This self-defense trick was a complete “game-changer” for me…
I mean, probably like you, I’d always thought that aiming for the eyes, nose, throat and groin were “primary targets” to strike when forced to fight to defend yourself, right?
Well, these are certainly good targets… but when the guy I’m defending against is twice your size and ready to rip your head off, you can’t always count on your hand-to-hand skills being able to bring him to his knees – even with a solid kick to the nut sack!
In fact, I’m not looking to test my fancy martial arts skills anyway, which is why I carry a gun as part of my “everyday carry” load-out in case my family and I are ambushed in an attack.
And let me be very clear here – even if you DON’T Carry a gun like I do…
When You’re Facing A Bigger, Stronger Attacker, Getting To A Weapon – ANY Weapon – Could Mean The Difference Between Life Or Death…
Look, I’m dead serious about this…
There are too many self-defense gurus out there who are telling people that “size doesn’t matter” in a real streetfight.
But I think you and I both know that this is complete hogwash!
You don’t have to be a brainiac to realize that trying to punch away at layers of muscle on the chest of a 6’4″, 300lb prison felon is only going to land you a one-way trip to the morgue.
That’s why your first order of business – as soon as you get the chance – is to gain enough space to quickly get to a weapon of some kind.
And frankly, it doesn’t even have to be a gun or a knife you use.
In fact, too many “gun guys & gals” are far too dependent on thinking their firearm is going to save the day if they’re ever attacked.
The bottom line is this…
…When You’re Ambushed, The Only Weapon You May Be Able To Get To Is The One That’s ALREADY In Your Hand!
Look, I love my guns just as much as the next Warrior…
But I also know that I may have to fight to my gun just to get it into the fight, right?
And besides, there are places – like planes, airports, courthouses, federal buildings, and other “non-permissive environments” where weapons simply aren’t even allowed.
That’s why – besides my handgun – I carry several different types of “improvised weapons” on me at all times.
My 4Runner keys… my flashlight… and a padlock are just a few examples.
But two of my favorites are a simple credit card and my “non-tactical” tactical pen.
A credit card can easily be sharpened on one side to be almost razor thin!
But for me, a pen is ideal because it’s the one item you can carry in your hands absolutely anywhere and no one will think twice that you’re “armed”.
(BTW… I highly suggest you stay away from most of the commercial tactical pens on the market. They may look “tacti-cool”, but they actually DON’T work well for real-world self-defense! I did a whole podcast on this topic and I personally like the “Super Stealth” pen from DFTC.)
Now, just as with ANY weapon, it’s only as powerful as the Warrior who wields it, right?
So let me share with you how…
This One “Dirty Trick” Completely Changed How I Think About Targeting The Human Body In A Real Attack…
Ok, this really blew me away when I first heard this from a CIA operative at an “improvised weapons” class I took some years ago…
You see, not every strike has to knock an attacker out… but every strike absolutely MUST move you forward to winning the fight!
That’s why these ops guys were taught to aim for the forehead – sometimes even as a primary target – when attacked!
Now, I have to admit that I thought this was pretty crazy when I heard it… but it makes total sense when you think about it…
Your brain hogs up a full 20% of all the blood pumped from your heart throughout your body.
And according to Troy Madsen, MD, an emergency physician at the University of Utah Hospital, “… because of its extensive blood supply, even small lacerations to the head can lead to very large amounts of bleeding.”
When you’re able to cut someone across the forehead – either with a knife, a pen, or even a credit card in your hand – they will bleed profusely from their cut!
This works great in a fight because the blood will quickly run down their face and into their eyes – stinging and blinding them.
Plus, the sight of all that blood can be a real shocker to them and disrupt their aggressive mind-set as their instinctual sense of self-preservation will force them into “fight or flight mode”.
Whether they choose to stop their attack and seek medical attention… or continue their fight… you’ve created a mental “break state” that gives you time to plan your next strike or get to your weapon as they’re distracted and wiping blood out of their eyes.
Yeah, I know it sounds gruesome – and it is – but in a real attack, there’s no such thing as a “fair fight”, right?
Practice targeting the forehead in your self-defense training – especially using some sort of improvised weapon – and you’ll instantly add one more survival tool to your arsenal!
I love the upper neck behind the head if you can
vargus nerve hit real hard will quite possibly terminate bad guy, or at least put him to sleep awhile.
The armpit and pectoral can be nice easy targets for a tactical pen jab
On the streets that’s gonna “divert” them for a second yes. But on the streets you want to disable or neutralize your attacker. Using a tactical pen is ok but go for vitals, forhead, eyes, throat, ears, jugular, top of hands, any accessible joint/cartridge. Then get the hell out of dodge
Great information, never considered using a credit card. Thanks
Good comments, but remember: Enough force to stop the threat, same as with a firearm.
great point! we don’t usually think about that arrangement. ** here’s something else to consider, that i kept running into, over my 67 yrs, re how ‘kill zone’ fights, battles, etc, had been conducted, over the past several hundred yrs– indeed, probably forever: stabbing the heart, as a PRIMARY technical objective, for WHEN things ended-up at grappling-biting range. here’s how i’ve learned to ‘present’ this: WHAT are you going to do, WHEN you find yourself in a kill-zone (there aint gonna be no cops in a kill-zone– think about THAT…), AND it goes to grappling-biting range, AND you have a long, slender, STABBING knife? one of the dozens of realdeal factors that finally woke me up to this basic arrangement was, my google-image searches of all the DOZENS of historical, long-term-successfull, long, slender bladed STABBING knives i HAD BEEN AWARE OF, carried by extreme military-warrior cultures ALL over the world, for several centuries (once they developed the metalurgy reqd for such a relatively delicate blade type)– and WHY there are so FEW hacking blade-knives, eg, bolo, kukri, barong.
its because IT HAD BEEN COMMON KNOWLEDGE FOREVER that if you stab a human, or animal, IN THE HEART, you’ve Solved Your Lethal Problem in 10-15 second– your ‘target’ goes to sleep; whereas, if you FAIL to stab the heart, there’s no telling HOW LONG it will take you to solve your lethal problem– and you could recv a lethal stroke at ANY moment, from your ‘target’, or his buddy behind you!
i have seen, read, heard, of dozens of cases, studies, in which horrific wounds of ALL kinds had FAILED to quickly disable the ‘target’. interesting exceptions are: heavy club to cranium, expert choke-out, garrotte, heavy hacking-stroke to the neck-spine (spinal cord).
the MAIN take-home here is that, at grappling-biting range, where your free arm is AROUND your ‘target’, stabbing the HEART is going to involve, eg, stabbing VERTICALLY DOWNWARD, or UPWARD, or SIDEWAYS, requiring a LONGER fighting-blade than has been around for 200-250yrs now– its CRAZY; 9-11 inch bades were the NORM, and went as long as, eg, 20 inch blades, eg, the Kyber Knife (to the Talwar SWORD!), or, the Wakizashi to the Katana, for Samurai who commonly did NOT carry a Tanto for grappling-biting range! enuf fer now, i guess…
3 1/2 inches of good carbon/surgercial steel between the 4th & 5th rib is all it takes and is guaranteed to put a man down permanently. Trust me on that one. Speaking from experience, shall we say.
There are arteries by your armpit and groin on the inside of arms and legs, also since I’m an above knee amputee, I always use crutches when not in a wheelchair. If you take out the knees, hit from outside and force in.
When done correctly, a good kick to the outside of the knee rips the ACL and will take the fight out of anyone. If they can’t see, they can’t fight. If they can’t breathe, they can’t fight. If they can’t stand, they can’t fight. The “streets” are a dirty, unforgiving place. To survive the streets, one must become “dirty and unforgiving”.
takes about 8# to dislocate a kneecap & down he goes.
chiropractor told me yrs ago, about 11 # to dislocate kneecap. either way,8# or 11#. Ain`t much & my favorite to distract a large goon, heII bent on causing me harm. At 76, I can`t play w/them anymore. But I can kick.
I have 40 plus years in combat sports. Kicking the kneecap is not an easy move for those of us that are trained in a violent personal attack. let alone the degree of difficulty for those with no training. In the gym, you are warmed up, stretched out, practiced on the pads before entering a sparring match or a competitive event. There are no surprises. There are rules. There is a ref. Your hands are padded with a glove. None of these niceties are available in a violent street confrontation.
On the street, the predators biggest weapon is the element of surprise. You are calmer in a ring fight than a street fight violent confrontation. You will lose those sport combat sharp shooting skills required to focus an an area as small as a kneecap. The attacker is not going to stand there, he will be pushing, pulling, striking, charging. Do you really want to be on one leg in that scenario? Forget the Hollywood nonsense. Gross motor skills is all you will have. Kicking a knee cap is not a gross motor skill.
A stomp to the top of the foot, a rake down the shin, I could go on. I was raised in some of the meanest streets in the United States where I had to fight everyday just to survive. Martial Arts are useless in the streets. I have seen “black belts” have their ass handed to them so fast that they didn’t even know what hit them. Situational awareness is one of the top “defenses” needed for the streets. That and “environmental weapons”, use what’s at hand to live. Because on the streets, to surrender is to die.
Use a tactical pen, stomp their foot, spit a drink in their eyes
Re the credit card, take an expired credit card, and bend it back and forth, near one of the ends, to tear it off. This gives you a serrated edge. The closer to the end, the larger the weapon. Keep it on your person, in your wallet/purse, or wherever is convenient.
Before I try it, one question: is this sharp enough by itself, or does it need to be sharpened?
Waste of time if the credit card is not in your hand. The predator is not going to stand there for you and him to take a selfie. He will be punching, pushing, pulling, etc. He is capable of blocking punches to the face, which is easiest for him to see. If you are the aggressor (criminal), the credit card works great because of the surprise attack. If you are defending, a serrated credit card in your wallet is useless.
Guns, knives, pens … But no mention of ” CANES ” !?
One can take a cane anywhere… anytime.
First thing I did when I learned I would spend the rest of life using a cane was adopt it into my hand to hand. For looking so benign, it can do a lot of damage in a short time. I use a Bubba Stick, it has a solid brass handle, if that tells you anything.
I have a fiber reinforced cane total non-metalic. It is stiffer than just plastic. I have broken
“unbreakable” wood before but this has stood up to everything from sidewalk to oak trees. There are lethal and non-lethal strikes with a cane
Comb, across the face / eyes. Pencil, stab and break off. Any where.
I am a fan of anything in your hand thrown in their face to get their guard up then blunt force to the knee immediately as they react
Great idea wow its not all about wip out my CZ very good tips there very good indeed
GREAT INFO EVERYONE !!!!
The Karate Chop is not talked about much today by all the “people in the know” but an open knife edge hand strike to the side of the neck will knock-out even the biggest attacker.
“…strike to the side of the neck…”? Any side? Does the lefthand side where the blood is flowing away from the brain work as well as interrupting the flow into the brain?
There are veins and arteries on both sides of the neck.
You need to hit the Vagus nerve…basically from just below the earlobe and down to the collar bone on either side.
Foxx 5.3 pepper spray, 1.5 oz, STREAM, 7- seconds, with belt clip carry case. #1 gun, #2 pepper spray, # 3 cane, #4 anything else. Why? Distance from threat and effective. #1 & #2 can be used by anyone. Mindset training with #2. Let your enemies attack you! Left arm up. Do not threaten them with spray. Before moment of contact. Spray. Use thumb only for spray lever. Why? 4 fingers to grip and wrist is straight.
Glue coarse sandpaper to any improvisation weapon. Blood is very slippery on any surface.
Small padlock, just big enough to slip your middle finger through.
Functions like knuckles.
Anther good target is the ankle. A kick to the inside or outside of the ankle can take someone down with very little force. It is as good as taking out the knee for disabling an adversary and may be better because no one expects it.
For more than 40 years I have always carried a knife with me when I’m out and about. I’ve gone through all sorts of security checks and never once been stopped or even questioned about it. The knife is metal and 3″ long. No, it was not “concealed but it was always in my wallet when going through security. Oh, did I mention that it was also 2″ wide? Yep it was a metal membership card to the VFW. About 10 years ago, I got another one that was actually a credit card. One of the 2” sides on each card was razor sharpened using a knife sharpener to keep the profile of the cutting edge to a minimum and only on the back side of each card.
Yeah, TSA would open the wallet but all they saw were several credit cards and some cash.
One time though TSA took several minutes with another set of improvised weapons. There are about 6 magic markers of different colors wrapped with a rubber band. The guy took the caps off but only saw the felt tips. Magic Markers are nothing more than kubotans in disguise.
A pocket screwdriver (the ones you clip to your shirt). I wear / hang glasses off T-shirt and ‘ need to tighten the arms often ‘. A pointy philips screwdriver is very handy. Never know when a loose screw needs a good tightening.
Kick to the knee. I am not the tallest knife in the drawer, but I can kick any knee from its side to (hopefully) disrupt attacker’s balance if not disable them long enough to…
Have the mindset that when in a violent encounter BE violent! Flip the switch from calm nice person to the avenging crazed criminal willing steal your own life back! There is only one rule: survival! The careless criminal whom has determined that your life has no value really doesn’t deserve your wallet nor your dignity and respect. If they take away anything from you it’ll be the shocking nightmare memory of messing with the wrong person! It’ll be your parting gift to them. See you are a sweet nice person after all.
The back of the hands are very sensitive and hurt like hell when they are hit. Use a knuckle, knife, kubaton, or any other improvised weapon to strike the back of the hand. It will cause great pain and if the attacker is holding a weapon it will cause him/her to lose his/her grip and drop the weapon, giving you time to escape or gain the upper hand (pun intended).
A hearty stab in or near the ear is almost as good as the forehead, and dis-orienting too. I also am in favor of sideways knee impacts if needed.
IF POSSIBLE I AM GOING TO TRY TO DIG OUT AN EYEBALL WITH MY THUMB – IF I CAN.
fingers are the weapon: rip, gouge, then kick groin, kick knee, if attacker is down for a second kick in the face/head repeatedly until the threat is gone. Learn to curl toes up when kicking or you will do damage to yourself
I know the brachial artery under the arm is also a gusher & injures them badly, I think after 5 mins. they die, too much blood loss!
lots of good comments but nothing beats experience. avoid conflict if you can. if you are forced to fight, position is important. against a larger opponent you make yourself smaller by lowering your center of gravity. crouch by bending your knees. do the same if your opponent is smaller than you, also. this gives you stability and spring (more power) when punching level or upwards. aim for an area 2-3 inches below the nipple below the heart. if you use your feet/legs, sweep your opponents lower leg from under him. this give you more distance from him. if done right, he will do a half cartwheel and be at your mercy below you on the ground. at this point you can decide to run away or finish him off. if you decide to finish him off, keep your distance so he cannot grab you and bring you down. circle him until you find an opening to get on top of him and start raining hard punches to the face(eyes,nose,ears). good luck!
The throat with a punch or slashing move.
The thing is that the bigger guys and the tough guys and all those “kicky bitches” that love to kick air or bags in the gym and kick all the guys in the face are all generally overconfident and expect to intimidate others.
So a good smack to the face, a nice grab, twist and rip or a nice long or deep cut will knock the chips off their shoulders. They’re not expecting a challenge, but them beating someone mercilessly.
And whether they have muscles or are fat as Hell, they are covered by skin, so they are just as vulnerable and then there is the groin, the thighs, the eyes and even breasts which are all sensitive and easy to damage.
Bladder is a great target
I remember reading years ago, and I mean years, about the Samurai. One of their main targets was above the eyes, I never forgot it. Next, I would go for the upper right chest by the collar bone. Lots of blood between the neck and shoulder. I carry 2 knives. Many people lose their knife in the first 5 minutes of a fight, I want one in both hands. I’m to damned old (81) to take a chance. Oh, if someone is coming at you with bad intentions, do your best to take out one of his knees or hit him in his shin. It does slow them down. Good luck.
A Karate “Chop” is not really a “Chop”. A well-executed Chop is more like a Strait Delivered “Strike”/Punch. With the little finger of the striking hand tensed Firm/ actually ALL the fingers of the striking hand tensed. Thus Concentrated into a smaller area then you whole fist. And Drive the Strike/Hand straight forward. Power comes/is delivered – UP from/thru your legs to/thru your chest into your arms/hands. ie Your whole body gets into it – thus Delivering much more Power – to include your legs, whole body and arms. You can move/knock a man back say 10ft this way – or Down.
“However” Since I am 75yo and too old to fight now – I NOW “Carry” “Every Day”. And practice THAT every week. “Combat Competition Shooting”.
I’ve been carrying a sharpened credit card since the mid-90’s, and since there was a period of time (2010-2020) I needed to travel extensively by air I needed something else as well. For this I chose to empty a small bottle of Vizene eye drops, and replace the contents with Formaldehyde…squirt someone in the face with that and it removes vision and the ability to breath…you can just breeze through TSA with this right in your shirt pocket.
My mother once share me a story how she stoped a predator with her umbrella and actually she really stoped him to the point that she could walk not even run away from de treath. I dont know if the old umbrellas were though made.
Solar plexus works every time. They don’t want anything more after that. Fights out of them at this point.
Can it be used to break your car window to escspe ?
A stepping side kick to the outside of your opponent’s knee can dislocate the knee and stop them. It only takes 30 pounds of pressure to dislocate a knee in this manner.