70 Year Old Grandma Uses Improvised Weapon to Thwart Intruder

I’m sure many of you heard about the old lady from New Hampshire who fought off an intruder with a bat yesterday.

The story hit cable news because of its unusual nature (the intruder was naked), but the story has some great lessons to learn from. Check out the Video on Fox News.

First of all it shows how brazen criminals can be. Who knows what this guy was after but whatever it was he wasn’t afraid break into a home in the buff. Everyone must take their home security seriously.

The other lesson is that with smart self defense strategies you can defend against a stronger more able bodied attacker.

The 70 year old lady in the video is seen using a cane yet she was still able to defend herself.

How was this possible? Very simply she gave herself an advantage in the situation by arming herself with a long heavy improvised weapon, a baseball bat.

The bat gave her the upper hand. It doesn’t take much strength to swing a bat and the impact you can make is much greater due to the length of the bat and the weight it has. It’s simple physics.

Okay that’s pretty basic it doesn’t take a genius to figure this out but it is a great reminder of the power of self defense weapons weapons even improvised ones.

I always say that the worst kind of fight is a fair one (unless you’re in a boxing ring). Having a weapon for self defense is a great way to instantly give yourself the advantage.

And it doesn’t always have to be something clunky like a baseball bat. Sure a bat is a great weapon to protect you in your home (this little old lady is a perfect example), but if you out and about on a normal day you have to be resourceful and find weapons where most people wouldn’t.

Here is a quick list to get your brain thinking about self defense weapons:

-car keys between your fingers

-throwing something from your pockets or purse at their face

-Using a large cup at a bar or restaurant as a striking tool

-Using your belt as a flail or choking tool

-throwing fist full of dirt or gravel in an attackers eyes

There are tons of other things around that can be used to distract and destroy your opponent

Never forget the psychological effect of any sort of weapon. If they don’t have a weapon they will instantly realize you have the upper hand.

This works in reverse too. If you find yourself being attacked by a person with a weapon your first instinct should be to find a weapon of your own to use to level the playing field and erode his confidence.

In self defense the longer the weapon the better. Distance is crucial to your safety. Think about it…if he has an 8 inch knife and you have a 12 inch stick you can keep him at a safe distance. And if you had a 24 inch stick you have a real upper hand.

A great self defense fighter can find a weapon almost anywhere. So unless you are being jumped from behind or totally surprised you should start thinking real quick about what you can use other than your body to defend yourself.

One last word of advice from an ex-gang enforcer and great Fightfast self defense instructor, Diallo Frazier, “metal on skin, metal always wins.”

If you want to learn more about improvised weapons checkout a hub page on “2 Strange but Effective Self Defense Weapons”

Oh and before you forget go buy your grandma a Louisville Slugger, it may save her life.