A key might work but it’d be hard since they’re usually small. Just use your hands if you can’t find anythign good at a critical moment.
I’ve always said the bottom line is you need to be able to fight naked. Anything else is a plus but the only thing you can rely on is you.
Pepper spray is great if you have it at ALL times.
First thing to do is check your state weapons laws and see what you can legally carry.
You might have to fall back on pens, umbrellas, canes, combs, belts, etc.
When I was a kid I wore a chain bracelet that would slip over my knuckles with the excess filling in the space in my fist. Crude but will hurt your face more than it will my hand. Belts also make good weapons. Learned belt techniques from street fighters. This was before any formal training.
I also carried either a knife or box cutter plus wore a chain with ‘S’ hooks on each end (like manrikigusari) around my neck. Those of course were illegal to carry concealed.
You can also carry a roll of quarters but that weighs heavy in the pocket. Anything that will take up the space in your fist will give you a more solid punch. Especially if it has a little weight like the quarters.
Im thinking you are a troll…but
Learning to use a sword, staff or steel whip is still practical to this day and age. Yes we will not be walking around with swords at our side to use when a confrontation arises but we can still take the principles of each weapon and use them to our advantage.
staff - broom handle, tree branch/stick, metal pole, washing pole
sword - short stick, pointed piece of plastic, umbrella
steel whip - bike chain, metal chain of any sort
you see, you may not have the exact weapon, but you can apply the principles of what you are learning to many common items. Oh and credit cards/keys work too.
craig
Weapons only complicate thing this day in age. One, there are the legal concerns, especially if your “opponent” didn’t have a weapon, at which point “victim” becomes a more appropriate moniker.
Two, when you’re wielding a weapon your focus, mind, Yi is to attack with that weapon. You become less focused on defense and the other person’s weapon, and are more likely to get injured. It takes more weapons training than usually provided to overcome this.
I’d rather face a knife with bare hands than with a knife of my own.
There was this really cool leather wallet chain that I saw in oki that I thought would make a good improvised weapon. 
Well if I’m attacked at home I’ve got plenty of traditional weapons I could use.
Are you kidding?!
Sure. If you take the time to sharpen them beforehand. Otherwise you’re just throwing er… money at them… If you’re gonna try that and you’ve got the time to take your wallet out just drop a note on the floor and hope that they bend down for it so you can kick em in the head!
creditcard ( to cut with )
Again. Try it. Bloody useless unless you’ve bent it and twisted it till it’s broken and when are you gonna do that!?
mp3??
Yes, obviously these tiny pieces of micromachinery are quite lethal… especially in the hands of say, Q. I like to use the MI6 optional micronuke switch.
mobile phone?
Again, gone are the days of a mobile the size and weight of a house brick. Now, since they are designed to be as small and light as possible and generally fall apart if you drop them, don’t think they’ll do you much good in the self defence stakes… unless you meant to run, hide and use said mobile phone to call the police - now, I think you may be onto something there!
Having said that, a friend of mine was attacked by muggers who grabbed his phone as he was using it and he put them down using the wrist lock as seen in Under Seige 2, without thinking. That was in the days of bigger mobiles though.
Nowadays, your best bet in using them as a weapon is to hit someone with them, hope they break and you then have a sharp edge, but it seems like a pain in the arse to me.
jacket?
Again, time and opportunity are the biggest factors here. You could throw your jacket over their heads, but that’s only if you’re a good shot, if you’re prepared to follow it up instantly (ie use it as a distraction) and only if you’re carrying it at the time of attack… otehrwise you’re rendering yourself defenseless as you take it off (my grandma chinned someone who was taking off their jacket once).
I think the way of fighting is changing so should weapons, at least for street fighting or defens on the street is concerned..
The best is still a short stick, or a very short stick. Personally, I’m not gonna waste time when the **** hits the fan looking for/picking up a weapon but I tend to notice short sticks automatically cos they’re everywhere. I automatically tightly roll newspapers/magazines if I’m carrying them too… just out of habit. The best techs to learn are for these two types of weapon. A very short stick (yawara/kubotan) is marv and easy to use/lose afterwards.
Whoever said keys has never tried using keys. Try it. Hit something hard with them and you’re just as likely to cut your hand to ****.
That’s how I always train. But I’m baaad. My hands and feet are lethal weapons. Wah.
Whoever said keys has never tried using keys. Try it. Hit something hard with them and you’re just as likely to cut your hand to ****.
Check the Crimbo issue of martial arts mag.
craig
As for small weapons…
how about Omei piercers, rope dart, meteor dart, chain whip(heavy I know). These could all be carried, albeit, concealed is illegal, but if some punk tried to take your wives purse or your wallet, so long as he wasn’t armed, and you whip out one of the weapons, chances are highly likely the punk is going to turn tail and run.
boy scouts motto: be prepared… The things that you mentioned will not function effectively as weapons - you’d be better off empty handed. Carry a weapon with you, if you want to have a weapon handy.
And yes I’ve got a keychain with flashlight that’s indeed good aswell. first blind the opponent then hit..
Nah, that’s probably not bright enough. get a light that is around 115 lumen or more.
Watch out for math teachers who carry a compass, 2 pencils, and a coffee cup or thermos. 
English teachers with fountain pens…
Better watch out for those magnifying glassers too. Science teachers who know bjj and will only fight in the sunlight… Good skills, good skills. All of them should be excellent smokers and have excellent smoking skills as well. I have known a few who could flick a cherry right into a pupil.
Happy New Year in a few
The tactical flashlight can also be a substitute for a kubotan. blind them with the light, hit them with the butt of the shaft.
nice comments, thank you. You all got a point. To scare someone you could also do a 540 kick or some flashy stuff instead of always taking your chain whip with you.
Lots of things will be useless since you can use your barehands just as good.
A jacket, flashlight or coins are good to distract and attack right after distraction.
And I think it’s definetly true that you put your attention away from defending if you will focus on the weapon. But therefore you just have to learn how to fight with your weapons as if they were a part of you.
I think I’ll just use my own body and if the opponent is to strong or forms a serious threathment I’d throw some coins, use my jacket or blind with the flashlight I have(it’s strong enough) if there’s nothing better around. Then I can win some time and run away..
Wel this guy just basically intimidated the other guy, and he mainly avoided most of his punches and then took him down with one. I thihnk the whole intimidation think helped alot though.
umm… No. Presence causes intimidation. For example, since I am built, many guys at the club I work will not even think about messing with me. I’ve even had a guy tell me that he would whoop my ass if I wasn’t so big. Look confident. Look strong. This is what will intimidate them. Throwing a 540 kick will just get you tackled.
Lots of things will be useless since you can use your barehands just as good.
And lots have use, just nothing in that initial list, except MAYBE the jacket, provided the opportunity presents itself. It’s even better if it’s HIS jacket - pull it ovver his head and hit him while he can’t see.
I think I’ll just use my own body and if the opponent is to strong or forms a serious threathment I’d throw some coins, use my jacket or blind with the flashlight I have(it’s strong enough) if there’s nothing better around. Then I can win some time and run away..
if it’s a keychain, I doubt it’s strong enough, but that’s on you. I’ve got $15 dollar flashlights that aren’t that bright. The one that is bright enough is a tactical that I paid $40 for. The problem with coins, the jacket, etc. is that you have to have the time to get them ready, if they are not already in your hand. You likely will not have that kind of time to spare.
my roomate carries a steel fighting fan with him practically everywhere he goes, along with a whip chain, and his fists and feet.
you just have to learn the right weapons if you want to use chinese martial art weapon in modern day.
me…i dont carry anything. but i look at my surroundings every where i go and look for weapons i can use.
How effective are fans really? I mean it would seem hard to cut or even fight at all with.
its not about cutting.
the fan, when closed, is basically a foot long piece of steel. the boom it emits when opened will suprise anyone not expecting it, if this happens, HELLO SIDEKICK, it is very loud. then when its open, it can easily double as a shield.
these are the most basic examples of application as a weapon. there are others. not to mention when its hot out you can walk around with it already drawn.
But let’s say if you block with it wouldn’t the paper just tear, or is it much more sturdy than that? Not to get off topic I’ve just always really been curious as to how someone uses it in fight.
the fan is actually a pretty good weapon from a street fighter point of view.
you cannot go to jail for having a steel fan. but i can be used when closed as a short little steel stick, able to deflect baseball bats, knives, sticks, or even punches.
don’t knock it until you try it.
In a combat fan its not paper, you would use a type of strudy canvas, or silk. both very strong fabrics immune to simple tearing.
the spines only rest roughly an inch apart when open so it doesnt leave much room to work with anyhow.
even with thrusting with a knife, you can only go so far as up to your fist, so the blade would need to be long enough. Also if the blade is caught between the spines a simple twist and the assailant is disarmed.