Dangerous Woman's Self Defense Myth

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I was watching an MMA fight with my wife the other day, when we saw one of the fighters get kicked square in the junk. He was obviously in pain, but quickly shook it off and returned to the fight. My wife was surprised by this, having been taught that getting kicked in the crotch was immediately incapacitating to any male and would take him out of a fight for some time. It occurred to me that this is a common fallacy among many women (and some men), and as the centerpiece of a self defense strategy it is a positively dangerous myth.

I'm not going to try and write a comprehensive article about how to defend yourself, but I would like to debunk this particular strategy, especially as for so many people it seems to be the beginning and ending of their plan.

Getting kicked in the genitals hurts, but it doesn't actually physically prevent someone from taking action the way that a dislocated joint or broken bone will, and is thus unreliable as a defensive strategy. A blow that causes some pain but doesn't incapacitate is likely to just anger an attacker; it doesn't help you much if the guy's sore for a few days but isn't impeded from harming you right now. What makes it an even worse option is that it is so predictable, anybody who's planning on attacking someone smaller and/or weaker than themselves is going to expect the crotch shot and be prepared to counter it, it's the most obvious line of attack and is easily deflected or caught.

A much more effective technique is the side kick to the knee; it's delivered like a sideways stomp with your body-weight behind it, and is easily capable of dislocating or breaking the knee joint even when performed by a lightweight person. Someone who cannot catch you cannot hurt you (absent a projectile weapon, but that's a different thread).

Striking the eyes is also a much better option, damaging an opponents vision seriously impairs their ability to harm you.

If you know how to apply a joint lock, that can be very effective so long as you don't mess around with trying to use it as a "pain compliance hold; apply the lock and break the joint, the goal is to make the attacker unable to harm you, not convince him not to.

All of this of course presupposes that you don't have a weapon, but if you're willing and able to carry a weapon you probably also don't need to be told to avoid the predictable and largely ineffective nut shot.

I carry a mason jar of bleach in one pocket and one of ammonia in the other. In case of trouble, break glass. together. on their face. but not in a heavy wind.

Why not just carry pepper spray? Even if you successfully combined bleach and ammonia to produce chlorine gas, chlorine isn't lethal unless you're trapped in a heavy concentration of it, and generally is more of an irritant than anything. You'd be better off just breaking the mason jar over an attacker's head...

I forgot that I also carry a plexiglass box slightly bigger than my attackers head, which I fasten on before I carefully pour the two solutions into the box. You can see how I mistyped the first time, the keys are so close together...

Thanks for the info.

edited- I sounded like an idiot there.

Last edited by happymusic on 21 Dec 2010, 9:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Good to know - thanks!

My husband loves MMA but I can't stand it. He does manage to get our daughter to watch though .

I carry a small can of pepper spray & know a few pressure points besides the crotch. I don't know many but if I wanted I could check with one of my friends about them. I'd try multiple pressure points including behind the ears if possible in an emergency if pepper spray won't do.

It really depends on the guy. My male Drill teamates used to punch each other in the balls all the time. I have no clue why the did it, but usually they would double over in pain. However during self defense, an attacker would likely expect a kick below the belt. My grandpa says to go for the neck, eyes, nose, ears and knees when you are being attacked. He would know too; he taught kun fu and does various forms of martial arts.

As for the pepper spray, that doesnt always work either. Pepper spray doesn't work on my Dad; he said that really all it ever did was p*** him off. He's never hurt a woman before BTW; he's not that kinda guy, but he's certainly set a bunch of people off.

I'm actually not a fan either, to me it's not realistic yet masquerades as if it is. The wife and I just happened to be at a cigar bar that had a fight on the big screen while we were there, so naturally we couldn't help but watch. It was one of those moments when I'm reminded that not everyone knows the more technical aspects of applied violence, and that some of my specialized knowledge can be helpful to people who would never look these things up on their own.

I thought those existed only in movies. We need more cigar related threads...

If you practice the scoop kick, that can be pretty effective. Instead of aiming for the genitals, you aim behind them, then rake your foot back towards yourself. Add in some pointy-toe shoes, and, well, you can imagine the damage that can cause.



There's also the oblique kick. Take your rear leg, bring the knee up, and then straighten your leg, driving the ball of your foot through the inside of the attacker's forward leg either at or just below the knee. It takes a little bit of practice, but it can be very effective and telegraphs less than a side kick if done properly.



It's particularly effective if you make a knife hand strike (think "karate chop" but horizontal) and contact with the finger tips/finger nails using a whip-like motion, like you're throwing your finger tips into the attacker's eyes.

Also don't underestimate a properly executed slap. The key is to cup your hand and use a whip-like motion to slap the side of the attacker's head, particular the ear.



Agreed. However, it should be noted that you don't want to stay to admire your handy work. Once you've disabled your attacker, GET THE HELL OUT OF THERE!! ! Then call 911 and report it as soon as you can safely do so. Otherwise it's possible the guy who attacked you could call the police himself and report some crazy woman who just attacked him for no reason; it generally works out better if you're the first one to call the police.



Sometimes you need a physical strike to create space/distance so you can draw a weapon. In this case, a nut shot might be warranted.

Of course, these are just my opinions. Take them for what they're worth.

I like pepper spray as an escape device; you don't stand your ground and spray, but rather use it as an inhibitor to pursuit, even spraying it over your shoulder while running is a good tactic. Anyone chasing you is liable to suck down a lung full, and while it is indeed possible to fight through the pain of OC in the eyes, the physiological affects of inhaling it are a different matter entirely.

I'd recommend against pressure points in general, like the ball shot they may cause pain but don't incapacitate and require you to maintain a hold on someone who's likely physically stronger than you and doesn't want to be held onto. Pressure points fall under a school of self defense common to police officers and security guards called "pain compliance" where in you try to control someone by doing something that hurts until they do what you want. This is fine if your job is to enforce rules using a minimum of force, but is not a desirable method if you're defending yourself from violent attack.

The school you want is called "break the machine", which means damaging the attacker's body in such a way that they are physically incapable of harming you. What this implies is joint destruction, blood or oxygen loss, or damage to the central nervous system (CNS).

Since we're talking unarmed here, blood loss is out, and without a fairly massive wound it isn't fast enough anyway.

Cutting off blood or oxygen to the brain is effective, but again requires holding onto someone who doesn't want to be held, as well as some specialized technique, the exception being a sharp blow to the throat (a highly recommended technique).

Directly attacking the CNS can be done by attacking the eyes, or by a sharp edged blow to the upper lip or the bridge of the nose, delivered with the heel or edge of the hand. It is possible to knock someone out with a hard strike underneath the right ear, but I don't recommend it because it requires a good deal of force in addition to precise accuracy.

Joint destruction requires a bit of know how, but of all the techniques probably requires the least raw strength and is the least likely to accidentally do more harm than intended. Most joint manipulation techniques rely on knowledge of the joint and the proper application of leverage, making them my personal choice for a defensive strategy that allows a skilled person to defend themselves from a stronger one. Martial arts that emphasize joint manipulation include Aikido, Judo/Jiu Jitsu, Sambo, and the empty hand variants of Kali. Even a one hour a week Judo class will give you the fundamentals of joint manipulation/destruction, plus it's fun and good exercise too.

I knew I was missing another obvious one, thanks for the reminder. We used to incorporate slaps into our Panantukan routines when I was taking that art, as the instructor felt that they were often more practically effective than punches. It is quite possible to rupture the ear drum with a well aimed slap delivered with a cupped hand, which is extremely painful and can facilitate disengagement and escape. It also fits into my framework here of things that don't require formal training or a lot of strength, but are simple and effective.

You know what the most effective technique is? Running away. Of course, if you are in a situation where a fight is unavoidable, then the rule is if it lasts more than 10 seconds, you've done something wrong. You should be gone after 10 seconds. That's all I know about self-defense and martial arts, and I've never been in a fight before...this coming from a guy who once told a large drunk army guy to go f**k himself. And that's a mild example. The best defense is good communication skills.

(Side note: I know I'm a guy, so it's different. Even so, you won't get attacked if you look like you know what you are doing. Asperger's can be very useful for scaring people into thinking you are a psycho BTW)

I once stumbled upon four girls who were waiting for me so that they could jump me. I HAPPENED to be carrying wasp spray that I was borrowing from a friend who lived a few blocks away. I've carried pepper spray ever since and it's been an effective tool in avoiding physical harm. It was a frequent issue for a few years, but now it's just a habit to carry pepper spray. Not that the wasp spray wasn't effective on a group of four girls, it's just less convenient. For home invasion though, wasp spray is always a good choice! Well, based on the one time I've ever utilized wasp spray to deal with someone breaking into my apartment.

As far as defending myself by harming someone with actual physical contact... I have incredibly poor coordination and physically I'm very weak... but I don't want to carry a dangerous weapon, either.

I've run from someone pointing a gun in my face, so the thought occurs to me that they are not always effective unless a person believes you will shoot her/him. I think the same applies with a knife, but I guess being from Texas means I expect most people to carry a gun. I've heard of a lot of situations where someone had a weapon wrestled away from him/her before it's ever used, and that had to take the person who was willing to wrestle it away believing the person wasn't going to use the weapon before it could be taken away. I think it's easier to assume that about a woman for some people. I think, having a hard time reading body language, I wouldn't know when to actually make the decision to use it as well as some people.

I guess I'm screwed if my pepper spray isn't effective. I hope I'll never have to find out though.

From Wikipedia...

In Massachusetts, residents may purchase defence sprays only from licensed Firearms Dealers in that state, and must hold a valid Firearms Identification Card (FID) or License to Carry Firearms (LTC).

Guess I better learn me some fancy moves, instead...