I’m gonna take from this thread that most people are both heavily armed with random dangerous shit in their pockets including knives and guns, very skiddish and ready to fight, severely untrained, while also being willing to use anything else in your immediate vicinity as a weapon including water bottles and wooden walking sticks fashioned with dangerous sharp spikes on the end.

I am keeping a safe distance from all of you until further notice

Training.

People already commented about running. Best answer. There are plenty of martial arts that can help too.

Whether it’s a gun, a blade, a club, a spray, your own body, an alarm… they all require consistent training to actually function in the crisis moment.

If you haven’t been practicing and can’t execute the defense without thought, it’s not likely to serve you when the time comes.

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Roll of nickels.

Shoes you can run in.

shovel to dig a trench

Yourself, along with some martial arts training.

You won’t be doing any Bruce Lee moves with basic training, but even basic training can make a big difference.

One of the first things you learnt in most martial arts is how to balance and move. This, combined with some basic blocks, is often enough to disengage and retreat quickly. It also helps train your brain to drop into defence/combat mode when required. This stops you freezing up for a critical few seconds.

Any weapon is mostly useless without the training to use it in the heat of an encounter. If you’re going to train with something, it might as well be a weapon you will always have available.

My preference is Tae Kwon Do, but any general martial art will be hugely beneficial.

Oh, and as a side effect, martial arts often help train a mindset change. You know you can defend yourself, and so subconsciously project confidence. It makes you less of a target to begin with.

The best defense is being able to run.

pocket sand

I saw a show about self defense for women in NY city. The instructor said to always carry a sucker. One of those tootsie pops or the like. If in trouble, hold the ball in your hand, turn the stick outward, between your middle and ring finger and punch at something soft and fleshy like stomach or face (eyes, mouth). It’s nice because it works everywhere. Even the TSA will let you board a plane with a sucker.

Not trying to be a smart ass, but a good pair of running shoes or being in relatively good shape to run.

Even if you do have a firearm, for example, I live in a “duty to retreat” state, and in most cases, if you don’t attempt to retreat where reasonable, before using deadly force you can get charged

Compact super bright flashlight at nighttime to buy a few seconds head start. Maglite flashlight if you want a makeshift baton

Best defense will always be having a friend with you, so maximize socialization.

Black hard rubber dildo exceeding 12" in length.

For the record, carrying a gun for self defense is illegal in most countries.

Most countries treat gun ownership as a privilege, not a right.

Self-defense is rarely accepted as a justification outside the U.S. and a few other exceptions.

so here’s the thing about self defense: it’s only a last resort. Don’t try to actually defend yourself unless it’s the only thing left to do. Reaching for a self defense tool at the first sign is cop shit.

As for defense tools, they’re all good and viable. You just need to know how to use them. There’s no such thing as a no-effort defense tool. Buying a pepper spray and sticking it onto your keychain without a second thought does not make it a self defense tool. You need to practice to the point where it’s second nature to use it. That means knowing the effective range, knowing the shortfalls and limitations, and continual practice.