The Puffer Forum

I'd like to just encourage ALL women to consider taking a self-defense course at some point, especially my fellow college students. In the past three years at my school, we've had two attacks. One girl got away completely unharmed by using moves she learned in a self-defense course. A few nights ago, someone else didn't get away. That doesn't sound like a lot to most people, but my school is very small. At least one-third of women WILL be sexually assaulted during their lifetimes, though very few will report it. Your chances of getting raped at some point are astonishingly high. A self-defense course could save your life. And so could common sense - PLEASE don't be like my stupid friend who takes 3am walks alone. If you're in college, USE THE ESCORT SERVICE. That's what it's there for. If you're not in college, try not to go outside alone at night, don't wear heels when you have to walk far to your car at night, and don't be afraid to ask a man to walk you to your home or car. This is not a situation for "girl power." Respecting yourself as a woman doesn't always mean not relying on men - there are some things that some women just can't do, and some women - most - aren't as strong as men, and we are ALL more vulnerable to attack simply by being female, empowered or not.

*gets off soapbox*

This option is also your right.



I'm amazed at the number of woman that have been purchasing handguns for protection as well as getting there license to carry that concealed weapon. The required conceal and carry course that I went through several years ago gave the course for free to women that went with a paying man, and I would say that 25% of the 85 people there were women. The local news where I live has even done several positive reports on the these types of courses that are aimed specifically towards women. I know guns aren't for everyone but it is your right to own and/or carry a gun for personal protection in the majority of our states. Of course this would not apply to anyone on campus or in university housing as you aren't allowed to carry there...Unless you are in you car.

And no, I'm not a gun nut.

Guns freak me out. I do carry defense spray, both on my purse strap and on my keychain.

Ladies, don't carry knives unless you are thoroughly trained in how to handle them. If that knife gets taken from you, you've just given your attacker one more advantage. Defense spray is much better. Knowing how to handle a gun if you choose to carry one goes without saying, of course... You can also carry personal alarms. When activated, they flash and play a siren, which can bring you help much more quickly. Tossed into the bushes where the attacker can't find it, they do a much better job than just screaming, which your attacker can stop you from doing.

wasp spray .. much more effective than pepper spray

I have a combination of pepper spray, tear gas, and UV dye. Pepper spray works on people who are too high to feel pain from tear gas. Tear gas works on people who are immune to pepper spray. UV dye can be detected by police for a positive ID if the attacker is caught.

Hubby's out of town for the weekend. Handgun by the bed stand & shotgun under the bed.

Clare, Are you gonna take the course? Self defense class is where all my knee troubles started. For the final exam (high school), they had the boys from the other class attack us. I hit the floor & the knee's never been the same...

Deary me Clare. If someone ever attacks you, they're as good as dead. Haha

Our school gets about 1 attack every 2 years and it has 20,000 students. I don't think any were successful. A neat thing though, our school has voice activated emergency stands every couple hundred feet. In case you can't physically get to one you can start screaming. I don't go out alone at night though.

My exgf use to carry pepper spray on her key chain, until one day she was playin with her key chain not thinking and hit the button just right and sprayed herself in the face. Then jumped in the shower, which is the worst thing you can do. She said it hurt for hours

Pufferpunk wrote:Clare, Are you gonna take the course? Self defense class is where all my knee troubles started. For the final exam (high school), they had the boys from the other class attack us. I hit the floor & the knee's never been the same...

Yes. I've taken it before. This class is very safe. The most aggressive it gets is when we have to beat back the instructor while they hold a big pad and push against us for about three minutes. You just try to keep moving and struggling and pushing him away the entire time. We're never attacked; we do all the attacking.

Yeah, I was probably attacked extra good, because the attacker was a "friend". He thought it would be funny.

I really don't know what the instructors would have been thinking, having untrained participants attack each other... The mother/son pair who taught our workshop were very safety-oriented. When they wanted to demonstrate what an actual attack would look like, the son would attack the mother, and it was pretty neat to see how good they both were, and it was very safe because they were both experienced, and because they had been training together for so long that they knew each other's bodies perfectly. They moved so quickly and precisely - it was SO cool! It was also really neat to see this petite middle-aged woman completely whup this hulking young man's butt.

I really don't know what the instructors would have been thinking

Me either--it was high school though.

not all men are jackasses.not stepping
sorry you feel that way

im glad all you wowan are ready...kudos out to youall.no bashing man wown fish lol on the last