Don't forget the power of a well swung B-I or B-II size fire extinguisher. There is usually one of them around.

Your belt, wrapped once around your hand, with the buckle extended, swung in a figure eight motion is the equivalent of a nun chuck when used correctly. There is a ton of kinetic energy in it (think of how a trebuchet works.

Japanese peasant farmers were the masters of improvised weapons. The bo staff, nun chucks, sais sword and tonfa were all farm implements. During the time of the Samurai, regular citizens were not allowed to have weapons (sound familiar?) so they adapted their everyday tools. The Shaolin monks tuned their use to a science.

What I'm getting at is, it's not always the object, but the training and the intent of the person wielding it.

I worked for AT&T back in the day everybody rented their phones from the phone company. I'll never forget the lady who called in to let us know that her mother no longer had her rented phone (one of those old rotary jobs) because she had been killed with it and the police were holding it as evidence. There are lots of things that can be used to bludgeon.

A squirt in the face first might not be a bad idea...

"...And once you get him down, kick the s**t out of him. (Start with his throat.) Marquis of Queensbury rules do not apply..."

Great point. Just because he/she is knocked down, does not mean that the fight is over. You have to insure yourself a safe getaway. But you also have to know when to stop, or you will be defending yourself against a homicide charge next...

I got onto four different flights a couple of years ago with low topped "hiking" shoes with steel toes, no problem. They of course went thru the x-ray gizmo, then back onto my feet...