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One of the more useful self-defense weapons is the extending baton. Batons are used by law enforcement and military worldwide to inflict non-lethal pain or potentially painful blows to incapacitate any opposing forces.
Once you know how to use one of these yourself, it can be the most versatile self-defense weapon. First, you should know where to strike for what results. There are three levels of trauma: green, yellow, and red.
Green is the lowest level of trauma. Green strikes will usually result in temporary injuries, and cause pain to the attacker. Green areas are the arms, legs, shins, feet, hands, and shoulders.
The next level of trauma is yellow. Yellow strikes are still temporary, but are much longer lasting. These result in much higher levels of pain, as well. Yellow areas are the knees, elbows, most of the torso, and the groin.
You would want to strike yellow areas in order to get away. When striking joints, you want to hit them to cause pain, so hit the kneecaps and butt of the elbow. This may even shatter that joint, completely incapacitating your attacker.
Finally, there’s the red level of trauma. The red areas are the head, neck, solar plexus, and the length of the spine going down to the tailbone. You’ll notice that these areas mostly make up the central nervous system.
Damaging these areas can cause unconsciousness, shock, and even death. Only hit these areas if you’re willing to let that criminal die. Now you have to make the right selection.
Check online to see if carrying a baton like this is even legal in your state, first. In many, such as California, Texas, Massachusetts, New York, etc. it’s illegal. If your state allows them to be carried, you should be able to find one online for about $20.
Some are very expensive, such as ASP, but there’s really no good reason for it. A hard piece of metal is a hard piece of metal. Once you’ve found yourself in a situation where self-defense will be necessary, you should give your attacker a warning if possible.
If they’re running at you, don’t waste your time or hesitate, but if they’re walking towards you, give them a shout and maybe you won’t have to use it at all. If they ignore the warning, if your life isn’t in utmost danger, strike them in a green or yellow area.
However, don’t hesitate to strike a red area if you believe they have intent to cause you serious injury. In a case like this, it may be life or death and you want to protect yourself at all costs.
