Home Self defence options for physically weak person

[mograph]

Sorry to hear -- it looks as if you're in a bad situation. Based on what you've written, you're basically in the same spot as a very elderly person: no speed, no strength, no endurance. Is that right?

Aside from setting traps in the house, which may be illegal, I think you need to move to a place that can take care of you, or you need to have someone else fight for you.

And that someone should be a healthy, lively, sharp-toothed dog, in my opinion.

Sorry for the harsh outlook, but even healthy, fit people have a hard time defending themselves against a committed attacker without serious, specific training. Without health or fitness (or a gun), we really need to have someone else protect us.
Of course, talking to the police about your options should be the first thing. Good luck.

A couple of links:
Self defence for the elderly - using an NHS walking stick
Self Defense Tips for the Elderly & Seniors

 

[Aiki Lee]

Are tasers legal in the UK? Is that an option?

 

[mograph]

Are tasers legal in the UK? Is that an option?

"Conducted Electrical Weapons (CEWs) are restricted by Section 5 Authority of the Home Office for supply only to UK Police" How to Buy TASER Products - United Kingdom

Q766: Can I use a Taser for self defence?

Q589: Are there any legal self defence products that I can buy?

 

[Tez3]

Tasers are indeed illegal here except for use by police officers. Even if legal I don't think they'd be a good weapon for the OP to use. if it were taken off him and used against him it would have catastrophic consequences.
It's legal to pick up anything (even a gun) and use it if you are threatened but it's not really the legality of the weapon that's the problem but rather the actual practical use of any article.

 

[Rayrob]

Tasers are indeed illegal here except for use by police officers. Even if legal I don't think they'd be a good weapon for the OP to use. if it were taken off him and used against him it would have catastrophic consequences.
It's legal to pick up anything (even a gun) and use it if you are threatened but it's not really the legality of the weapon that's the problem but rather the actual practical use of any article.

Your choice of weapon can indicate that there is a degree of premeditation in your actions, whereas the use of anything that could be around you anyway just looks better. I have had to use a weapon twice when I was attacked during the course of my employment on both occasions it was a Mag light torch. Both times the police were satisfied that I did so in self defence and it wasn't made an issue. Had I used a bat or knife then I am positive things could have turned out very differently.

 

[Tez3]

Your choice of weapon can indicate that there is a degree of premeditation in your actions, whereas the use of anything that could be around you anyway just looks better. I have had to use a weapon twice when I was attacked during the course of my employment on both occasions it was a Mag light torch. Both times the police were satisfied that I did so in self defence and it wasn't made an issue. Had I used a bat or knife then I am positive things could have turned out very differently.

Mag lights are very useful! I had all the standard equipment but really did love my Mag light.
Absolutely the choice of weapon can show premeditation, I think though people underestimate the police's understanding of self defence, the guilt of someone who used a weapon to defend themselves is never assumed until shown otherwise. A cricketer who had a collection of bats hitting an attacker in his house with a bat is not showing premeditation just his (dubious?) choice of sport lol.

 

[IceStorm]

Sorry i think the thread has gone slightly away from my first thoughts, it was really just asking for a weapon i could use for now that would be effective that i could continue and use when i start a MA class

iv come across more concerned than i really am, im not in a dodgy area or anything i never feel concerned when i am out with people and would happily go out walking around here at night alone (if the road was closed lol) it really was just one of those moments when i thought someone was breaking in and i found myself holding a bottle for my self defence and realised just how stupid i was being, i do have a 6"2 fit and healthy guy who lives here who can handle himself well enough, tbh even my sister is quite fit, they go to a great gym every day, bonus of running their own business, work when they want to near enough

my fitness is coming on but its still going to be another year before im back to normal weight, hopefully at that time the rest will fall into line once my weight is down it will be easier to work on my fitness as my 800 calories diet also does not promote energy to burn, but my weight is the side they care about, oddly they did not seem to push exercise like i thought they would, my routine they set is banana for breakfast then 5 minutes of light exercise on the bike or rowing machine (hr around 120), then back to bed till lunch which i have to eat between 12:00-13:00, then back to bed and up to eat dinner at 18:00 then i have to stay awake till 21:00 then back to bed.
i tend to do more exercise than that, i aim around 15 minutes on the rowing machine or 30 on the bike, plus try to stay awake all day now i eat around 17:00 and im normally in bed by 20:00 fall asleep whenever, got my nice Basis Peak watch to try and track my sleep quality and time im asleep, if i exercise to much or watch something flashy/goto supermarket i sleep really badly, watch shows it as lots of interruptions in my sleep, had 61 one night, but when i get it right i have a good nights sleep no interruptions and all is well, last week went the whole week with only 1 interruption, average of 13 hours sleep a day, just need to learn what i can and cant do in my new environment really

i was actually fitter about 6 months ago, but when i had to move due to money and splitting up with the girlfriend it took quite an impact on my daily routine, so im back on my routine now and slowly building up again, granted my fitness level may have nothing to do with when they let me back out on the streets alone, but its 6 months before my next eeg scan and hopefully another reduction in meds

but it sounds like my best course of action is to just get fitter in general before starting a class, though i will check with the Dr about the whole getting hit in the head thing, then assuming he says its fine, i can pick which weapon/MA to train for at the time, assuming by then iv not fallen into the first "quitter" group never know what fitness hobby will take my fancy by then, only thing im sure of it wont be something i used to do, apart from maybe golf, since i was rubbish at that anyway it would be like starting fresh

The link for the elderly really covers it for me for now, im rarely out so its not an issue and i don't look like a target, i just look a little over weight, scarey thing is i do only look alittle overweight yet im still classed as morbidly obese, dread to think what some peoples bmi's must be

 

[Tez3]

Sorry i think the thread has gone slightly away from my first thoughts, it was really just asking for a weapon i could use for now that would be effective that i could continue and use when i start a MA class

Things do that here lol. Think of this place as a pub where we sit having conversations, yes there's info but subjects lead onto others, we have conversations rather than just post straight facts. It's an international site so viewpoints vary wildly depends on where the poster comes from.

Back to the point lol, it sounds as if you are doing everything right. The concerns about being hit to the head are very public at the moment, the dangers of anyone being hit are being discussed with the medics now believing that any blow to the head can be dangerous for anyone. There's far more research out now.

I would have a look at the Chinese martial arts, I don't have experience but there's plenty here who do, Tai Chi may be something that's good for you as it is also what I would call an art you can use offensively ( the CMA people will cringe but hopefully know what I mean lol !) as well as having other benefits.

 

[IceStorm]

Mag lights are very useful! I had all the standard equipment but really did love my Mag light.
Absolutely the choice of weapon can show premeditation, I think though people underestimate the police's understanding of self defence, the guilt of someone who used a weapon to defend themselves is never assumed until shown otherwise. A cricketer who had a collection of bats hitting an attacker in his house with a bat is not showing premeditation just his (dubious?) choice of sport lol.

so two network cards connected by ethernet cable it is then lol, oh now im going to have to watch Kung Pow with the gopher chucks
tbh laptop would prob not be too bad, so many items around here im not sure i could have picked a worse item if i tried
if its a safe bet if anything did happen the police would probably wonder why i armed myself with whatever random item i did pickup over the far better items in the room at the time, bonus of my odd brain in action lol

 

[Tez3]

so two network cards connected by ethernet cable it is then lol, oh now im going to have to watch Kung Pow with the gopher chucks
tbh laptop would prob not be too bad, so many items around here im not sure i could have picked a worse item if i tried
if its a safe bet if anything did happen the police would probably wonder why i armed myself with whatever random item i did pickup over the far better items in the room at the time, bonus of my odd brain in action lol

Have you seen the FB meme where it says that if there was a zombie/alien/etc attack and you had to defend yourself with whatever is to your right, what would it be?

 

[IceStorm]

Have you seen the FB meme where it says that if there was a zombie/alien/etc attack and you had to defend yourself with whatever is to your right, what would it be?

right now that's either a laptop, a pile of dvd's handset for a remote control helicopter, nokia 3310 or a reel of fishing line

so the indestructible 3310

 

[Tez3]

Dvd's can make a nice weapon, the football hooligans use them to cut people, they use credit cards as well. Their favourite is small craft knives stuck together so they make parallel lines which are very hard for medics to stitch up without leaving a scar so more often than not the victim ends up with a scarred face.

 

[Xue Sheng]

IceStorm

I think before a weapon you need to address your other physical issues. A weapon can sometimes give one a false sense of security and it can lead to the aggressor taking the weapon away and using it against you.

As far as epilepsy goes Tai Chi and Yoga are both supposed to be good exercises for people with epilepsy. Also, if you find the right Taijiquan (tai chi chuan) class it will also get into self defense as well.

You may want to take a look at this article

Tai Chi Chuan as an aid to epilepsy

If you have any questions about taijiquan in your area feel free to PM me or ask here. I am not in England, I'm in the USA, so I have little direct experience with Taiji teacher there, but I know a few that are pretty good and if I can find their lineage I can probably tell you a little more about them

Best of Luck

 

[Tez3]

Exeter School of Tai Chi | Authentic Chen style Tai Chi, Exeter Classes, Tiverton Classes and private tuition ?

 

[IceStorm]

IceStorm

I think before a weapon you need to address your other physical issues. A weapon can sometimes give one a false sense of security and it can lead to the aggressor taking the weapon away and using it against you.

As far as epilepsy goes Tai Chi and Yoga are both supposed to be good exercises for people with epilepsy. Also, if you find the right Taijiquan (tai chi chuan) class it will also get into self defense as well.

You may want to take a look at this article

Tai Chi Chuan as an aid to epilepsy

If you have any questions about taijiquan in your area feel free to PM me or ask here. I am not in England, I'm in the USA, so I have little direct experience with Taiji teacher there, but I know a few that are pretty good and if I can find their lineage I can probably tell you a little more about them

Best of Luck

that's a very good read, its very much my thought process as well, i know im not meant to get too relaxed or too stressed and my mum who is a massage therapist is not allowed to work with anyone with epilepsy (annoying when i have a bad back)
i do find when im twitchy slow gentle movements help me feel more in control, cant say if its due to the fact im moving makes me less aware of the twitching or if its actually reducing the twitching, hence i like the powerballs
used to work well, currently i get no warning which is why its such a big issue and im not allowed out within someone with me, the feeling i used to have when a fit was coming is how i feel all the time these days, hence they think its either constant petit mals or side effects of the meds

i had not really thought of Tai Chi, but im not sure its something i could see myself doing for a fun hobby either, but again who knows, might be a nice way to start and if i enjoy it keep doing that rather than moving onto something else, i assume its more flexible requirements than general fitness at a starter level, god knows i need to be more flexible and its something i can do while not at a class

thanks i will book mark that and look into it,
once i have some money for taxi i can do trips to a class, as long as they know what to do if i have a fit and can get me back home its all good

 

[IceStorm]

Exeter School of Tai Chi | Authentic Chen style Tai Chi, Exeter Classes, Tiverton Classes and private tuition ?

looks really good, wont be long before my sister is working in exeter so i could get there without too much issue, class being an hour is quite good, that i could get away with sooner, looking at some videos it looks great, the combat side which i assume comes later looks like its nice and slow movements still

really like the idea, bit too far away for getting home after a lesson, but its not far from the train station so i could do taxi, train then taxi back, will need to wait till i'm confident i would get on and off the train at the right time, made that mistake a few times before i figured out busses and trains were off limits, but that's still several months before i would have the cash and her working there to really get away with it, so some more test trips when it gets closer to the time would be fine i'm sure

 

[Xue Sheng]

Understand there are many different styles of Taijiquan
Chen, Yang, Wu, Wu/Hao, Sun

You can look them up on Youtube. Chen is a bit more dynamic than the rest but Yang is likely more common. Also there is a derivative of Yang that comes form Cheng Manching that is also might fit your needs. as for Wu, it is generally harder to find and harder yet to find a good teacher. However the Wu family does have several certified teachers listed in England. As for Wu/Hao and Sun, those are hard to find just about anyplace.

There are also multiple other styles as well, Li, Zhaobao, etc. Note: Real Zhaobao is extremely rare outside of China

 

[IceStorm]

tbh as long as its easy to get to, not too fast/hard to keep up with and the teacher is prepared for the weak/elderly its fine,
well they have to keep me interested too, if i get bored its not going to work to well lol
its not like i would have any goal to be any belt or an interest it the competitive side, i just want a fun hobby to hide the exercise

 

[Tez3]

looks really good, wont be long before my sister is working in exeter so i could get there without too much issue, class being an hour is quite good, that i could get away with sooner, looking at some videos it looks great, the combat side which i assume comes later looks like its nice and slow movements still

really like the idea, bit too far away for getting home after a lesson, but its not far from the train station so i could do taxi, train then taxi back, will need to wait till i'm confident i would get on and off the train at the right time, made that mistake a few times before i figured out busses and trains were off limits, but that's still several months before i would have the cash and her working there to really get away with it, so some more test trips when it gets closer to the time would be fine i'm sure

Trains and buses are confusing at the best of times these days

I think it's good to look at lots of options, having a look at what's there, what suits you now and later as well as finding out what you don't want is all a positive thing isn't it.

 

[oftheherd1]

Things do that here lol. Think of this place as a pub where we sit having conversations, yes there's info but subjects lead onto others, we have conversations rather than just post straight facts. It's an international site so viewpoints vary wildly depends on where the poster comes from.

Back to the point lol, it sounds as if you are doing everything right. The concerns about being hit to the head are very public at the moment, the dangers of anyone being hit are being discussed with the medics now believing that any blow to the head can be dangerous for anyone. There's far more research out now.

I would have a look at the Chinese martial arts, I don't have experience but there's plenty here who do, Tai Chi may be something that's good for you as it is also what I would call an art you can use offensively ( the CMA people will cringe but hopefully know what I mean lol !) as well as having other benefits.

Just curious why you make that statement. I once saw a Tai Chi practitioner demonstrate very effectively how his style and application of Tai Chi made it an effective martial art. He displayed amazing energy.