knives in the drawer :-)
The two Gainsville, Florida men used a cell phone to imitate a gun in order to rob two women of their iPhone in two separate incidents.
They used a car registered to one of the men - and one of the victims was able to give police the license tag number, according to gainesville.com.
When arrested, one of the men told police the robberies "were a joke" and that they were taped to put on YouTube.com. Police reportedly found no video of the "joke" robberies.
One of the robbers also said he was going to return the women's phones by calling them, according to a police spokesman. "At which point, our detectives reminded him that he stole their phones, so he really couldn't call them," the spokesman said.
Illinois -- Without pepper spray to defend himself, a cabdriver was forced to improvise when he was attacked by a knife-wielding passenger early Thursday morning in Elgin. He sprayed the would-be robber in the face with an aerosol deodorant, according to foxnews.com.
Police said said the 51-year-old driver felt something was wrong when the passenger changed his destination. Consequently, he discreetly placed the small canister between his legs.
When the passenger held a large knife to the driver's neck, he sprayed the robber in the eyes, causing him to drop the knife. The passenger then punched the driver, but did not seriously injure him. He took off on foot, leaving the knife behind.
South Africa -- Health24.com reports about some scary statistical findings regarding the sexual assault figures in South Africa.
According to a recent shock report by the Medical Research Council, one in every four (!) South African men have raped a woman.
What's more, 4,6% of the men interviewed had raped in the past year. Almost 8% of the men said they had raped more than 10 women or girls.
The study was conducted anonymously in 1,738 households in three different regions in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu Natal, and included men of all racial groups, ages and socio-economic backgrounds.
Oh dear...
There's probably more to this story than what you can read from a media rapport - it usually is. Even so, it seems like this teacher A. has a serious anger management problem, and B. needs to learn some basic conflict management and control techniques.
Yes a 10-year-old child can absolutely do some harm to an adult, but come on... Do you seriously need a neck restraint technique or a choke hold to control a situation like this? Absolutely not if you know what you're doing.
Another discussion is the possible use of force by teachers. In my book there may be situations where such a need may arise. But again, you really must know what you're doing. And of course, any type of force should always be kept as the very last resort. There are no winners in a situation like this!
Story:
New York -- A 58-year-old substitute gym teacher allegedly put a 10-year-old student in a chokehold when the two got in an argument over a game of dodgeball in New Rochelle, according to wten.com.
Police said the teacher apparently called the student 'a big baby' and a 'crybaby' after they began arguing about a call.
The boy reportedly threw a punch but missed. The teacher then grabbed the boy by the back of the neck and dragged him across the gym floor. Police said the boy was held in a chokehold when he tried to break free.
The student was taken to a hospital with neck and back pain. The substitute teacher claimed he acted in self-defense.
There are at least two vital lessons to be learned form the story below. First off, you definitely don't want to be messing with 17-year-old marching band girls. If they are armed with a baton, then even more so - stay clear :-)
Secondly - and this is the serious part - the incident really goes to show how effective any kind of weapon can be in a self-defense situation.
Needless to say, I really love stories like this one.
California -- This high school marching band student form Quartz Hill (a high desert community about 40 miles north of Los Angeles) beat up two attackers who attempted to mug her as she was walking to school Friday morning, officials said.
A Sheriff's spokesman said the teenager kicked one man in the groin and punched the other in the nose. She then beat both men into submission with her large baton before running away.
Florida -- A Miramar pizza delivery driver was confronted by armed robbers, according to news.bbc.co.uk and the Florida Sun-Sentinel.
But the 40-year-old intended victim was armed with a weapon of his own ... a large pepperoni pizza.
Reportedly, he flung the hot item at the gunman, then turned hot on his heels and ran. The driver managed to make a safe getaway even though the attempted robbers fired at him as he fled.
I suppose it is perfectly OK to waste good food as long as it is for a worthy cause like this one?
California -- On Thanksgiving, a 49-year-old intoxicated man reportedly went uninvited to a neighbor's home in Sacramento. He then started waving a kitchen knife towards people gathered on the lawn, according to usatoday.com.
When the drunken intruder cut several peoples' clothing - one of them decided it was time to fight back. The man grabbed a two-foot-tall plastic candy cane lawn ornament to subdue the attacker until police arrived at the scene.
According to reports, the man with the knife was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon. But here's a kicker: The guest who took up the candy cane was not arrested because it was determined by police he acted in self-defense.
Well, that was a surprise. I mean, he could have killed the poor knife-wielding dude with that horrible lawn ornament for crying out loud!
This self-defense related post from latimesblogs.latimes.com points to at least two interesting pieces of information.
First, it describes how highly effective a common belt can be when it is used as a self-defense weapon of choice. I have personally witnessed this in real life, and friends have used it to great effect. Here's the situation with the belt in use:
"A woman in her 30s was molested by a large group of men in the middle of a Cairo street. It was said that none of the onlookers dared to intervene until a taxi driver stopped by and got out of his car. The man then took off his belt and used it to whip the harassers, who soon left their victim half-naked."
Furthermore, there's a telling point of statistics in the article. It points to a survey which has shown that 83% of Egyptian women reported exposure to verbal and sexual harassment.
This included men staring inappropriately at their bodies, inappropriate touching, sexually explicit comments, stalking and telephone stalking.
And here's the interesting part: Almost 70% of harassed women are veiled. This clearly challenges the perception that puts the blame for harassment on women for wearing revealing outfits.
There are so many cases where people have signed up for what they thought were the greatest martial arts/self-defense combo - only to find this is not the case.
When you have signed a contract for yourself and/or your child, then basically, you're stuck.
My advice? Be very wary of what sort of art you seek out, and above all - check all the fine prints before signing anything.
Here's a case from orlandosentinel.com which ought to drive the point home...
Australia -- A 24-year-old Hornsby (Sydney) woman was threatened with a sexual assault while going to work at a nursing home Monday, according to smh.com.au.
A man reportedly approached her as she was walking along the street. The 22-year-old man - who was later arrested - started talking to her and she walked up a pathway, according to police.
The man then took out a knife, held it to the woman's throat from behind - threatening to kill her. However, the young woman pushed the attackers knife away, turned around and hit him with her bag. She then allegedly kicked him and ran away.
It is always hard to determine how much force - and what type of force - is needed in any type of altercation.
It is very easy to be wise after the event! However, it may seem like these folks here (from Rootstown Township, Ohio) didn't have the skills and training needed to restrain a shoplifter who tried to take off - something very few have any type of experience to deal with unfortunately.
It is not too difficult if you work as a team - and if you have the proper type of techniques to hold someone (alone it is very difficult, no matter what your training might be).
What most people do wrong is to use too much weight upon a prone person - in effect choking the person to death, or using too much force on the neck or chest.
If something goes terribly wrong, you may end up being the target of a lawsuit, like the people in this case seems to be subject to.
In January 2004, a shop-lifter walked to a store parking lot after loading a cart with groceries. A manager and an employee approached the man, whereupon he attacked the employee. The two workers and two passers-by tried to restrain the man while waiting for police.
With the four men on top of him, the man died of asphyxiation from force applied to his neck and torso within minutes. A County coroner reportedly ruled the death a homicide.
Idaho -- A convicted Ontario sex offender has allegedly made a list of 32 girls to "look up" once he gets out of jail. Now parents worry for their children's safety as the man is soon to be released.
One parent talked about how their kids in effect were prisoners. "we don't know what to do to make it better for them," the parent said.
Sheriff's deputies reportedly found a list the man had written. It was titled "people to look up". 32 local girls between the ages of 6 and 17 were on the list, including his original 15 year old victim.
In order to come up with his list, authorities alleges the man read newspaper articles about the girls. It is said the list is so detailed it that had everything short of an address to look these girls up.
And still we somehow tend to hang on to this all-to-prevalent idea about 'random violence'...
There has been a couple of assaults on female Realtors (real estate agents) lately. In New Zealand, a 41-year-old agent was lured to a remote Wairarapa property -- a house east of Carterton -- by a 38-year-old man Saturday morning.
The woman fought for her life and stabbed her attacker who allegedly assaulted, bound and tried to kidnap her. As the would-be kidnapper attempted to force her into the boot of his car, she made her escape by grabbing a screwdriver and stabbing him in the head.
In South Bend, Indiana (US), police said a man attacked a local Realtor as she was showing him a house for sale Friday afternoon.
As he was shown the basement, the man reportedly produced a knife, demanded money and grabbed the Realtor. The woman fought him off, and he took off while she called police.
With the current housing crisis, police now begin to worry real estate agents may be less cautious.
Just a quick heads up about a new lense (small web-page): Women's Self-Defense Tips I've set up on Squidoo. Check it out today!
As always, feel free to give feedback and comments. Anything special you would like to see added?
In addition to our bi-weekly 'Women Can' reports, we have added another (also free) female selfdefense resource for you: 'Women's Self-Defense Tips'.
This is a weekly quick read - to-the point "tips and tricks". Make sure you sign up today by clicking below.
On June 26, at about 8:30 p.m., a 35-year-old man is reported to lure his way into a woman's vehicle in Dale City (San Mateo), California by asking if he could borrow jumper cables to start his car.
The offender proceeded to jumped into the woman's vehicle, where he took out a knife and told the woman to drive down a side street.
When the man demanded sex, the quick-thinking woman managed convince the would-be rapist to remove a child car seat from her back seat to "give them more room for sex."
While the offender did as suggested, the intended victim jumped from the car and ran off. The suspect was reportedly arrested later in the stolen vehicle.
This is definitely a modern day variety of the ancient Japanese tea ceremony- very cool!
Story:
Japan -- In Tokyo, a woman managed to calm down a knife-wielding robber by offering a glass of iced tea and a chat, according to edition.cnn.com.
The 43-year-old robber pressed a knife to the woman's back and demanded money, in the hallway of her apartment building.
The woman told the man she did not have any cash on her. The robber then is reported to have pushed her and her baby into the woman's apartment.
The calm woman -- in order to buy herself some time to plan her escape -- gave the robber a cup of iced wheat tea to calm him down on the hot summer day, police said.
The robber put his knife down and began to tell the woman how he lost money gambling and its effect on his life and family.
The woman eventually handed over about $100 (10,000 yen). She then ran outside to call for help. The robber took off with the money, but he was reportedly caught the very next day.
During a period of eight months houstonpress.com have investigated door-to-door magazine sales across the country.
They say the industry has seen at least three murders and one attempted murder; one stabbing, one rape and two attempted rapes; one vehicle fatality and one attempted abduction of a 13-year-old girl.
My suggestion is that you take the time to read this article in full, it's shocking to say the least.
Colorado -- Experts no longer recommend appeasing or somehow calming an attacker, gjsentinel.com states.
The article goes on to praise a 9-year-old Orchard Mesa girl who fought off her 40-year-old abductor by biting his nose. Great going indeed!
Even though saying that you can always fight your way out of a tight spot is a dangerous fallacy, the main point is this: Firm and early resistance - running, screaming, shouting and fighting back - is your best option most of the time.
Pointing out that the submissive ideal is a way of the past, a safety director for the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, goes on to state: "What we've learned is that when kids are proactive, when they resist, they yell, they scream, they have a pretty good chance of getting away from these guys."
Ah yes, the good old "just fell into my hand" excuse. Doesn't get any more convincing than this :-)
A certified nut-case was arrested after arguing with a security guard at a condominium in Ocean City, Pennsylvania around 3:30 a.m. on Sunday, according to mdcoastdispatch.com
The man was banging on a window causing it to break. He then picked up a large shard of the broken glass and tried to stab the guard with it.
The security guard told police the attacker tried to climb through the hole in the glass. The man allegedly lunged at the security guard with the large piece of glass and threatened to kill him.
He had "the wildest look on his face" and he was certain he would have killed him if another man he was with hadn't interceded, the guard said.
When questioned about the incident, the man acknowledged a piece of glass might have fallen into his hand and he might have made a motion toward the guard with it.
Like I said, I doesn't get any "better" than this.
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