end of the hall. Make sure no one else is around.
Using a baseball, not a softball, hurl the ball at the fire door at the end of the hall. If you can hit the door good for you. If you can dent the door, in theory you have thrown hard enough to injure the other guy in a fight. Both accuracy and force are required. We’re not actually advocating that you go out and damage someone else’s property, but hurling a baseball at a door hard enough to make a dent really does indicate the kind of speed and accuracy necessary to injure someone with a thrown object. Since it’s tough to actually injure, you’re most likely going to use this tactic to distract.
Before you employ this tactic, however, identify your escape route. You need to know that before you do anything else. It doesn’t do much good to throw things unless you can do it strategically to get away. Before you begin to run, it is very important to have a good escape path figured out. Be sure to note the location of any improvised weapons or obstacles you will have to pass along your route. These items could be employed for countervailing force, used for cover or concealment, or simply get in your way, barring your escape. In addition to your physical location (for example, building layout, street map, terrain), pay attention to any bystanders in your proximity. They may be a source of aid, additional threat, and/or witnesses to corroborate your claim of self- defense should things get ugly.
This information can help keep you safe not only during an armed confrontation but also during a fire, earthquake, or other emergency as well. In areas you frequent, such as your workplace or school, it is imperative that you know where fire extinguishers, first aid kits, Automated External Defibrillators, and other safety resources are located. Some of these items can be used as improvised weapons during armed attacks while others are lifesaving devices for more mundane emergencies.
Pay attention to available escape paths wherever you go. On an airplane, for example, know not only where the exit doors are located but also how many seats you must pass before you get there. That way if you need to navigate in smoke, darkness, or other adverse conditions you will know what to do. Similarly, in public places such as restaurants, bars, schools, and office buildings note the locations of all available exits. If a gunman enters from one side of the building, you will want to know how to escape out the other.
The Tueller Drill demonstrated that a person armed with a blade or a blunt instrument at a range of 21 feet can still be a lethal threat. Maintain sufficient distance between yourself and a potential assailant to give yourself time to respond to whatever he tries to do.
Too close. Any victory at this point would be Pyrrhic.
So not that you’ve got a way out, what debris can you use to help you get there? For our purposes, if it isn’t nailed down, it is debris. Look around the space you are in right now to see what is available to you. Are the chairs too heavy? What about a couch? Dresser drawers? How about a silverware drawer full of pointy objects? Pictures on the walls, stuff in your pockets, objects on your desk, or whatever is lying around that you can get to quickly that’s heavy enough be some sort of threat but light enough to throw with some accuracy will do the trick.
At what targets should you throw? Answer: the face. It’s the most distracting and potentially damaging target. Weight and size of the debris may affect your accuracy, but it’s important to target where you will get the most reaction. When you throw move to the escape route at the same time. The debris will only give you a second or two so you need to use it to your best advantage.
The basic way to explain this is this phrase: “Throw at the face and run away.” Sophistication isn’t really necessary for this technique. It’s as simple as determining your escape route, chucking something at the other guy’s face to make him flinch, and running away.
Throwing debris is an extension of distance; it can distract or injure an adversary, helping you escape.
Attack His Eyes
It’s really tough to fight if you can’t see. Take a look at any kind of warfare through the course of history and you will see that blinding the opponent is one of the most significant actions taken. In fact blinding the opponent is often the first thing that is done. During WWII, pilots did their level best to have the sun at their backs during dogfights, attempting to blind the enemy with the glare. In modern warfare, one of the first things attacked is always the command, control, and communications infrastructure. It is jammed, blown up, or otherwise taken out of action so that the enemy will not know what’s coming. Any attack is more likely to succeed with this advantage.
The same thing applies in hand-to-hand combat. If he can’t see, it’s really tough for him to fight you. That makes the other guy’s eyes a very important target in a legitimate self-defense scenario. Compared to all our other senses, eyesight is dominant in its impotence. It’s not only how we view the outside world but also how we acquire targets and defend ourselves against assaults.
When you have an opportunity to attack the eyes during a fight, the chance will only be there for an instant. If you’re going to go for the shot, you’ve got to take advantage of that moment of opportunity. The thing about attacking the eyes is that it is similar to attacking the groin; there is a natural guarding reflex, even in unskilled fighters, that is difficult to get past.
Know where fire extinguishers, first aid kits, Automated External Defibrillators, and other safety resources are located. Some of these items can be used as improvised weapons for self-defense while others are lifesaving devices for more mundane emergencies.
Think back to the last time you were riding in a car and something hit the windshield. You instinctively flinched didn’t you? When the rock hit the windshield, your eyes closed, your shoulders lifted, your head went forward and down, and your hands came up. In essence, you tucked your head in like a turtle pulling its head into its shell. This reflex action protects the neck, eyes, and face. It gets as much flesh around the eyes as it can by squinting too, making them well defended.
Knowing that the other guy is going to have this natural protection for his eyes means that there is a good chance that you won’t be successful the first time you try to strike him there. You need to be fast, well-trained, and usually a little lucky to get his eyes on the first try. Assuming you are fast and/or lucky, but not highly trained, you will need to follow the shampoo rule—lather, rinse, and repeat. In other words, keep trying until it works.
Be cautious though, this is serious stuff. Not only can you cause horrific injuries with eye attacks, but also you let the other guy know that this is a very serious confrontation. If you attack his eyes and miss, you’re really going to piss him off in a primal way, becoming the target of a lot more anger and violence than you might expect. Anything goes from that point on.
It’s really tough to fight if you can’t see. Until the advent of modern missile technology, pilots did their best to keep the sun at their backs during dogfights in the hopes of blinding or disorienting their enemies with the glare. This same principle can apply in hand-to-hand combat as well.
Anybody who wears glasses can relate to this action. Have your glasses knocked off by another guy, even accidentally, and it pisses you off. It is personal, it is primal, and it’s instantaneous. Even in an accident, it takes a certain amount of effort to control the instinctive reaction. This gives you a glimpse of the type of response you will elicit from a person when you attack his eyes.
So, while attacking the eyes can incapacitate an adversary, it can inflame him too. Consequently you need to know how to do it right. The best techniques use either your thumbs or fingers. Here’s how to attack the eyes most effectively.
