![Knee Kick to Groin](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/68/Knee_Kick_to_Groin.jpg)
Self-defense (self-defence primarily in
Commonwealth English
The use of the English language in current and former Member states of the Commonwealth of Nations, member countries of the Commonwealth of Nations was largely inherited from British Empire, British colonisation, with some exceptions. English s ...
) is a
countermeasure
A countermeasure is a measure or action taken to counter or offset another one. As a general concept, it implies precision and is any technological or tactical solution or system designed to prevent an undesirable outcome in the process. The fi ...
that involves defending the
health
Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organiza ...
and well-being of oneself from
harm
Harm is a moral and legal concept.
Bernard Gert construes harm as any of the following:
* pain
* death
* disability
*mortality
* loss of abil ity or freedom
* loss of pleasure.
Joel Feinberg gives an account of harm as setbacks to intere ...
. The use of the
right of self-defense
The right of self-defense (also called, when it applies to the defense of another, alter ego defense, defense of others, defense of a third person) is the right for people to use reasonable or defensive force, for the purpose of defending one' ...
as a legal justification for the use of
force
In physics, a force is an influence that can change the motion of an object. A force can cause an object with mass to change its velocity (e.g. moving from a state of rest), i.e., to accelerate. Force can also be described intuitively as a p ...
in times of danger is available in many
jurisdiction
Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, areas of jurisdiction apply to local, state, and federal levels.
Jur ...
s.
Physical
![Bangladeshi Rifles training](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/24/Bangladeshi_Rifles_training.jpg)
Physical self-defense is the use of physical force to counter an immediate threat of violence. Such force can be either armed or unarmed. In either case, the chances of success depend on various parameters, related to the severity of the threat on one hand, but also on the mental and physical preparedness of the defender.
Unarmed
Many styles of
martial arts
Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; a ...
are practiced for self-defense or include self-defense techniques. Some styles train primarily for self-defense, while other
combat sport
A combat sport, or fighting sport, is a competitive contact sport that usually involves one-on-one combat. In many combat sports, a contestant wins by scoring more points than the opponent, submitting the opponent with a hold, disabling the oppon ...
s can be effectively applied for self-defense. Some martial arts train how to escape from a knife or gun situation or how to break away from a punch, while others train how to attack. To provide more practical self-defense, many modern martial arts schools now use a combination of martial arts styles and techniques, and will often customize self-defense training to suit individual participants.
Armed
A wide variety of
weapon
A weapon, arm or armament is any implement or device that can be used to deter, threaten, inflict physical damage, harm, or kill. Weapons are used to increase the efficacy and efficiency of activities such as hunting, crime, law enforcement, s ...
s can be deployed for use in a defensive capacity. The most suitable depends on the threat presented, the victim or victims, and the experience of the defender. Legal restrictions also vary greatly, and influence which self-defense options are available to choose from.
Some jurisdictions
firearms
A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions).
The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes c ...
may be carried
openly or
concealed expressly for this purpose, many jurisdictions have tight restrictions on who can own firearms, and what types they can own.
Knives
A knife ( : knives; from Old Norse 'knife, dirk') is a tool or weapon with a cutting edge or blade, usually attached to a handle or hilt. One of the earliest tools used by humanity, knives appeared at least 2.5 million years ago, as evidenced ...
, especially those categorized as
switchblade
A switchblade (aka switch knife, automatic knife, pushbutton knife, ejector knife, flick knife, Stiletto, flick blade, or spring knife (Sprenger,Benson, Ragnar (1989). ''Switchblade: The Ace of Blades''. Paladin Press. pp. 1–14. . The sw ...
s, may also be
controlled, as may
batons,
pepper spray
Pepper spray, oleoresin capsicum spray, OC spray, capsaicin spray, or capsicum spray is a lachrymatory agent (a compound that irritates the eyes to cause a burning sensation, pain, and temporary blindness) used in policing, riot control, cr ...
and personal
stun guns and
Tasers
A taser is an electroshock weapon used to incapacitate people, allowing them to be approached and handled in an unresisting and thus safe manner. It is sold by Axon, formerly TASER International. It fires two small barbed darts intended to ...
—although some may be legal to carry with a license or for certain professions.
Non-injurious water-based self-defense indelible dye-marker sprays, or
ID-marker or
DNA-marker sprays linking a suspect to a crime scene, would in most places be legal to own and carry.
Everyday objects, such as
flashlights
A flashlight ( US, Canada) or torch ( UK, Australia) is a portable hand-held electric lamp. Formerly, the light source typically was a miniature incandescent light bulb, but these have been displaced by light-emitting diodes (LEDs) since the ...
,
baseball bat
A baseball bat is a smooth wooden or metal club used in the sport of baseball to hit the ball after it is thrown by the pitcher. By regulation it may be no more than in diameter at the thickest part and no more than in length. Although histor ...
s,
newspapers
A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background.
Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports ...
,
keyrings with keys,
kitchen utensil
A kitchen utensil is a small hand held tool used for food preparation. Common kitchen tasks include cutting food items to size, heating food on an open fire or on a stove, baking, grinding, mixing, blending, and measuring; different utensils a ...
s and other
tool
A tool is an object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many animals use simple tools, only human beings, whose use of stone tools dates ba ...
s, and
hair spray aerosol cans in combination with a
lighter
A lighter is a portable device which creates a flame, and can be used to ignite a variety of items, such as cigarettes, gas lighter, fireworks, candles or campfires. It consists of a metal or plastic container filled with a flammable liquid or c ...
, can also be used as
improvised weapon
An improvised weapon is an object that was not designed to be used as a weapon but can be put to that use. They are generally used for self-defence or if the person is otherwise unarmed. In some cases, improvised weapons are commonly used by attac ...
s for self-defense.
Verbal self-defense
Verbal self-defense is defined as using words "to prevent,
de-escalate, or end an attempted assault."
Women's self-defense
According to Victims of Sexual Violence: Statistics on Rainn, about "80 percent of juvenile victims were female and 90 percent of rape victims were adult women". In addition, women from ages 18 to 34 are highly at risk to experience sexual assault. According to historian Wendy Rouse in ''Her Own Hero: The Origins of Women's Self-Defense Movement'', women's self-defense training emerged in the early twentieth century in the United States and the United Kingdom paralleling the women's rights and suffrage movement. These early feminists sought to raise awareness about the sexual harassment and violence that women faced on the street, at work, and in the home. They challenged the notion that men were their "natural protectors" noting that men were often the perpetrators of violence against women. Women discovered a sense of physical and personal empowerment through training in boxing and jiu-jitsu. Interest in women's self-defense paralleled subsequent waves of the women's rights movement especially with the rise of
Second-wave feminism
Second-wave feminism was a period of feminist activity that began in the early 1960s and lasted roughly two decades. It took place throughout the Western world, and aimed to increase equality for women by building on previous feminist gains.
Wh ...
in the 1960s and 1970s and
Third-wave feminism
Third-wave feminism is an iteration of the feminist movement that began in the early 1990s, prominent in the decades prior to the fourth wave. Grounded in the civil-rights advances of the second wave, Gen X and early Gen Y generations third-wav ...
in the 1990s. Today's Empowerment Self-Defense (ESD) courses focus on teaching verbal and psychological as well as physical self-defense strategies. ESD courses explore the multiple sources of gender-based violence especially including its connections with sexism, racism, and classism. Empowerment Self-Defense instructors focus on holding perpetrators responsible while empowering women with the idea that they have both the right and ability to protect themselves.
Self-defense education
Self-defense techniques and recommended behavior under the threat of violence is systematically taught in self-defense classes. Commercial self-defense education is part of the
martial arts industry in the wider sense, and many martial arts instructors also give self-defense classes. While all martial arts training can be argued to have some self-defense applications, self-defense courses are marketed explicitly as being oriented towards effectiveness and optimized towards situations as they occur in the real world. Many systems are taught commercially, many tailored to the needs of specific target audiences (e.g. defense against attempted rape for women, self-defense for children and teens). Notable systems taught commercially include:
* Civilian versions of modern military
combative
Combatives is the term for hand-to-hand combat training and techniques within the Army branch of the United States military.
History
Sometimes called Close-Quarters Combat (CQC or close combat), World War II-era American combatives were large ...
s, such as
Krav Maga
Krav Maga ( ; , ; ) is an Israeli martial art. Developed for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), it is derived from a combination of techniques used in aikido, judo, karate, boxing, and wrestling. It is known for its focus on real-world situation ...
,
Defendo,
Spear
A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with fire hardened spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fasten ...
,
Systema
* Japanese Armed & Unarmed Combat Art Systems directly taught as Combatives with No Sport Aspect, also adapted to modern weapons such as
Bujinkan
The is an international martial arts organization based in Japan and headed by Masaaki Hatsumi. The combat system taught by this organization comprises nine separate ryūha, or schools, which are collectively referred to as ''Bujinkan Budō Tai ...
*
Jujutsu
Jujutsu ( ; ja, link=no, 柔術 , ), also known as jiu-jitsu and ju-jitsu, is a family of Japanese martial arts and a system of close combat (unarmed or with a minor weapon) that can be used in a defensive or offensive manner to kill or subdu ...
and arts derived from it, such as
Aikijujutsu,
Aikido
Aikido ( , , , ) is a modern Japanese martial art that is split into many different styles, including Iwama Ryu, Iwama Shin Shin Aiki Shuren Kai, Shodokan Aikido, Yoshinkan, Renshinkai, Aikikai and Ki Aikido. Aikido is now practiced in around 1 ...
,
Bartitsu,
German ju-jutsu,
Kodokan Goshin Jutsu
is the most recent Judo kata of Kodokan and was established in 1956. Compared to Kime no kata it is a more modern set of self-defence techniques. Instead of attacks with swords, the kata contains defences against attacks with stick and pistol.
...
,
Yamabujin Goshin-Jutsu.
*
Model Mugging
* Traditional unarmed fighting styles like
Karate
(; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the ...
,
Kung fu
Chinese martial arts, often called by the umbrella terms kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (), are multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater China. These fighting styles are often classified according to common ...
,
Hapkido
Hapkido ( , , also spelled ''hap ki do'' or ''hapki-do''; from Korean 합기도 ''hapgido'' ) is a hybrid Korean martial art. It is a form of self-defense that employs joint locks, grappling, throwing techniques, kicks, punches, and other stri ...
,
Pencak Silat,
Taekkyon
Taekkyon, Taekgyeon, Taekkyeon, or Taekyun (Korean: 태껸/ 택견/ 托肩, ) is a traditional Korean martial art.
It is characterized by fluid, dynamic foot movement called "''pum balki''" or Stepping-on-Triangles. Taekkyon includes hands an ...
, etc. These styles can also include competing.
* Traditional armed fighting styles like
Kali
Kali (; sa, काली, ), also referred to as Mahakali, Bhadrakali, and Kalika ( sa, कालिका), is a Hinduism, Hindu goddess who is considered to be the goddess of ultimate power, time, destruction and change in Shaktism. In t ...
/
Eskrima
Arnis, also known as Kali or Eskrima/Escrima, is the national martial art of the Philippines. The three are roughly interchangeable umbrella terms for the traditional martial arts of the Philippines (" Filipino Martial Arts", or FMA), which em ...
/
Arnis
Arnis, also known as Kali or Eskrima/Escrima, is the national martial art of the Philippines. The three are roughly interchangeable umbrella terms for the traditional martial arts of the Philippines (" Filipino Martial Arts", or FMA), which ...
. These include competing, as well as armed and unarmed combats.
* Street Fighting oriented, unarmed systems, such as
Jeet Kune Do
Jeet Kune Do is a primarily wing chun kung fu inspired eclectic martial arts philosophy heavily influenced and adapted by the Taoist personal life philosophy and experiences of martial artist Bruce Lee.
Overview and philosophy
Jeet Kune ...
,
Kajukenbo
Kajukenbo ( Japanese: カジュケンボ) is a hybrid martial art from Hawaii. It was developed in the late 1940s and founded in 1947 in the Palama Settlement of Palama, Hawaii.
The name Kajukenbo is a combination of the various arts from whi ...
,
Won Sung Do ®, and
Keysi Fighting Method
''Batman Begins'' is a 2005 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan and written by Nolan and David S. Goyer. The film is based on the DC Comics character Batman, it stars Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne / Batman, with Michael Caine, Liam ...
* Martial sports, such as
boxing
Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...
,
kickboxing
Kickboxing is a combat sports, combat sport focused on kicking and punch (strike), punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is pract ...
,
Muay Thai
Muay Thai ( th, มวยไทย, , ), sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, is a combat sport that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. This discipline is known as the "art of eight limbs", as it is characterised ...
,
savate
Savate (), also known as boxe française, savate boxing, French boxing or French footfighting, is a French kickboxing combat sport that uses the hands and feet as weapons combining elements of English boxing with graceful kicking techniques.
...
,
shoot boxing,
Sanshou
Sanda (), formerly Sanshou (), also known as Chinese boxing or Chinese kickboxing, is the official Chinese kickboxing full-contact combat sport. Sanda is a fighting system which was originally developed by the Chinese military based upon the s ...
,
Taekwondo
''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast kicking techniques. T ...
,
judo
is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponi ...
,
Brazilian jiu-jitsu
Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ; pt, jiu-jitsu brasileiro ) is a self-defence martial art and combat sport based on grappling, ground fighting (ne-waza) and submission holds. BJJ focuses on the skill of taking an opponent to the ground, control ...
,
Sambo
, aka = Sombo (in English-speaking countries)
, focus = Hybrid
, country = Soviet Union
, pioneers = Viktor Spiridonov, Vasili Oshchepkov, Anatoly Kharlampiev
, famous_pract = List of Practitioners
, oly ...
, and
wrestling
Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...
.
Legal aspects
Application of the law
In any given case, it can be difficult to evaluate whether force was excessive. Allowances for great force may be hard to reconcile with human rights.
The Intermediate People's Court of
Foshan
Foshan (, ), alternately romanized as Fatshan, is a prefecture-level city in central Guangdong Province, China. The entire prefecture covers and had a population of 9,498,863 as of the 2020 census. The city is part of the western side of the ...
,
People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
in a 2009 case ruled the killing of a robber during his escape attempt to be justifiable self-defense because "the robbery was still in progress" at this time.
In the United States between 2008 and 2012, approximately 1 out of every 38 gun-related deaths (which includes murders, suicides, and accidental deaths) was a justifiable killing, according to the
Violence Policy Center
The Violence Policy Center (VPC) is an American nonprofit organization that advocates for gun control.
Organizational background
According to Josh Sugarmann, its founder, the VPC approaches violence, and firearms violence in particular, as a ...
.
In Canada, self-defence, in the context of criminal law, is a statutory defence that provides a full defence to the commission of a criminal act. It operates as a justification, the successful application of which means that owing to the circumstances in which the act was produced, it is not morally blameworthy. There are three elements an accused must demonstrate to successfully raise self-defence.
First, the accused must demonstrate that she or he believed on reasonable grounds that force was going to be used against her or him or another person or that a threat of force is being made against her or him or another person. The reasonableness of the belief is assessed through both a subjective and objective lens. Certain beliefs, including racist beliefs and beliefs induced by self-intoxication are prima facie unreasonable. Other beliefs related to the subjective experience of the accused may, however, be reasonable. These include any relevant military training (R v Khill), heightened awareness of patterns of cyclical violence in intimate relationships (R v Lavallée) and whether the accused has autism (R v Kagan).
Second, the act that constitutes the offence is committed for the purpose of defending or protecting themselves or the other person from that use or threat of force.
Third, the act that constitutes the offence must have been reasonable in the circumstances. There are a number of indicia which factor into whether the act was reasonable in the circumstances. For one, was the violence or threat of violence imminent? Usually, if there is a significant time interval between the original unlawful assault and the accused's response, it undermines the contention that there were no other means available to respond to the potential use of force and one tends to suspect that the accused was motivated by revenge rather than self-defence. However, R v Lavalleé accepted expert evidence demonstrating that people experiencing battered women's syndrome have special knowledge about the cyclical nature of violence in a way allows them to foresee when harm is coming. Second, it's relevant whether there was a reasonable avenue of escape available to the accused. Under the old self-defence provision, there was a requirement for the accused to have believed on reasonable grounds that there was no alternative course of action open to him at the time, so that he reasonably thought that he was obliged to kill in order to preserve himself from death or grievous bodily harm. Now, even though 34(2)(b) is only one consideration in a non-exhaustive list, the mandatory role it used to play in the common law suggests it carries considerable weight in determining the reasonableness of the act in the circumstances under 34(1)(c)
As such, while there is no absolute duty to retreat, it is a prerequisite to the defence that there were no other legal means of responding available. In other words, there may be an obligation to do retreat where there is an option to do so (R v Cain). However, there is an exception to the obligation to retreat which is there is no requirement to flee from your own home to escape an assault to raise self-defence (R v Forde). Moreover, evidence of the accused suffering from battered women's syndrome may evince that the accused reasonably perceived there to have been no means of escape (R v Lavalleé). Third, the accused's role in the incident may play into the reasonableness of her or his act. Consideration of the accused's role is not limited to whether he did any provocative or unlawful acts at it was under the old self-defence provisions (R v Khill). Fourth, the nature and proportionality of the accused's response will factor into whether it was reasonable. While a person is not expected to weigh to a nicety the measure of force used to respond to violence or a threat thereof, grossly disproportionate force will tend to be unreasonable (R v Kong).
See also
Armed self-defense
*
Airgun
An air gun or airgun is a gun that fires projectiles pneumatically with compressed air or other gases that are mechanically pressurized ''without'' involving any chemical reactions, in contrast to a firearm, which pressurizes gases ''chemica ...
*
Ballistic knife
A ballistic knife is a knife with a detachable blade that can be ejected to a distance of several meters/yards by pressing a trigger or operating a lever or switch on the handle.Crawford, Steve, ''Deadly fighting skills of the world'', New York ...
*
Baton (law enforcement)
A baton (also known as a truncheon or nightstick) is a roughly cylindrical club made of wood, rubber, plastic, or metal. It is carried as a compliance tool and defensive weapon by law-enforcement officers, correctional staff, security guards ...
/
Tonfa (martial arts)
*
Boot knife
A boot knife or a gambler's dagger is a small fixed-blade knife (usually, a dagger) that is designed to be carried in or on a boot. Typically, such a knife is worn on a belt or under a pant leg. If worn around the neck (by means of a chain or lany ...
*
Brass knuckles
Brass knuckles (variously referred to as knuckles, knucks, brass knucks, knucklebusters, knuckledusters, knuckle daggers, English punch, iron fist, paperweight, or a classic) are "fist-load weapons" used in hand-to-hand combat. Brass knuckles ...
*
Club (weapon)
A club (also known as a cudgel, baton, bludgeon, truncheon, cosh, nightstick, or impact weapon) is a short staff or stick, usually made of wood, wielded as a weapon since prehistoric times. There are several examples of blunt-force trauma caused ...
*
Crossbow
A crossbow is a ranged weapon using an elastic launching device consisting of a bow-like assembly called a ''prod'', mounted horizontally on a main frame called a ''tiller'', which is hand-held in a similar fashion to the stock of a long fi ...
*
CS gas
The compound 2-chlorobenzalmalononitrile (also called ''o''-chlorobenzylidene malononitrile; chemical formula: C10H5ClN2), a cyanocarbon, is the defining component of tear gas commonly referred to as CS gas, which is used as a riot control agent ...
*
Defense wound
A defense wound or self-defense wound is an injury received by the victim of an attack while trying to defend against the assailant. Defensive wounds are often found on the hands and forearms, where the victim has raised them to protect the head an ...
*
Defensive gun use
Defensive gun use (DGU) is the use or presentation of a firearm for self-defense, defense of others or, in some cases, protecting property. The frequency of incidents involving DGU, and their effectiveness in providing safety and reducing crime ...
*
Electroshock weapon
An electroshock weapon is a less-lethal weapon that utilizes an electric shock to incapacitate a target by either temporarily disrupting voluntary muscle control and/or through pain compliance. There are several different types of electroshock w ...
*
Gun safety
Gun safety is the study and practice of using, transporting, storing and disposing of firearms and ammunition, including the training of gun users, the design of weapons, and formal and informal regulation of gun production, distribution, and ...
*
Handgun
A handgun is a short- barrelled gun, typically a firearm, that is designed to be usable with only one hand. It is distinguished from a long gun (i.e. rifle, shotgun or machine gun, etc.), which needs to be held by both hands and also braced ...
*
Hiatt speedcuffs
*
Hollow-point bullet
upright=0.2, Cross-section of a hollow-point bullet; proportions are those of a .22 Long Rifle cartridge
Jacketed soft point (JSP) round. Right: Jacketed hollow-point (JHP) round. JSP is a semi-jacketed round as the jacket does not extend to ...
*
Knife
A knife ( : knives; from Old Norse 'knife, dirk') is a tool or weapon with a cutting edge or blade, usually attached to a handle or hilt. One of the earliest tools used by humanity, knives appeared at least 2.5 million years ago, as evidenced ...
/
Combat knife
A combat knife is a fighting knife designed solely for military use and primarily intended for hand-to-hand or close combat fighting.Peterson, Harold L., ''Daggers and Fighting Knives of the Western World'', Courier Dover Publications, , (2001) ...
*
Laser pointer
A laser pointer or laser pen is a small handheld device with a power source (usually a battery) and a laser diode emitting a very narrow coherent low-powered laser beam of visible light, intended to be used to highlight something of interest by ...
*
Laser sight
A laser sight is a device attached or integral to a firearm to aid target acquisition. Unlike optical and iron sights where the user looks through the device to aim at the target, laser sights project a beam onto the target, providing a visual re ...
*
Mace (spray)
Mace is the brand name of an early type of aerosol self-defense spray invented by Alan Lee Litman in the 1960s. The first commercial product of its type, Litman's design packaged phenacyl chloride (CN) tear gas dissolved in hydrocarbon solvents i ...
*
Millwall brick
A "Millwall brick" is an improvised weapon made of a manipulated newspaper, used as a small club. It was named after supporters of Millwall F.C., who have a reputation for football hooliganism. The Millwall brick was allegedly used as a stealth w ...
*
Nunchuku
*
Offensive weapon
An offensive weapon is a tool made, adapted or intended for the purpose of inflicting physical injury upon another person.
Legality England and Wales
Under England and Wales' Prevention of Crime Act 1953, Section 1(1) states it is an offence to ca ...
*
Paintball gun
*
PAVA spray
PAVA spray is an incapacitant spray similar to pepper spray. It is dispensed from a handheld canister, in a liquid stream. It contains a 0.3% solution of pelargonic acid vanillylamide (PAVA), also called nonivamide, a synthetic capsaicinoid (anal ...
*
Pepper spray
Pepper spray, oleoresin capsicum spray, OC spray, capsaicin spray, or capsicum spray is a lachrymatory agent (a compound that irritates the eyes to cause a burning sensation, pain, and temporary blindness) used in policing, riot control, cr ...
*
Personal defense weapon
Personal defense weapons (PDWs) are a class of firearms intended for self-defense and security rather than warfare and infantry. Most PDWs fire a small-caliber (less than ), centerfire bottleneck cartridge resembling a scaled-down intermediate ...
*
Riot shotgun
A riot shotgun is a shotgun designed or modified for use as a primarily defensive weapon, by the use of a short barrel and sometimes a larger magazine capacity than shotguns marketed for hunting. The riot shotgun is used by military personnel fo ...
*
Self-defense in international law
*
Slapjack (weapon)
A baton (also known as a truncheon or nightstick) is a roughly cylindrical club made of wood, rubber, plastic, or metal. It is carried as a compliance tool and defensive weapon by law-enforcement officers, correctional staff, security guards ...
*
Slingshot
A slingshot is a small hand-powered projectile weapon. The classic form consists of a Y-shaped frame, with two natural rubber strips or tubes attached to the upper two ends. The other ends of the strips lead back to a pocket that holds the pro ...
*
Stun grenade
A stun grenade, also known as a flash grenade, flashbang, thunderflash, or sound bomb, is a less-lethal explosive device used to temporarily disorient an enemy's senses. Upon detonation, they produce a blinding flash of light and an extremely lo ...
*
Switchblade
A switchblade (aka switch knife, automatic knife, pushbutton knife, ejector knife, flick knife, Stiletto, flick blade, or spring knife (Sprenger,Benson, Ragnar (1989). ''Switchblade: The Ace of Blades''. Paladin Press. pp. 1–14. . The sw ...
*
Taser
A taser is an electroshock weapon used to incapacitate people, allowing them to be approached and handled in an unresisting and thus safe manner. It is sold by Axon, formerly TASER International. It fires two small barbed darts intended to ...
*
Throwing knife
A throwing knife is a knife that is specially designed and weighted so that it can be thrown effectively. They are a distinct category from ordinary knives.
Throwing knives are used by many cultures around the world, and as such different tact ...
*
Tranquilizer gun
A dart gun is an air rifle that fires a dart. The dart is tipped with a hypodermic needle and filled with a tranquilizer, vaccine, or antibiotic. A dart gun containing a tranquillizer is called a tranquillizer gun ( also spelled tranquilizer, tr ...
*
Weighted-knuckle glove
Weighted-knuckle gloves, also called sap gloves, are a type of weapon used in hand to hand combat. They consist of a pair of ordinary looking gloves usually made of leather or a synthetic material, with powdered lead or steel sewn into a special ...
*
kubaton
Unarmed self-defense
*
Anti-theft system
Anti-theft systems protect valuables such as vehicles and personal property like wallets, phones, and jewelry. They are also used in retail settings to protect merchandise in the form of security tags and labels. Anti-theft systems include devices ...
*
Armored car
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Body armor
Body armor, also known as body armour, personal armor or armour, or a suit or coat of armor, is protective clothing designed to absorb or deflect physical attacks. Historically used to protect military personnel, today it is also used by variou ...
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Bodyguard
A bodyguard (or close protection officer/operative) is a type of security guard, government law enforcement officer, or servicemember who protects a person or a group of people — usually witnesses, high-ranking public officials or officers, w ...
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Cyber self-defense
In cybersecurity, cyber self-defense refers to self-defense against cyberattack. While it generally emphasizes active cybersecurity measures by computer users themselves, cyber self-defense is sometimes used to refer to the self-defense of orga ...
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Digital self-defense
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Door security
The term door security or door security gate may refer to any of a range of measures used to strengthen doors against door breaching, ram-raiding and lock picking, and prevent crimes such as burglary and home invasions. Door security is used in c ...
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Gated community
A gated community (or walled community) is a form of residential community or housing estate containing strictly controlled entrances for pedestrians, bicycles, and automobiles, and often characterized by a closed perimeter of walls and fences ...
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GPS tracking unit
A GPS tracking unit, geotracking unit, satellite tracking unit, or simply tracker is a navigation device normally on a vehicle, asset, person or animal that uses satellite navigation to determine its movement and determine its WGS84 UTM ge ...
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Guard dog
A guard dog or watchdog (not to be confused with an attack dog) is a dog used to watch for and guard property against unwanted or unexpected human or animal intruders.
The dog is discerning so that it does not annoy or attack the resident hum ...
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Hand to hand combat
Hand-to-hand combat (sometimes abbreviated as HTH or H2H) is a physical confrontation between two or more persons at short range (grappling distance or within the physical reach of a handheld weapon) that does not involve the use of weapons.Huns ...
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Intrusion alarm
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Peroneal strike
A peroneal strike is a temporarily disabling blow to the common fibular (peroneal) nerve of the leg, just above the knee. The attacker aims roughly a hand span above the exterior side of the knee, towards the back of the leg. This causes a tempora ...
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Personal alarms
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Physical security
Physical security describes security measures that are designed to deny unauthorized access to facilities, equipment and resources and to protect personnel and property from damage or harm (such as espionage, theft, or terrorist attacks). Physica ...
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Safe room
A safe room or panic room is a fortified room that is installed in a private residence or business to provide a safe shelter, or hiding place, for the inhabitants in the event of a break in, home invasion, tornado, terror attack, or other thr ...
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Secure telephone
A secure telephone is a telephone that provides Secure voice, voice security in the form of end-to-end encryption for the telephone call, and in some cases also the mutual authentication of the call parties, protecting them against a man-in-the-mi ...
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Video surveillance systems
Legal and moral aspects
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Battered woman defense
Battered woman syndrome (BWS) is a pattern of signs and symptoms displayed by a woman who has suffered persistent intimate partner violence: whether psychological, physical, or sexual, from her male partner. It is classified in the ICD-9 (code ) ...
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Castle doctrine
A castle doctrine, also known as a castle law or a defense of habitation law, is a legal doctrine that designates a person's abode or any legally occupied place (for example, a vehicle or home) as a place in which that person has protections and ...
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Concealed carry
Concealed carry, or carrying a concealed weapon (CCW), is the practice of carrying a weapon (usually a sidearm such as a handgun), either in proximity to or on one's person or in public places in a manner that hides or conceals the weapon's pre ...
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Constitutional carry
In the United States, the term constitutional carry, also called permitless carry, unrestricted carry, or Vermont carry, refers to the legal public carrying of a handgun, either openly or concealed, without a license or permit. The phrase does ...
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Duty to retreat
In law, the duty to retreat, or requirement of safe retreat,''Criminal Law - Cases and Materials'', 7th ed. 2012, Wolters Kluwer Law & Business; John Kaplan, Robert Weisberg, Guyora Binder, /ref> is a legal requirement in some jurisdictions t ...
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Gun-free zone
The Gun-Free School Zones Act (GFSZA) is an act of the U.S. Congress prohibiting any unauthorized individual from knowingly possessing a loaded or unsecured firearm at a place that the individual knows, or has reasonable cause to believe, is ...
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Gun laws in the United States (by state)
Gun laws in the United States regulate the sale, possession, and use of firearms and ammunition. State laws (and the laws of the District of Columbia and of the U.S. territories) vary considerably, and are independent of existing federal fire ...
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Gun politics
Gun laws and policies, collectively referred to as firearms regulation or gun control, regulate the manufacture, sale, transfer, possession, modification, and use of small arms by civilians. Laws of some countries may afford civilians a right to ...
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Gun politics in the United States
Gun politics within American politics is defined by two primary opposing ideologies about civilian gun ownership. Those who advocate for gun control support increased regulation of gun ownership; those who advocate for gun rights oppose incre ...
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Justifiable homicide
The concept of justifiable homicide in criminal law is a defense to culpable homicide (criminal or negligent homicide). Generally, there is a burden of production of exculpatory evidence in the legal defense of justification. In most countri ...
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Non-aggression principle
The non-aggression principle (NAP), also called the non-aggression axiom, is a concept in which aggression, defined as initiating or threatening any forceful interference (violating or breaching conduct) against either an individual, their propert ...
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Open Carry
In the United States, open carry refers to the practice of visibly carrying a firearm in public places, as distinguished from concealed carry, where firearms cannot be seen by the casual observer. To "carry" in this context indicates that the fi ...
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Reasonable force
The right of self-defense (also called, when it applies to the defense of another, alter ego defense, defense of others, defense of a third person) is the right for people to use reasonable or defensive force, for the purpose of defending one' ...
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Self-defense in international law
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Self-preservation
Self-preservation is a behavior or set of behaviors that ensures the survival
Survival, or the act of surviving, is the propensity of something to continue existing, particularly when this is done despite conditions that might kill or destroy ...
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Sell your cloak and buy a sword
Sell your cloak and buy a sword is an instruction by Jesus to his disciples during the Last Supper which has been interpreted in several ways.
Interpretation Fulfillment of prophecy interpretation
Christian anarchist Jacques Ellul and Christia ...
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Stand-your-ground law
A stand-your-ground law (sometimes called "line in the sand" or "no duty to retreat" law) provides that people may use deadly force when they reasonably believe it to be necessary to defend against certain violent crimes (right of self-defense) ...
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Use of force
The use of force, in the context of law enforcement, may be defined as the "amount of effort required by police to compel compliance by an unwilling subject".
Use of force doctrines can be employed by law enforcement officers and military perso ...
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Turning the other cheek
Turning the other cheek is a phrase in Christian doctrine from the Sermon on the Mount that refers to responding to insult without retort and allowing more insult. This passage is variously interpreted as accepting one's predicament, commanding no ...
References
External links
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