So, yesterday I surprised my wife with what she described as a strange question… “What’s in your handbag?” Any woman would balk at the idea of having to explain the contents of her handbag to any man – husbands included – but we went through the exercise of having a look-see anyway.
Apart from the excess junk that collects over the weeks, it’s quite interesting to see that almost everything nestled in her handbag could be used as some sort of women’s self-defense weapon. Check out the picture above to see for yourself. It turns out my wife is a walking talking armed-and-dangerous toolkit and so we decided to write this one together.
18 Everyday Weapons Women Should Have For Self-defense:
- Keys
- Pen
- Nail files and nail polish bottles.
- Umbrellas
- Newspaper
- Deodrant
- Hairspray
- Hand sanitizer.
- The handbag itself.
- Jewelry
- Belts and scarves.
- Hairpins, hair sticks, hairbrush, eyeshadow brush.
- Stilettos
- Mobile phone.
- Lip liner or eyeliner.
- Distraction
- Clothing
- Surrounding objects.
It is an undeniable fact that women need self-defense classes if they want to feel confidently secure in today’s troubled and somewhat violent society. Before we get into the nitty-gritty of self-defense and its importance, let’s quickly unpack how each of the abovementioned everyday items can be used for self-defense. Read on.
Every Women Can Use These Everyday Weapons As An Unfair Advantage in Self-Defense:
As a woman, you will probably be carrying most of these objects with you or have them nearby on a daily basis. How convenient!
- Keys.
Ideally, you’d want to hold the longest key either as a dagger to stab or between your fingers/knuckles of your index and middle finger to punch with.
- Pens.
Stab, jab, scrape – anything goes.
- Nail files and nail polish bottles.
If you don’t have a metal/iron type of nail file, you should get one. Either way, even a hard plastic one is good enough to strike with. I’ve also found that nail polish bottles are extremely durable even if dropped on concrete – good improvised weapon.
- Umbrella.
This is great to maintain distance between you and your attacker. But, the umbrella can easily be held and you can enter into a tug o’ war with your attacker over the umbrella. The key here is to be quick with your jabs higher up towards the face. Just one strike to the face could be all it takes.
- Newspaper.
A rolled up newspaper can be used to distract and strike somebody.
- Deodrant.
- Hair spray.
- Hand sanitizer.
The above 3 items make a fair substitute for pepper spray. If you have a lighter in there too combine it with your deodorant or hairspray for a DIY flame thrower, which is highly effective.
- Your beloved handbag.
Use your handbag as a shield if your attacker comes at you with a knife or pole. Yes, even the Balenciaga. If it contains everything and the kitchen sink, it can also leave a good dent when swung with purpose. Don’t be afraid to use it.
- Jewelry.
If he’s got in close and you’re fighting him off with your hands, make use of sharp edges on rings to pack a bit extra in your punches. You can also use a pendant, bracelet, watch or earring.
- Belts and scarves.
These can be used to throttle someone, just make sure they can’t grab hold of the trailing end and pull it from you. Belts can also be used as a buckle-tipped whip.
- Hairpin, hair sticks, hair brush, eyeshadow brush.
If you wear hair sticks, they can serve as a great disguised easy-to-draw weapon. I actually can’t top this article where I listed in detail the tips and techniques when using hairpins and hair sticks for self-defense.
- Fight dirty!
Stamp on their foot and strike the heel into the shin, thighs and groin.
- Mobile phone.
This can be effective in a usual grip with the bottom of your phone used as the butt of a gun.
- Eyeliner pencil or lip liner.
Used much like a pen to stab or jab.
- Your clothing.
Use your clothing to your advantage. If the attacker grabs your wrist over your jacket or by the scruff or color of your jacket, you can slip it off quickly to get free. You can also try to wrap their hand in the jacket (a typical Jacky Chan move).
- Use distraction to help you.
In a desperate attempt, throw objects at them, not only to hurt but to distract their attention or eye contact from you for a second. Then, follow through with a huge facial or groin attack.
- Surrounding objects.
Pay attention to everything around you. You can throw sand into eyes, stones, rocks, sticks, cups, mugs, pots. You can run behind obstacles like cars, bikes, poles, benches, trees etc.
Most women do a search for self-defense classes of some kind during their lifetime and come up with dedicated “women’s self-defense” classes in their area. Unfortunately, these women’s classes don’t quite have women training like a man, which should really be the case because most violent crimes are committed by men, right? One would be forgiven for thinking that a women’s self-defense class is a watered down version of proper self-defense.
Well, that’s not really the case. There’s a bit more to it than that… we go in further detail Here >>
