Name self-defense tools you can use to help protect yourself from others?

Answer 1

The best martial art to take for immediate self defense is Judo; far as "tools" the truth is its best to trip someone and then just run, assuming they are not using a firearm. It also depends on your age and where you are; usually, modern day bullies are protected by the teachers, so its not wise to mess them up while on school grounds. The best thing to do in an unfair legal situation, where a bully is protected by a system, is to just trip and run, severely beating someone to a pulp is only an option if the beating they are handing you threatens your long term health. School teachers in modern America go out of their way to protect bullies any way they can, keep that in mind.

Additionally tripping may sound like a simple idea but even something seemingly that simple requires proper instruction. The only chance a smaller man has against a much larger one, is to trip him while his legs are moving. Ever seen a Wrestling match where a smaller dude goes up against a bigger one? Nine times out of 10, the smaller wrestler will always "walk" the larger one, force him to move around his legs so he can trip him. Timing it right, and being able to trip someone without looking where the feet are is exceedingly difficult to do, but it is the best form of "reasonable force" self defense. What few times I was forced to use Karate back in High School, I never actually chopped or punched anybody; I usually just tripped people if it was on school grounds.

Watch some of the early UFC's, specifically Royce Gracie; you will notice that even a trained grappler has a very hard time tripping a much larger man if the larger man's feet are firmly planted. Between the weight and a bigger man's leg strength, it is almost impossible for a smaller man to use brute force to sweep a bigger man's legs away. When legs are moving, there is weight shifting, momentum you can use, but the timing and execution, require training. I recomend Judo because, out on the streets 9 times out of 10 what you are indeed forced to do more often than not is quickly take someone's legs away. In Judo, they teach to sweep away the legs LIGHTLY kicked a downed man on the head to daze him, although the ribs are preferable, or the stomach to knock the wind out of him and then RUN.