[at-l] Self defense on the trail

[shane@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (Shane Steinkamp)]

> What I would like input on, though, is the subject of the use of
> nonviolent personal defense strategies.  If we assume that most
> individuals are not going to take a physical weapon with them on
> the trail (admitting the use of hiking poles as protection
> against dogs, etc.), and that the person does not have the
> physical capacity to overpower the other person, do any of you
> have knowledge of good resources for training people to stop or
> divert personal violence from happening to them at the hands of
> other people.

There was just a long discussion about this on the BPL list, but I'll give
you the highlights from my side of the issue...  (No guns in this one!)

The assumption is slightly flawed, in that there is no real distinction
between violent and non-violent defense strategies.  Law Enforcement calls
this the 'Use of Force' scale, which starts with simple command presence and
ends in lethal force.  Once any person (or critter) engages you for the
purposes of intimidation or violence of any kind, non-violent strategies
should be tried first when appropriate.  You also need to be prepared to
take the next step.  That isn't, I think, what you're looking for, so
instead I will direct in a different direction...

In the area of personal safety the man responsible for introducing pepper
spray to law enforcement is a good friend of mine.  He has co-authored a
book entitled The Seven Steps to Personal Safety.  The web link is:

http://www.lubrinco.com/lg7steps.html

The ENTIRE BOOK is available for free download.  This is an excellent book
to read, although it is no replacement for training.  I really feel that
this book is THE definitive manual on personal safety, and is exactly what
you are looking for.  (Full disclosure: I'm cited in the book.)

To go a little further, I really strongly advocate the carry of pepper
spray.  It's often hard, when talking about personal safety issues, not to
come across as either a paranoid lunatic or a blood-thirsty freak, but let
me try anyway...

I don't want anyone to think that the boogey man is waiting around every
corner - and I don't mean to say that he is.  The boogey man, however, is
real.  I've seen him, dealt with him, and met a
lot of other people who have met him too.  It's always telling that at least
80% of the people - both men and women - who attend my rape prevention and
personal safety classes have recently been the victim of a violent crime.
Other more visible personal safety advocates (like Paxton Quigley of 'Armed
and Female' fame - http://www.paxtonquigley.com/) notes the same thing -
people don't even think about personal safety until after they become a
victim.

Failing to take proactive personal safety measures - whether that be
learning self defense, carrying pepper spray and knowing how to use it, good
bear bagging practices, or campfire safety - is just like not wearing a
seatbelt.

If people don't wear seatbelts, lives are lost and insurance rates go up. If
people don't practice campfire safety, thousands of acres of forest, homes,
and even lives are lost.  If people don't follow good bear bagging practices
both bears and people suffer.  If you fail to actively take personal safety
measures, it doesn't only affect you, it affects you, your family, your
friends, and every other victim after you.

Pepper spray is just a small tool in the area of personal safety.  Maybe if
you spray that moose, you won't get hurt or stomped to death and he won't
bother the next hiker either.  If a bear is trying to get your food and you
spray him, maybe he'll learn to avoid hikers because hikers mean pain and
not food.  If you spray the boogey man, maybe you won't get hurt and maybe
he'll think again before attacking someone else.

If you do nothing, bears learn that hikers aren't to be feared and that they
mean Twinkies.  If you do nothing, the boogey man is empowered and moves on
to the next victim.  If you take charge, get informed, get educated, get
prepared, and get empowered, then the bears and boogey men will be much less
successful.

Personally, I try to educate as many people as possible about these subjects
so that they will make good choices - like wearing seatbelts and taking
other personal safety issues seriously.  Not because the world is a terribly
dangerous place where everyone and everything is out to get you, but because
we would all be safer
if everyone took safety seriously.  Statistically, something bad is VERY
unlikely to happen to you personally.  The opposite side of that coin is
that statistically something bad is going to happen to SOMEBODY.  If
everybody wore seatbelts, had smoke alarms, carried pepper spray and knew
how to use it, and took personal safety issues seriously even though bad
things are unlikely to happen to them individually, lives would be saved
because EVERYONE is prepared.

For these, and other reasons, I really very strongly recommend that
everyone - man, woman, and any child old enough to understand the dangerous
nature of the spray - should carry a pepper spray unit at all times.  You
should get the available 'dummy' units and practice with them.  You should
spray some real spray in the air and get
a whiff of it.  If you are brave enough, you can spray yourself.  If
everyone carried a pepper spray unit, the world would be a much safer place.
Rapes and murders would still happen, but there would be far fewer.

Always keep it handy, especially in questionable areas.  It won't do you any
good in the bottom of your purse.  It is a tool, not a talisman.

To make this trail related, pepper spray works on bears, moose, and other
large warm-blooded critters.  (Works on small warm-blooded critters too.) It
does not work on snakes, alligators, or any reptile or cold blooded critter.

It's just an unfortunate fact that while the boogey man isn't likely to jump
out and grab you, he IS going to jump out and grab SOMEBODY.  With that in
mind, if EVERYBODY has a ready method of responding to that event, then
boogey men will have less success.  Pepper spray is one such tool that has
been very effective in the context of non-lethal force.

I highly recommend Fox Labs brand of spray.  I recommend the three or four
ounce can with the cone spray pattern.  (www.foxlabs.com)  I have no
connection to Fox Labs.

I hope that's at least a little of what you wanted...

Shane