One evening in 2006, a Fordham University student waited for his ride. His car had been towed, which is why he had to wait for someone to come to the Bronx to pick him up.
While he was waiting, he saw two men heading directly for him. These weren't people he knew, and they seemed unusually focused.
The student merely grabbed his briefcase in one hand, and with the other, reached inside his jacket. When his fist came back out, he held a long, silver object. He held it low at his side, so the only discernible detail about the object was that it reflected the distant streetlights very well.
Both men came to a sudden stop, and immediately changed direction, taking a sharp right turn, and crossing the street in the middle of the sidewalk.
The student then took his silver Cross ballpoint pen and slipped back into his pocket.
When asked for advice about self defense, marine and native New Yorker Zephyr Black mentioned two things in particular. One was situational awareness , and the other was a link to Amazon.com, and an "EDC tool" -- an every day carry tool -- he refered to as the “tactical pen,” though the official description reads as follows:
Zebra Pen F-701 Ballpoint Pen Stainless Steel Barrel Knurled Grip Black Ink .07mm Fine Point is an inconspicuous self defense tool to carry. The knurled grips provide excellent support in a solid structure pen that fits the office environment. The tactical pen is truly tactical if its not a multitool that's labeled "Smith and Wesson" and weighs 2lbs.
What can one do with a tactical pen?
Well, as one person once noted online, a pen can serve a multitude of purposes.
A silver-colored, metal pen can be a preventative. As noted above, holding it like a knife can work well in a dark area, filled with bad lighting —the average thug sees something bright and shiny, moving quickly, they will hesitate for seconds, which is usually all one needs to get, or follow up with an attack.
Holding an average pen in the middle, with both ends sticking out of the fist, works if someone is well-acquainted with pressure points; jamming it into the inside of someone's wrist (about an inch down along the forearm) will cause their fingers to pop open, and ramming it behind their ear or into their temple will at least give them a bad headache, if not disorient and/or knock them out.
Pens can also be lethal. Holding a pen (metal only) like a knife one could stab into, and through the area right behind the ear, into the ear itself, under the chin (through the tongue), into the throat (all sorts of good things there), the eye, or through the temple (if you can generate enough force).
After using it as a defensive weapon, if you have a regular pen, one wouldn't rely on it a second time, and odds are, you'll probably never write with it again.
One should note that using a pen as a weapon will be hazardous. Then again, if there is a need to defend oneself with only a pen, you are already in a hazardous situation. If all else fails, a long, sharp-looking, silvery object being jabbed into someone's face will, at the very least, buy you a split second.
And, with the tactical pen … well, it's two pounds of steel. When all else fails, one suspects it would hurt if you threw it at somebody.
As always, it should be noted that artciels like these are only tips and tricks. They are not catch-all solutions. A self-defense class is recommended. What type is up to you.
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