A very important aspect of self-defense is learning how to use objects on hand as expedient weapons.
First, because in a crisis, whatever may be right in front of you – on your desk or dinner table, possibly on a shelf (if you are in a store, etc.) – will offer you the advantage of having some kind of weapon in an imminent attack. Second, if you live in an oppressed city and you cannot go legally armed with a firearm, you may desperately need this knowledge and skill. Finally, being able to employ improvised and expedient weapons may one day save your life in a possible hostage situation.
When I teach escape and evasion skills in the urban setting, I never fail to explain how, when held captive, it often is possible to secure some kind of implement, use it lethally to neutralize an abductor, and get away. Anyone can do this providing they possess the requisite know-how.
I was once given a T-shirt on which “DR. DOOM” was lettered. The men who gave it to me had just been taught my course in unconventional and improvised weapons. Most of them were combat veterans and quite proficient and experienced with firearms.
They all expressed genuine surprise that so many objects are usable as a weapon in an emergency. (In fact, nearly anything you can take into your hand!) There is some way to use just about anything to cut, pierce, slash, jab, bludgeon, choke or strangle, or distract an adversary in close combat/self-defense encounters.
In this article, I would like to discuss just one item (well, two, actually) that make an excellent self-defense weapon. The item? A simple fishing sinker. The first way to use it as a weapon I discovered years ago in Kurt Saxon’s classic book, “The Poor Man’s James Bond.” He described what he called the “sinker basher.”
Take a strong length of cord (say two and a half to three feet – or adjust as your experience dictates), and tie one end to the sinker. You’ll want a relatively large, heavy sinker. Secure the sinker to the cord. You now have a flail which, if swung powerfully and deftly, could potentially crack the skull of an assailant upon impact. Carry the sinker basher in your outer pocket. A little practice will enable you to pull it and swing it by complete surprise. And there’s a bonus: a fishing sinker and a cord is legal.
The second method of using a fishing sinker I learned from a seaman whom, on leave, visited me at my school and shared his interesting invention with me. He devised it for times when, in port, he wanted to have a weapon on his person just in case.
I call his invention the “sinker jack.” In effect, it is an expedient blackjack.
You take a nice, heavy fishing sinker and wrap it in an ordinary handkerchief. Bind the thing with a couple of strong rubber bands. The bound end is the portion you grab and hold onto. Use the encased sinker as a smashing blackjack-like weapon against the assiliant’s face or the skull. Frankly, I personally prefer this to the sinker basher. Keep it in an outer pocket until or unless needed.
Alternative: The second weapon, very similar in use to the fishing sinker, is a heavy padlock. This weapon is popular, as I understand it, amongst outlaw bikers (gotta give credit where and when it’s due!). This is my favorite version of the improvised striking weapon, as I like the added weight of the padlock, and I love the method of carry and instant access. You take your padlock and tie the corner of a handkerchief or bandana very tightly and securely to the padlock’s hasp. Put the padlock in your back pocket, taking care to leave a small section of the handkerchief protruding. Looks just like you’ve got a handkerchief in your back pocket; not suspicious at all.
In an emergency, grab the end of your handkerchief and pull the weapon from your pocket, using it as a powerful flail. The size and weight padlock you employ will depend upon your preference.
The best way to employ the weapons described is by combining their use with some good unarmed combat tactics, i.e. a fast kick to the knee or shin followed by striking with the weapon.
I trust this information contributes to your self-confidence and your ability to defend yourself if the need ever arises.
Best of luck!
by Bradley J. Steiner
