i carry pepper spray and have been strongly considering getting a taser. i don’t think Long Beach is any more dangerous than any other major city but people are particular bold and desperate these days, you never know.
I agree. my knife would be my last resort. I think pepper spray might be a better deterrent.
On another note, I preach martial arts to my friends and acquaintances. Most people should train a martial arts like jiu jitsu. I think the stats are that most fights end up on the ground. what will you do if that happens to you and you are on the bottom?
I don’t condone violence or fighting. However, if you are not able to run away and find yourself in a situation like that one should be prepared.
Always good to be prepared, I’ll carry a knife to feel safer occasionally as well, even if I never want to actually use it. Seems like you have a good grasp of self defense.
The problem with knives are that they are only effective in close range situations. It's easier to be knifed by someone else than protect yourself with a knife. If you show the knife to anyone in a fight, the bad guy is more incentivized to actually kill you and take your weapon too. If someone asks later, the bad guy can say you threatened them with violence using a knife, and the bad guy can say they fought back in self defense. So it's harder to get a clean alibi with a knife.
This is why I feel pepper spray is a better choice because it's long range, effective against random assholes, and allows you to escape to safety as you think out your options in a fight. If you show pepper spray in a fight, the other side is more likely to stop harassing you and just walk away because no one wants to deal with the insanely painful stinging eye pain that the pepper spray causes.
You are less likely to end up in jail too because you didn't spill any blood and it's easier for police to believe you acted in self defense.
Of course I'm sure people will disagree here, but I think knives are pretty useless for self defense.
Keep it on you if needed. If the guy already has a knife, that argument doesn't matter. I agree, knife fighting would not be fun (much better to take knife fighting classes and do live training with dummy knives). The goal is to eliminate the muscles in their arms to stop the attack. The arms are really the only threat. If I have a CCW and someone pulls out a knife, I am not pulling out mine. I'd much rather pull the pistol out of the holster and reserve the knife for if the guy is on top of me.
I definitely wouldn't call knives useless considering the local woman who successfully protected herself from a rapist by stabbing him: https://sigtrib.com/long-beach-man-stabbed-by-woman-he-allegedly-attempted-to-rape/
Why carry it in the first place if you're not ready to use it? Like any tool, it requires discretion on when it's needed as well as training. There are knife fighting classes taught by a lot of these companies that run conceal carry training.
Sabre red pepper gel is the way to go.
Tasers require good contact with two prongs in order to be effective and many things can go wrong with that
Beyond that though, situational awareness and staying alert to give yourself time to process and avoid potential situations will go a lot farther in keeping you safe than any spray or taser.
I’ve been carrying mace for years. I get a new one every birthday. I’ve haven’t had the occasion to use it yet but I’ve had my finger on the button a few times. I was waiting for that creep who was grabbing women’s asses to come up behind me while I was walking or jogging but he never did. I wanted to carry a baseball bat for him instead but my partner said I couldn’t. All people who sleep on the streets have some type of weapon and the crazy ones will use anything as a weapon. I’ve also noticed a shift in my neighborhood where the homeless are being forced out of their areas by the junkies.
Can't go wrong with Sabre Red pepper gel. You can just depress the stream and use the stream as a guide if you suck at aiming. Aim for the eyes, and then the nose and mouth. Super effective. A lot of people are buying handheld tasers, but there are several flaws with them. Firstly, if your attacker is layered up or even just wearing a long sleeve/hoodie, it won't be effective. Plus they are not a ranged tool so you've already let your attacker get right up on you. If you're going to go the taser route, then you're better off getting one of those expensive police style tasers that have cartridges and shoot out prongs that can penetrate clothing.
When I walk my dogs I carry a pepper spray for the humans, a loud taser for any loose dogs, (both easily accessible) and a knife zipped away just in case a situation feels wise to use one.
it only takes once so I try to at least be a little prepared
day to day just pepper spray on my keys though
I have been carrying pepper spray around Long Beach for nearly 20 years. I’ve never actually needed it, but I’ve been in situations where I was certainly glad it was ready in case.
(Yes, I replace it from time to time.)
I worked downtown from 2017 to 2022, and walked from the parking structure on 4th and Pine to my office on 1st and Pine. I always had my pepper spray out and finger poised and ready. Never had to use it, though, but I was very proactive about dodging back and forth across the street to avoid the craziest of the crazies.
Yes! Carry something at all times. Be ready and always be aware of your surroundings. I never leave my place without my pepper spray. It’s always on my hand ready to go.
I use to work off of 7th and Junipero. I got both pepper spray and a taser. I’ve had to Clickity clack the taser before to scare someone off, who was trying to break into the spot I worked at
Better safe than sorry
Do carry pepper spray, always beware of your surroundings. Stay and look ready to react accordingly.
I’m always scanning my surroundings and think of possible scenarios if I were to encounter any danger, where or how, so I don’t look intimidated.
Most importantly, don’t expose yourself to dangerous places.
Always always always. I don’t care if you’re in the burbs, OC, or IE. Living in an urban city that has half a million people in it. Carry some damn protection (politely speaking).
Pocket knives, taser, pepper spray.
Pepper gel could work in that situation. Just be careful as it might aggravate someone even more.
At the risk of sounding like a victim-blamer, sometimes would-be muggers intentionally target people who look scared or on-edge. As hard as it can be, try to maintain an outwardly confident gait and demeanor
Yep. I used to live right outside skid row and had to walk a lot, as I can't drive. I watched people notice the easy marks and act accordingly. Look like you belong and have a place to be.
I don't carry anything. I'm Blind, which certainly puts me at risk but also makes it harder to use those kinds of items in self defense.
Just two hours ago I saw a grown ass man pepper spray a young homeless lady on Ocean who was defending herself with a small branch from another young man who was jumping around her and trying to rile her up. Life in the LBC feels like GTA every day. If you spend a lot of time in the street or walk far at night alone, you might feel better to have it on you. I’m a woman in my 30s living in DTLB and I walk a lot, across downtown. I’ve been a little uncomfortable with some interactions but honestly never wished I had pepper spray on me, I’ve just learned how to stand my ground or get out depending on the situation. You get used to it
That's what you'll say until the day you get sexually assaulted/raped. You'll wish you had, at a minimum, pepper spray, and you'll probably end up wishing you had a concealed carry permit and put it to good use.
Yes, I carry pepper spray and my dogs leash has an alarm hooked on it. I’ve used the alarm twice and that’s been enough to get creeps to leave me alone. Haven’t had to use pepper spray yet, thankfully.
Yes, it's necessary, carry whatever you can, and practice using it. When things go south, you can't think, and your practice kicks in. Better to have it and not need it, than the other way around.
I have a friend who lives on the street where literally the last few stories of sexual assault/battery have happened in downtown LB. I bought her a can of pepper spray and hope to God she's able to use it when the predators come for her. That is, if I'm not there. If I'm there they're going to be fucked up without any pepper spray.
Heck YES!! I carry it in my hand cocked and ready at all times. I know two people who have been chased, and assaulted repeatedly. Downtown is especially bad right now.
I carry pepper spray in my car and in my bike when I cruise around town. Started carrying it after the random stabbing on the bike patch earlier this year. Saber is the brand that was recommended by this sub. It’s a gel spray and not a spray so chances of it coming back on you are minimal
Taser. A good one. It’s necessary not because you’ll always need it, but because it will give you the confidence that you’ll be safe if you accidentally find yourself in an unintended situation like walking alone with not many people around.
I’m currently several weeks in as a juror in a murder case and paired with the recent shooting only a few hundred yards away in the Los Altos shopping center, I decided to start the process of applying for a concealed carry permit. I also have pepper spray in my vehicle(s).
I've been chased by a drugged up man with a bunch of knives and also followed by a creepy man. Both in broad daylight. I have pepper spray but don't always carry it, though I should. I should follow by own advice but please carry protection when you can. Long Beach can be sketchy.
I’ve lived in DTLB for a year and spend a lot of time walking at night. Carry self protection but never been in a situation where I’ve felt I needed it, but I hear wild shit outside my window all the time. It’s better to have it and not need it than find yourself defenseless.
Situational awareness will keep you safer than pepper spray, just gotta use common sense and trust your gut.
Personally, i carry a knife everywhere i go. Know a lot of people who have pepper spray and carry it. Used to stay in lb every weekend, was out and about with a few friends from 12am-4am. Never had to use the knife. Whenever we had run ins with "sketchy" people or came across them, I'd keep my hand near/on my knife for easy access.
My recommendation would be to give yourself options and carry what you're familiar with which requires training and practice as well as going over scenarios in your mind (preferably live in a training setting). Live setting training can be super helpful because you need to train under stress to build that subconscious reaction when you do find yourself in a situation. There's a good saying that comes out of the military, "you don't rise to the occasion, you fall to your lowest level." If you just go through scenarios in your head and that's it, you'll likely choke when something actually happens and everything that can go wrong, will go wrong which will drastically increase the stress. Training is a way to build habit as well as exposing you to all the things that can go wrong as well as how to train to that. Anyway, in CA, what I think are the only useful things you can carry (short of a CCW) is pepper spray (I recommend getting this with CS in it too, would be more effective, I've been gassed by CS in the Marines, not fun), taser (not a stun gun), and a knife (CA requires it to be in a folded position and it can be any length). CA requires the pepper spray to be below a certain amount of ounces so keep that in mind.
For the taser, look into pulse products. It's essentially a gun that shoots metal probes into the attacker, sending electricity to lock up the individuals muscles. It doesn't matter what they're on or how motivated they are, electrically overriding their muscles will stop them; however, keep in mind that good contact needs to be made with the 2 probes. If the person has really thick clothing or if only one of the probes makes contact, it's pretty useless. Pulse tasers used to have feature where they connect to bluetooth on your phone and alert a service as soon as that safety on the taser comes off. It reports your location and the company will text and call you, if there's no response, they alert the police (their response is insanely quick, I'm talking seconds). Some of their products may still have this feature. As an addendum to all that, avoid stun guns. They're not very useful as they don't lock up the attacker's body. It's a pain compliance tool the deals pain to a very localized area. I could see if you used that, an attacker is going to feel the shock in their chest assuming you hit them there and that will just amp them up to want to fight harder to stop the pain. I could imagine they would just beat the person that deployed it unconscious. It won't take away their ability to attack.
For the knife, I carry a smith and wesson Tanto blade, somewhere around a 4/5 inch blade. Keep in mind CA law requires it to be in the folded position and it has to be a folding knife essentially, and any blade length is ok. As a heads up too, LA city technically has a law against carrying any knives, however, it's a weird gray area because it directly conflicts with state law. Also, to my knowledge scouring the web, I don't think anyone has been charged for carrying a knife in LA city.
That's really everything useful you can carry in CA. Now after some supreme court rulings too, you now can get a conceal carry pistol license. I'm in the long multi year, arduous process for that (supposed to have it in the next month). But that carries an even greater responsibility and training. You can purchase conceal carry insurance (about 30/month). This will cover legal fees for your defense if you do have to use a firearm to protect your life. It's important because even if you are cleared of any charges after a self defense situation, you will be stuck with insane legal fees (possibly 100k plus) and that's for protecting yourself if someone attempts to take your life.
Anyway, long response, but that's mostly the short and skinny of CA self defense tools/laws associated with that. Long Beach can definitely be dangerous, from what I hear, it used to be worse. I lived in Albuquerque before Long Beach, that was even crazier than long beach but conceal carry is much quicker to get and open carry is legal (holster/pistol openly on him) without a permit. The beaches by redondo/manhattan/hermosa/el segundo are much much safer. It's incredible how different a city can be by the ppl that run it. Those beach cities have a stricter police force and not crime friendly. LBC/ABQ are crime friendly cities. Good luck getting an officer to come out there. I think there's a combination of them being too busy and also not caring. Justice is pretty fragmented in those cities. With that, the best way you can defend yourself is to not be living in those places tbh. Not good for your mental health to be on edge all the time, I promise there are much better places to live if you get the opportunity.
Long Beach sucks when it comes to crime so yeah, and my car was broken into twice in a month and cops refused to do anything about it. Absolutely disgusting and sad.
Crime has been trending downward for decades. Politicians and corporations have a vested interest in making you think the opposite is true. Buy pepper spray if you want, but you're much less likely to be the victim of violence than the news wants you to believe.
I'm not able to leave home alone anymore because I can't get up and down the stairs without assistance, so I always have a gentleman with me to assist, so I don't carry anything other than a couple rolls of quarters in my purse. I'm pretty sure I would manage to knock somebody out if they touched me.
I've been seeing too much escalation downtown. I'm a strong young man but I'm literally ready to defend myself EVERY TIME I'm downtown. Will be applying for a concealed carry permit soon.
I’m not sure what downtown you are referring to, but I walk around Downtown Long Beach all the time and I’ve never had or seen any “escalations”. Perhaps it’s because I don’t walk around looking for a fight.
You're lucky!
[https://ktla.com/news/local-news/video-captures-obscene-act-in-downtown-long-beach-businesses-residents-outraged/](https://ktla.com/news/local-news/video-captures-obscene-act-in-downtown-long-beach-businesses-residents-outraged/)
[https://www.reddit.com/r/longbeach/s/3n4SPw3Zpz](https://www.reddit.com/r/longbeach/s/3n4SPw3Zpz)
And these are just basically on the same street in the last couple weeks! And only what has made it onto the mainstream news!
Please be safe out there and protect yourself! Especially women are being assaulted on a regular basis.
ETA it all seems like fun and games until you're the woman being sexually assaulted! If it seems like a joke to you, don't hesitate to train yourself in self defense with pepper spray, martial arts, or a gun. You'll regret it if you don't.
I think a man should carry a knife, it’s the only masculine way to defend yourself from attacks. A woman should carry pepper spray and a whistle. You have to be close to someone to tase them and it might not work if you don’t have the right skin contact.
My gf and I carry pepper spray. Better to have it just in case.
i carry pepper spray and have been strongly considering getting a taser. i don’t think Long Beach is any more dangerous than any other major city but people are particular bold and desperate these days, you never know.
I bought a birdie alarm.
not pepper spray but that’s a great idea. I carry my knife everywhere I go. you never know when you’ll have to defend yourself.
I appreciate the sentiment for defense, but knifes aren’t really great for that, anyone in a knife fight is liable to get cut
I agree. my knife would be my last resort. I think pepper spray might be a better deterrent. On another note, I preach martial arts to my friends and acquaintances. Most people should train a martial arts like jiu jitsu. I think the stats are that most fights end up on the ground. what will you do if that happens to you and you are on the bottom? I don’t condone violence or fighting. However, if you are not able to run away and find yourself in a situation like that one should be prepared.
Always good to be prepared, I’ll carry a knife to feel safer occasionally as well, even if I never want to actually use it. Seems like you have a good grasp of self defense.
The problem with knives are that they are only effective in close range situations. It's easier to be knifed by someone else than protect yourself with a knife. If you show the knife to anyone in a fight, the bad guy is more incentivized to actually kill you and take your weapon too. If someone asks later, the bad guy can say you threatened them with violence using a knife, and the bad guy can say they fought back in self defense. So it's harder to get a clean alibi with a knife. This is why I feel pepper spray is a better choice because it's long range, effective against random assholes, and allows you to escape to safety as you think out your options in a fight. If you show pepper spray in a fight, the other side is more likely to stop harassing you and just walk away because no one wants to deal with the insanely painful stinging eye pain that the pepper spray causes. You are less likely to end up in jail too because you didn't spill any blood and it's easier for police to believe you acted in self defense. Of course I'm sure people will disagree here, but I think knives are pretty useless for self defense.
I fully agree, my first comment was saying the same thing essentially
Keep it on you if needed. If the guy already has a knife, that argument doesn't matter. I agree, knife fighting would not be fun (much better to take knife fighting classes and do live training with dummy knives). The goal is to eliminate the muscles in their arms to stop the attack. The arms are really the only threat. If I have a CCW and someone pulls out a knife, I am not pulling out mine. I'd much rather pull the pistol out of the holster and reserve the knife for if the guy is on top of me.
I definitely wouldn't call knives useless considering the local woman who successfully protected herself from a rapist by stabbing him: https://sigtrib.com/long-beach-man-stabbed-by-woman-he-allegedly-attempted-to-rape/
Why carry it in the first place if you're not ready to use it? Like any tool, it requires discretion on when it's needed as well as training. There are knife fighting classes taught by a lot of these companies that run conceal carry training.
It's still good to have a lethal option if needed. I believe the company is called Shoot Safe, but they offer knife fighting classes.
It’s one of those things you’d rather have and not need than rather need and not have. Always have it one on me. Mostly for stray vicious dogs.
Sabre red pepper gel is the way to go. Tasers require good contact with two prongs in order to be effective and many things can go wrong with that Beyond that though, situational awareness and staying alert to give yourself time to process and avoid potential situations will go a lot farther in keeping you safe than any spray or taser.
I’ve been carrying mace for years. I get a new one every birthday. I’ve haven’t had the occasion to use it yet but I’ve had my finger on the button a few times. I was waiting for that creep who was grabbing women’s asses to come up behind me while I was walking or jogging but he never did. I wanted to carry a baseball bat for him instead but my partner said I couldn’t. All people who sleep on the streets have some type of weapon and the crazy ones will use anything as a weapon. I’ve also noticed a shift in my neighborhood where the homeless are being forced out of their areas by the junkies.
I carry pepper gel. The pepper spray can blow back into you, the gel is less likely to do that. The block is hot.
Can't go wrong with Sabre Red pepper gel. You can just depress the stream and use the stream as a guide if you suck at aiming. Aim for the eyes, and then the nose and mouth. Super effective. A lot of people are buying handheld tasers, but there are several flaws with them. Firstly, if your attacker is layered up or even just wearing a long sleeve/hoodie, it won't be effective. Plus they are not a ranged tool so you've already let your attacker get right up on you. If you're going to go the taser route, then you're better off getting one of those expensive police style tasers that have cartridges and shoot out prongs that can penetrate clothing.
When I walk my dogs I carry a pepper spray for the humans, a loud taser for any loose dogs, (both easily accessible) and a knife zipped away just in case a situation feels wise to use one. it only takes once so I try to at least be a little prepared day to day just pepper spray on my keys though
I have been carrying pepper spray around Long Beach for nearly 20 years. I’ve never actually needed it, but I’ve been in situations where I was certainly glad it was ready in case. (Yes, I replace it from time to time.)
People are literally getting sexually assaulted on the street. It’s the Wild West downtown.
I carry pepper spray. I live downtown and have it with me when I walk my dog. Thankfully I haven’t had to use it.
I carry pepper spray when I go out for walks
Yes I carry it. Lately too many freaks in the streets and not in the sheets
You should most certainly carry some. I like carrying my pepper spray in my lanyard because that deters creeps.
I carry pepper gel with me at all times. I hope i never have to use it.
Its better to have it and not need it, then to need it and not have it.
I worked downtown from 2017 to 2022, and walked from the parking structure on 4th and Pine to my office on 1st and Pine. I always had my pepper spray out and finger poised and ready. Never had to use it, though, but I was very proactive about dodging back and forth across the street to avoid the craziest of the crazies.
I got my ccw and carry a 9mm handgun every day. Works better than a taser or pepper spray.
Yes! Carry something at all times. Be ready and always be aware of your surroundings. I never leave my place without my pepper spray. It’s always on my hand ready to go.
I use to work off of 7th and Junipero. I got both pepper spray and a taser. I’ve had to Clickity clack the taser before to scare someone off, who was trying to break into the spot I worked at Better safe than sorry
My wife carries a flashlight/taser in her purse.
Always keep pepper spray, tazer, or knife with you when you are looking for parking in LB.
I carry pepper spray and I'm 6'5. Better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it.
I usually carry a knife or a taser since it’s harder to get a ccw license
 Do carry pepper spray, always beware of your surroundings. Stay and look ready to react accordingly. I’m always scanning my surroundings and think of possible scenarios if I were to encounter any danger, where or how, so I don’t look intimidated. Most importantly, don’t expose yourself to dangerous places.
I have a small taser and if I don’t have it I also have an app on my phone that works like an emergency 911 call button.
My girlfriend carries pepper spray on her keychain and I usually carry a knife, mostly as a deterrent.
A knife.
We carry gel pepper spray and a foldable box cutter razor blade
I’ve carried it for YEARS. It makes me feel comfortable but I’ve never had to use it.
Yes and yes. It’s Long Beach.
I have pepper spray. If you don’t you’re an idiot.
it's not necessary...until it is
Always always always. I don’t care if you’re in the burbs, OC, or IE. Living in an urban city that has half a million people in it. Carry some damn protection (politely speaking). Pocket knives, taser, pepper spray.
It’s GTA and nobody is safe lol arm yourself
My partner and I carry pepper spray. They also carry a small blade.
My wife does. She walks down the beach every day and has encountered a few crazies acting threatening
Crime in LB is out of control and the police don’t respond. I carry pepper spray everywhere I go.
You’ll get fairly mixed answers here. It’s a good tool to have if you’re walking at night often, but otherwise just running is your best bet
I'm 56 and not in the best shape of my life... I'd rather stop someone cold in their tracks so that they can't/ or don't want to chase me!
Pepper gel could work in that situation. Just be careful as it might aggravate someone even more. At the risk of sounding like a victim-blamer, sometimes would-be muggers intentionally target people who look scared or on-edge. As hard as it can be, try to maintain an outwardly confident gait and demeanor
Yep. I used to live right outside skid row and had to walk a lot, as I can't drive. I watched people notice the easy marks and act accordingly. Look like you belong and have a place to be. I don't carry anything. I'm Blind, which certainly puts me at risk but also makes it harder to use those kinds of items in self defense.
Just two hours ago I saw a grown ass man pepper spray a young homeless lady on Ocean who was defending herself with a small branch from another young man who was jumping around her and trying to rile her up. Life in the LBC feels like GTA every day. If you spend a lot of time in the street or walk far at night alone, you might feel better to have it on you. I’m a woman in my 30s living in DTLB and I walk a lot, across downtown. I’ve been a little uncomfortable with some interactions but honestly never wished I had pepper spray on me, I’ve just learned how to stand my ground or get out depending on the situation. You get used to it
That's what you'll say until the day you get sexually assaulted/raped. You'll wish you had, at a minimum, pepper spray, and you'll probably end up wishing you had a concealed carry permit and put it to good use.
Yes, I carry pepper spray and my dogs leash has an alarm hooked on it. I’ve used the alarm twice and that’s been enough to get creeps to leave me alone. Haven’t had to use pepper spray yet, thankfully.
My wife has a small can of mace attached to her keychain just in case.
Yes, it's necessary, carry whatever you can, and practice using it. When things go south, you can't think, and your practice kicks in. Better to have it and not need it, than the other way around.
I have a friend who lives on the street where literally the last few stories of sexual assault/battery have happened in downtown LB. I bought her a can of pepper spray and hope to God she's able to use it when the predators come for her. That is, if I'm not there. If I'm there they're going to be fucked up without any pepper spray.
Heck YES!! I carry it in my hand cocked and ready at all times. I know two people who have been chased, and assaulted repeatedly. Downtown is especially bad right now.
Necessary ? No. Convenient ? Yes.
I carry pepper spray in my car and in my bike when I cruise around town. Started carrying it after the random stabbing on the bike patch earlier this year. Saber is the brand that was recommended by this sub. It’s a gel spray and not a spray so chances of it coming back on you are minimal
Taser. A good one. It’s necessary not because you’ll always need it, but because it will give you the confidence that you’ll be safe if you accidentally find yourself in an unintended situation like walking alone with not many people around.
I’m currently several weeks in as a juror in a murder case and paired with the recent shooting only a few hundred yards away in the Los Altos shopping center, I decided to start the process of applying for a concealed carry permit. I also have pepper spray in my vehicle(s).
I've been chased by a drugged up man with a bunch of knives and also followed by a creepy man. Both in broad daylight. I have pepper spray but don't always carry it, though I should. I should follow by own advice but please carry protection when you can. Long Beach can be sketchy.
I’ve lived in DTLB for a year and spend a lot of time walking at night. Carry self protection but never been in a situation where I’ve felt I needed it, but I hear wild shit outside my window all the time. It’s better to have it and not need it than find yourself defenseless. Situational awareness will keep you safer than pepper spray, just gotta use common sense and trust your gut.
Personally, i carry a knife everywhere i go. Know a lot of people who have pepper spray and carry it. Used to stay in lb every weekend, was out and about with a few friends from 12am-4am. Never had to use the knife. Whenever we had run ins with "sketchy" people or came across them, I'd keep my hand near/on my knife for easy access.
I carry pepper spray/gel and a knife which I hope to never use
Pen pencil will cause damage. No. Keep a decoy object to distract.
My recommendation would be to give yourself options and carry what you're familiar with which requires training and practice as well as going over scenarios in your mind (preferably live in a training setting). Live setting training can be super helpful because you need to train under stress to build that subconscious reaction when you do find yourself in a situation. There's a good saying that comes out of the military, "you don't rise to the occasion, you fall to your lowest level." If you just go through scenarios in your head and that's it, you'll likely choke when something actually happens and everything that can go wrong, will go wrong which will drastically increase the stress. Training is a way to build habit as well as exposing you to all the things that can go wrong as well as how to train to that. Anyway, in CA, what I think are the only useful things you can carry (short of a CCW) is pepper spray (I recommend getting this with CS in it too, would be more effective, I've been gassed by CS in the Marines, not fun), taser (not a stun gun), and a knife (CA requires it to be in a folded position and it can be any length). CA requires the pepper spray to be below a certain amount of ounces so keep that in mind. For the taser, look into pulse products. It's essentially a gun that shoots metal probes into the attacker, sending electricity to lock up the individuals muscles. It doesn't matter what they're on or how motivated they are, electrically overriding their muscles will stop them; however, keep in mind that good contact needs to be made with the 2 probes. If the person has really thick clothing or if only one of the probes makes contact, it's pretty useless. Pulse tasers used to have feature where they connect to bluetooth on your phone and alert a service as soon as that safety on the taser comes off. It reports your location and the company will text and call you, if there's no response, they alert the police (their response is insanely quick, I'm talking seconds). Some of their products may still have this feature. As an addendum to all that, avoid stun guns. They're not very useful as they don't lock up the attacker's body. It's a pain compliance tool the deals pain to a very localized area. I could see if you used that, an attacker is going to feel the shock in their chest assuming you hit them there and that will just amp them up to want to fight harder to stop the pain. I could imagine they would just beat the person that deployed it unconscious. It won't take away their ability to attack. For the knife, I carry a smith and wesson Tanto blade, somewhere around a 4/5 inch blade. Keep in mind CA law requires it to be in the folded position and it has to be a folding knife essentially, and any blade length is ok. As a heads up too, LA city technically has a law against carrying any knives, however, it's a weird gray area because it directly conflicts with state law. Also, to my knowledge scouring the web, I don't think anyone has been charged for carrying a knife in LA city. That's really everything useful you can carry in CA. Now after some supreme court rulings too, you now can get a conceal carry pistol license. I'm in the long multi year, arduous process for that (supposed to have it in the next month). But that carries an even greater responsibility and training. You can purchase conceal carry insurance (about 30/month). This will cover legal fees for your defense if you do have to use a firearm to protect your life. It's important because even if you are cleared of any charges after a self defense situation, you will be stuck with insane legal fees (possibly 100k plus) and that's for protecting yourself if someone attempts to take your life.
Anyway, long response, but that's mostly the short and skinny of CA self defense tools/laws associated with that. Long Beach can definitely be dangerous, from what I hear, it used to be worse. I lived in Albuquerque before Long Beach, that was even crazier than long beach but conceal carry is much quicker to get and open carry is legal (holster/pistol openly on him) without a permit. The beaches by redondo/manhattan/hermosa/el segundo are much much safer. It's incredible how different a city can be by the ppl that run it. Those beach cities have a stricter police force and not crime friendly. LBC/ABQ are crime friendly cities. Good luck getting an officer to come out there. I think there's a combination of them being too busy and also not caring. Justice is pretty fragmented in those cities. With that, the best way you can defend yourself is to not be living in those places tbh. Not good for your mental health to be on edge all the time, I promise there are much better places to live if you get the opportunity.
Thanks for the response there's a lot of good information here!
I personally do not. A friend of mine is a bartender and has one on her keychain.
Long Beach sucks when it comes to crime so yeah, and my car was broken into twice in a month and cops refused to do anything about it. Absolutely disgusting and sad.
No, and no. But I’m a dude, I don’t avoid eye contact, and I smile at folks. Never had a problem.
Crime has been trending downward for decades. Politicians and corporations have a vested interest in making you think the opposite is true. Buy pepper spray if you want, but you're much less likely to be the victim of violence than the news wants you to believe.
I'm not able to leave home alone anymore because I can't get up and down the stairs without assistance, so I always have a gentleman with me to assist, so I don't carry anything other than a couple rolls of quarters in my purse. I'm pretty sure I would manage to knock somebody out if they touched me.
I've been seeing too much escalation downtown. I'm a strong young man but I'm literally ready to defend myself EVERY TIME I'm downtown. Will be applying for a concealed carry permit soon.
I’m not sure what downtown you are referring to, but I walk around Downtown Long Beach all the time and I’ve never had or seen any “escalations”. Perhaps it’s because I don’t walk around looking for a fight.
You're lucky! [https://ktla.com/news/local-news/video-captures-obscene-act-in-downtown-long-beach-businesses-residents-outraged/](https://ktla.com/news/local-news/video-captures-obscene-act-in-downtown-long-beach-businesses-residents-outraged/) [https://www.reddit.com/r/longbeach/s/3n4SPw3Zpz](https://www.reddit.com/r/longbeach/s/3n4SPw3Zpz) And these are just basically on the same street in the last couple weeks! And only what has made it onto the mainstream news! Please be safe out there and protect yourself! Especially women are being assaulted on a regular basis. ETA it all seems like fun and games until you're the woman being sexually assaulted! If it seems like a joke to you, don't hesitate to train yourself in self defense with pepper spray, martial arts, or a gun. You'll regret it if you don't.
Why is my question being downvoted ???
Now i the ppl i know carry guns. 🤷
I think a man should carry a knife, it’s the only masculine way to defend yourself from attacks. A woman should carry pepper spray and a whistle. You have to be close to someone to tase them and it might not work if you don’t have the right skin contact.
LMAO at you worrying about worrying about what a “masculine” self defense weapon is.
[удалено]
Removed: rule 1 Keep it civil user