There was a time when women would never go anywhere without an escort... it was considered scandalous for a lady to be seen in public alone.

It would be better if men and women of the Faith simply modeled the familial and societal roles that God has established rather than to have them working so hard to protect themselves against people and environments that they should have nothing to do with anyway.

I've said it over and over, both on the forum and in my personal conversations... the reason there are no saints today is NOT because the Faith has changed; it's because 'conservative' or 'strict' these days, for the average Catholic, means 'conservative like my secular neighbors' or 'strict like the Protestants'.

Conservatism by its modern definition is barely sufficient as a philosophy, ethically or morally, for a Catholic to live by. We are simply not called to ONLY be conservative; we are called to PUSH BACK against the tide of immorality and sin in the world.

Strict morality, too, such as many conservative Protestant groups are known for, is, again, insufficient. I have seen dozens if not hundreds of professing Catholics at the homeschool conventions I have attended; they are all seeking the advice of the unconverted as to how to train their children in morality and habits.

What else but compromise and failure COULD be the result? When we seek the knowledge of God's will from people who are possessed only of natural effort and natural affection for an IDEA of God, and who are not supernaturally reborn BY God, we find only frustration, as our natural efforts, like theirs, will surely run out and fall far short of what God intends for His Church.

We are called to BE CATHOLIC, not just be better citizens than the average person.

Our theology is different, the goal of our spiritual effort is different, the God we serve is not their God, no matter what they claim. Why wrestle with the world's problems on the world's level? We have meat and drink, as Our Lord said, that they know nothing about.

Don't just not watch 'bad' TV... turn the thing off and pray the Rosary.

Don't just not attend bad movies... make a 40 Hours devotion.

Don't just abstain on Fridays... make the First Friday devotion and intentionally offer your sacrifice in reparation for the offenses to Our Lord's Sacred Heart.

St. Dominic, pray for us.

Immaculate Heart of Mary, triumph soon.

Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.

I ended up with some "street smarts" mostly because I was raised in an environment where I had multiple approaches and fear-inducing situations occur to me when I was a child and young woman.  This eventually taught me fear and a strong desire for avoiding the situation.  

I've taught my daughter the same thing and she has been very protected.  More than I ever was.  And yet she, maybe because of my teachings, has become interested in carrying a gun (something I've never considered, myself). She has pepper spray .. and we talk often about avoiding certain places and people.  I've told her to avoid going out at night (at all, or at least alone).  And to keep her eyes open at all times.  

Sometimes I worry that I've made her too untrusting and that that's taken something away from her.  But we live in a dangerous world and I would rather her very cautious and alive .. rather than too trusting and have something terrible happen.

I have taken martial arts courses on and off my whole life and have done self study of military hand to hand combat.  I have done this mainly because I love martial arts.  I stay away from places, though, that are into eastern religious stuff and/or places where overtly immoral people attend.  That is why I do a lot of self study.

Now, to put it bluntly, most women could not fend off an assailant who was intent on doing them harm unless they reacted fast by screaming, running away, or landing a chin jab or something then running away or doing all of the above.  As one who has been in altercations, I cannot tell you how scary they are and many times training goes right out the door.  I recommend this not only for women, but for men as well (including myself)  avoid fighting at all costs no matter how much it hurts your pride.  Altercations can turn very bad very fast even for the most experienced martial artist.  Woman must also avoid, especially, all situations that can turn bad such as going out at night.  I would recommend for single women living alone to get a good guard dog and do the research.

To sum it all up, what they would teach you in most classes would not work in real life and you would put yourself perhaps in more moral danger by the people you would be around taking these classes.

One of the reasons I left jui jitsu is because women joined.  What a joke.  99.99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999 percent of the women in the world could not use jiu jitsu for anything against a man no matter if they are a white belt or black.  

Where does one purchase pepper spray?

Quote from: PenitentWoman

Where does one purchase pepper spray?

A gun shop would be one place.

Thanks.

Quote

Though sometimes used interchangeably, pepper spray and Mace are two different chemicals. Mace is a trademarked chemical spray which is made up of CS or CN, both chemicals which cause irritation to the eyes, nose and throat when inhaled. Mace is used by many police and prison officers because it vaporizes slightly and doesn't need to be sprayed right into someone's eyes or mouth to work. It also takes between 5 and 30 seconds to take effect, but the problem with Mace was that it had less of an effect on those under the influence of drugs or alcohol that made them less susceptible to pain. Pepper spray on the other hand is made from Oleoresin Capsicuм, or OC, which comes from hot peppers. Pepper spray does need to be applied directly to face, specifically the eyes and mouth, but the effects are involuntary which means they work on everyone starting within 3 seconds of exposure. Pepper srays effects will also wear off in hours, as opposed to Mace which can linger for several days.

http://voices.yahoo.com/what-mace-does-pepper-spray-work-9124967.html

Good luck trying to use that on an assailant who has grabbed your arms.or who comes from behind you.

How reassuring! I'll stick with my rosary, I guess. Haha