7 Self Defense Techniques When You Don’t Have Your Gun

Editor’s Note: One of our readers contacted us and offered to write an article based on his experience in the security business. We offer this here. 
 
If you are a legal gun owner, chances are that you enjoy being able to carry your gun with you for personal protection for yourself, your family and even those around you in public. In many places however, it just is not possible to carry a gun legally even if you have a carry permit. Places including local parks, schools, restaurants and even churches have policies that state guns are not allowed on the premises. Other than local areas, there are other times a person may not be able to have access to their gun for self-defense.
Often when people travel, they cannot carry a gun across state or country lines, you may want to consider hiring a private security firm to handle personal security or to make sure your home is safe while you are away. In other situations where you may not be able to take your gun, it’s a good idea to have a backup plan by knowing some self defense to use in case you need to defend yourself. To play it safe, here are seven self-defense techniques you can use when you don’t have your gun.
Be a Nose Breaker!
It’s much easier to break a nose than you might think. To effectively break an attackers nose and ensure you can get away you need to hold your hand with the palm upwards and the fingers straightened and then with plenty of force, shove the palm of your hand directly upwards and into your assailant’s nose.
Learn Pressure Points Fighting Spots
Knowing where the pressure points in a body are located is an ideal way to fend off an assailant during an attack. The primary pressure points to know are:

• Eyes
• Temple
• Ears
• Chin
• Nose
• Throat
• Groin
• Back of neck
• Back of knee

During an attack, try to punch or kick these body areas to subdue your opponent or bring them down. Even if your assailant is larger or more muscular than you, causing pain to a pressure point can often help win a fight.
Keys Are Not Just for Starting the Car
You may have been taught to keep your keys in your hand and ready to unlock your car door when exiting a building and walking to your car, but keys can come in handy before you even make it to the car.
Keys should be held firmly in your hand when exiting a building to head to your car and you can use them as a weapon if you need them. For best results when using keys to defend yourself during an attack, strike at the pressure points including the eyes, throat and chin when possible. If those areas are not accessible, go for other pressure points on the body and strike hard while maintaining a firm grip on the keys.
Move Around
During an attack, it is common for people to freeze up and not move. If the attacker does not have a gun or other dangerous weapon, move around as much as possible. This makes it difficult for an attacker to get hold of you and it also allows you to fight back. Jump around, grab your attacker and go for those pressure points as firmly as possible. When an assailant sees that you’re not going to cower down and just let them win, it could possibly scare them away before anyone is harmed.
Make Some Noise!
Noise is a great way to scare off an attacker in some situations. Most attackers prefer that no one notice what they’re doing because they fear someone alerting the police. If you feel threatened or are being attacked, try to make as much loud noise as possible. Yell at them to back off or to get away from you! The noise you make will let people in the surrounding area know that someone needs help and it may cause your assailant to run away. If they don’t run away, move fast and again, go for those pressure points and fight hard to bring them down!
Be Aware of Your Surroundings
Something that often throws people to the wolves so to speak is not paying attention to their surroundings. With the use of cell phones today, many people walk around like zombies as they move to or from their car from a business or when they are simply walking down a street. Paying attention to your phone, even if you are just talking to someone, can distract you from noticing people who are around you. Keep your eyes as well as your ears open and pay attention to everything that is going on around you. Muggers, pickpockets and thieves rely on people not noticing them as they approach. It may not always be easy to know your enemies but keeping your eyes open can let you see who is approaching you and whether they mean you harm. When they know you are alert and that you see them, this can deter them from trying to make you their next victim.
Being aware of your surroundings also lets you know which direction you can run if you see someone approaching you and you have a gut feeling something bad is about to happen. Awareness allows you to duck into a store or take off down a well-lit street to avert a bad situation.
Pepper Spray
Pepper spray is legal in South Africa if you only use it on someone who is posing an immediate threat to you or someone around you and is a great way to disable an attacker in a non-lethal way. Before pulling out pepper spray during an attack however, be sure you have taken ample time to learn about the spray you own including how to discharge it, the distance it will travel to effectively hit an attacker and the type of spray you have. You also need to know how many sprays the canister has so you will know whether there is still spray in the can when you decide to use it when someone attacks you. If you have a gel or jet spray, it is best to spray in a horizontal motion directly across the eye region. For gas, it is best to spray from the top of your assailant’s head to their mouth vertically. If you do not have time to choose how to spray, aim at the face and spray as rigorously as possible to hit the eyes and mouth. Pepper spray can cause temporary blindness accompanied by burning, pain, breathing difficulty, coughing and nausea of vomiting. When using it during an attack, be careful that you do not spray yourself.
 
Be Prepared!
An attack can happen anywhere and at any time, day or night. Learning how to defend yourself when you do not have a gun readily available will help you fend off attacks and be able to safely diffuse or take charge of the situation, so you can get home safely.