RANT: Sick of Getting Attacked. What Martial Art Should I Learn?

[Eastside]

Just carry a good 'ol legal cane or walking stick. You don't even have to pretend you are using it. Shit, carry a putter or sand wedge. Tee off on the next scrote that lays hands on you and walk away. Just because SF is weird place you are not required my law to be a victim. By the same token, I would not really want to go hands on with the lovely street people SF seems to really like having around.

MF

[Platinum Pete]

If you want to hear the details of the times I've been attached, here they are:
#1: Van Ness and Geary, 11am, Tuesday: drunk homeless guy walking down street looking in windows of cars while I am about to go into the verizon store to get a charger. he comes up spitting and screaming at me while i'm paying the meter. I yell at him to leave me alone, he grabs my shoulder. I push his arm off, he pulls out what looks like a screwdriver but no handle (a shank?) and comes at me with it. I kick him in the knee and run away around my car, get in car and lock door. (i couldn't run away, away because my dog was in the car and he was ranting about how he was going to kill my dog). guy grabbing car screaming at me that i am a white bitch he is going to kill me, scratching my car up with the shank, i call 911 cops come guy runs away i give report. this is back when people were getting stabbed on muni and the buses all the time so they took it pretty seriously and i had to give a composite and whatnot.

#2: homeless guy in wheelchair grabs my ass at market & 7th. nerdlove and spats are on scene but homeless guy not deterred.

#3: homeless guy licks my neck on public transit... ::shudder:: this still freaks me out

#4: out walking dog, drunk weirdo grabs my arm and takes out his junk and waves it around at me. tries bend me over and shove his shit in my face. I scream, hit him and run away.

#5: stupid idiots are parked in the middle of 18th street blocking all traffic with their massive SUV (they are standing around with all the doors open taking up both lanes). major traffic pile up. i yell "get out of the road" at them and the guy walks over yelling at me how I am a "white bitch" and to suck his cock. i tell him fuck you, suck my dick back and then he tries to open the door of the car, pulls my hair and is grabbing me from outside the car. my dog is going crazy barking and nerdlove is with me in the car but all gimped out from falling off a cliff so what's he going to do? them there are tons of cops around within a minute and they come over with lights on and blah blah we give a report we are on our way. my heat hurts
..

I live in SF and I feel really bad for you. It would not surprise me at all if we passed a lot of the same fucked up weirdos all the time. Part of this sounds like super bad luck - really, how many neck lickers are out there and what are the odds that they'll be next to you on the bus? Same with the cock waver - I've not heard of that as a frequent problem, but you did the right thing there. The predator/prey mindset thing is probably sound advice, but it seems like a pretty pessimistic change in attitude towards the outside world (not that your experiences with SF citizenry should fill you with optimism). Seems to me just keeping up awareness and making sure you move to create and maintain personal space should be enough to handle situations 2,3, & 4. Situation 1 sounds almost unavoidable and I say you did right by making space and finding refuge - no need for vehicular manslaughter just because you can. Situation 5, I would've honked and yelled too, you just happened upon a psycho.

Your work almost certainly has you familiar with the desperate population of SF - mostly addiction and mental illness issues (situations 1-4). In my opinion those are not people you can argue or reason with, no subtle signals work - they are getting so much mental signal interference that only deliberate and clear actions deter them. Also, they are usually so fucked up that they are not fast, so keep that buffer of space and don't be shy about splitting on the quick. I don't know you personally, but it sounds like you're an accomplished person who has been aggressive about her goals (MBA, finance career, Ironman, long distance running). A lot of people like that don't back down easy and view themselves as tough (and in many classifications they are), but winning this game is not about being tougher or more strong willed, it's about identification, avoidance, and speed - make those your goals.

[Scotsman50]

I thought San Francisco with all it's egalitarian ,humanitarian, anti- discriminatory and cutting edge liberal legislation would be an urban utopia...... I guess not.
Scary stuff BD4a, I hope it never happens to you again.

[sftc]

Scots, IMHO, the homeless population in S.F. is not as prevalent as it is in Portland, OR, not as violent as it is in LA and probably most similar to Seattle's situation.

One of the contributing problems is that compared to every other big city in the country S.F. is a very diverse, expensive and compact city. As a result there's more internal strife and tension then most people want to admit and it's very easy to wander from a safe situation into a bad one. The million dollar homes on Nob Hill that sit right next to the Tenderloin are a prime example.

[Dexter Rutecki]

Huh? Keep up the pro-gun rhetoric but you're way off base on that one.
Even though out of state CCW licenses aren't recognized in CA that doesn't stop the thousands of people in the state with licenses from carrying a weapon in the city. The issue is that if you actually live in S.F. county the sheriff will not issue a license and that's been the county's policy for decades. The policy varies county by county since the local sheriff basically has final say regarding what license applications are approved if you can clear the background check. Out here in the Calitucky I've heard our county's sheriff will give you a permit if you have a ranch and want to carry a sidearm to deal with rattlesnakes and that's a full 180 degrees away from the S.F. sheriff's policy.

Shut up. Your facts don't support the myth Leroy was taught to believe.

[irul&ublo]

My other suggestion is schutzhund-fu:



Doesn't your woofer need a buddy?

[Platinum Pete]

Scots, IMHO, the homeless population in S.F. is not as prevalent as it is in Portland, OR, not as violent as it is in LA and probably most similar to Seattle's situation.

One of the contributing problems is that compared to every other big city in the country S.F. is a very diverse, expensive and compact city. As a result there's more internal strife and tension then most people want to admit and it's very easy to wander from a safe situation into a bad one. The million dollar homes on Nob Hill that sit right next to the Tenderloin are a prime example.

I moved to SF from Portland about a year ago and I'd say the street people population in SF is different. In PDX there are lots of transient homeless passing through with the seasons and and there seems to be much more of a homeless community. In PDX the homeless know what are the safe areas and where they'll be harassed by authorities, so negative interactions are fewer in my experience. In SF, the street people population is way more fucked in the brain and desperate (my observations), and many of them are not homeless but live in half way homes, treatment centers, or other accomodation that seem to push them out the door in the morning and let them in at night. SF homeless are sketchier.

[sftc]

Pete, I agree with your view of the SF vs. Portland homeless population, I was just trying to say that there seems to be more of them, per capita, in Portland. While walking around downtown Portland I've noticed for every above average successful person you see on the street there is a homeless person near by. Seriously, you'll see 5 yuppies standing at a bus stop with 5 homeless guys hanging out next to it.

[Crud's Uncle]

Court,
A friend of mine is a Navy SEAL. He teaches unarmed self defense. He has a class at the end of the month, if you want to make a trip to Ohio. He teaches what he learned in the Teams.

I would not learn a MA. In general, they are for sport not self defense. Get a Body Opponent Bag. Work on open hand strikes, not fists. Learn how to throw a short powerful chin jab. Learn how to hit with the base of the palm and side of the hand. The most important concept is to act fast and brutally. Your target should be the head and neck.

I am also a big believer in carrying a gun and knife 24/7, along with training how to use them within bad breath distance.

Good luck.

[BeanDip4All]

well, i think i found my place. it's in bayview/hunters point and they have classes specifically concentrating on women's self defense. it's also government subsidized by the SFPD (because apparently so many women were getting attacked... geeze! ) so it's crazy cheap- and on top of that i also qualified for a Public Safety Officer Discount.

i called and the lead instructor (sifu? guru? master?) actually answered the phone, which was really cool (after calling various places and leaving messages and sending emails into space all day).

i start tomorrow night! in addition to women's self defense, they teach:
Ju Trap Boxing
Small Circle Jujitsu
Jeet Kune Do
Eskrima

here's the class description of the one i'm going to:

Self Protection

Gain survival skills, security, confidence, and peace of mind!

Ju Trap Boxing is an effective blend of Small Circle Jujitsu, boxing, Contemporary Jeet Kune Do, and Filipino martial arts.

Rapid Assault Tactics is a no nonsense approach to street survival.

Every Tues and Thurs from 7:30pm - 8:45pm

in a fit of "checking other places out" i also signed up for a praying mantis kung fu class tonight and a plain old boxing class friday night (all in different gyms). so we'll see where i feel most at home. but so far i have the bestest feeling about the one above.

if any SF mags or maggettes want to do self defense conmigo shoot me a pm!

[Mach Looney]

With class being in Hunters Point, you may have the opportunity to put your new skills into action before you know it! Be careful.

[Jer]

x2

Martial arts are great if you want to get into martial arts (this is no rip on martial arts). Some sort of general self-defense or hand-to-hand course would be better to start off with.

I have other suggestions, but they are likely illegal in CA/SF or too far away for some kind of "training vacation".

[tom111869]

Another vote for moving out of SF. Do you really love living there so much that you have to put up with potentially life threatening situations?

[BeanDip4All]

Another vote for moving out of SF. Do you really love living there so much that you have to put up with potentially life threatening situations?

no. i actually don't like living here much at all. i miss the vibrancy, cleanliness, safety and GOOD PUBLIC TRANSIT of nyc and also my family on the east coast! i also miss ocean water that is warm enough to swim in, snow falling around us in winter, leaves turning color, restaurants that deliver and are open after 10pm, bagels, and pizza. however my job is here, grad school is here, career opportunities are here (on a couple hiring lists) and my beloved is here and also his career opportunities and phd programs are here. we will likely be here for at least five more years, and probably in the city proper at least until we have kiddos, so i might as well suck it up and get used to it.

SF grows on me, sometimes. then i see dogshit everywhere (why does no one pick up after their dogs here?? why?? i think it's because there aren't enough garbage cans on the corners), wait 40 minutes for a fucking muni that never comes, scum on the street decides to get violent, and i go back to hating it.

[MTT]

I was wondering about that.

If you have to live in Central Cali for work. Why SF proper.

I find the Area along the 580 between Walnut Creek and Dublin to be (Not bad) Clean/safe/ new/ Stuff to do. You ride the bart into the city and then go home home.

Really why subejct yourself to that when normalcy is a short train trip away

[hutash]

i also signed up for a praying mantis kung fu class tonight

Oh no, does that mean you are going to chew off Nerd Loves head during the next sex act?

[H0G]

Krav Maga, end of story. If you want practical training, this is the way to go. I train here in Denver and love it. It is also just $100 a month.

[irul&ublo]

Oh no, does that mean you are going to chew off Nerd Loves head during the next sex act?

Well, she did use to claim to be a dangerous mathmatician

[timnormandin]

Four pages of badass replies all ready. Should be up to twenty in no time.

[Benny Profane]

i miss the vibrancy, cleanliness, safety and GOOD PUBLIC TRANSIT of nyc

Wow, I thought SF was a pretty nice city. Compared to Sodom. What do I know.

And the killer is, it's probably the most expensive city in the country. Go figure.

[Kai]

Take Krav Maga.

It's practical, and designed to be relatively easy to learn. (It was designed for teaching soldiers during basic training.) It doesn't require exceptional flexibility, and many of the techniques are simple and intuitive.

You will learn some very useful self defense techniques, and also gain experience with sparring. It's also a great work-out.

I have studied various martial arts over the years (Judo, Kung Fu, Ken-Po, Systema and Krav) and Krav is by far the best for basic self defense.

[Sirshredalot]

For the record, I studied Tang Soo Do (a close relative of Tae Kwan Do) while growing up. I stopped a little short of my black belt. Although I put in several years of work at a formative age, at this point I don't think I'd be a total ace in a fight. I'm a pretty big, strong, guy, and I know how to land a punch or a kick that could really cripple some random street crazy, but I wouldn't want to get into any sort of drawn-out confrontation, and I don't think it would do me any good if somebody jumped me from behind in an unanticipated way. Having said that, Tang Soo Do is probably as good as any other martial art. I think the biggest advantage that it gives me is that I look less like a potential target because I know how to fight a little bit and that gives me some confidence.

I'm totally curious to hear about n3rdlove's PhD experience, by the way. That is a tough row to hoe, but I will root for you crazy kids!

[Tye 1on]

well, i think i found my place. it's in bayview/hunters point and they have classes specifically concentrating on women's self defense. it's also government subsidized by the SFPD (because apparently so many women were getting attacked... geeze! ) so it's crazy cheap- and on top of that i also qualified for a Public Safety Officer Discount.

i called and the lead instructor (sifu? guru? master?) actually answered the phone, which was really cool (after calling various places and leaving messages and sending emails into space all day).

i start tomorrow night! in addition to women's self defense, they teach:
Ju Trap Boxing
Small Circle Jujitsu
Jeet Kune Do
Eskrima

here's the class description of the one i'm going to:


in a fit of "checking other places out" i also signed up for a praying mantis kung fu class tonight and a plain old boxing class friday night (all in different gyms). so we'll see where i feel most at home. but so far i have the bestest feeling about the one above.

if any SF mags or maggettes want to do self defense conmigo shoot me a pm!

So while most of the women chiming in stressed an active defense, you decide to go with offense. Hope that works out for you.

[Crud's Uncle]

When judging the training, I would recommend using the following as decision criteria:

Do they teach situational awareness?

Do they teach pre-contact indicators?

Do they teach to act pre-emptively?

Do they teach a few simple strikes to use in all situations as opposed to specific defenses for specific attacks?

Don't believe that anything is a fight ender. It is a myth that a blow to the balls will stop an attack. It may, but it may not. Just as a gunfight does not usually end with one or two hits.

[Mathematics]

Don't believe that anything is a fight ender. It is a myth that a blow to the balls will stop an attack. It may, but it may not. Just as a gunfight does not usually end with one or two hits.

You've obviously never seen me in a gunfight.