I see lots of talk regarding self-defense in preparedness circles. You've got people talking about guns, defensive EDC, psychology of "fighting dirty" in a survival situation, et cetera. One common theme is that the opponent is always assumed to be male.

Now, I'm guilty as much as the next guy and probably quite a bit more. When you're shadow boxing, you're unlikely to see your potential opponent as a 5'2" 90 lbs waitress. Besides the physiological disadvantages, women are usually seen as more of a benevolent and responsible force in male conflicts.

But wait: under normal conditions, doesn't that apply to everyone? We're all nice and cuddly with food on our plates and water in our sink, no? So if you're assuming you might need to physically defend yourself from a crazed bank director, shouldn't you also account for the possibility his wife will come into the picture at some point?

This is where things get... weird. There is a good reason guys aren't fond of attacking potential mates. Hulk no smash Betty, Hulk love Betty! It's hard to hit a woman and it damn well better be. I feel all dirty just by typing it. Yet, as with other aspects of preparedness, some psychological barriers need to be overcome.

So, how much of a threat can a woman be, really? My guess, quite a bit. Think of her as a 100 pounds of bone, muscle, teeth and nails (and they're bigger than yours). While you're fussing to be a gentleman about it, she's gauging out your eyes and tearing your balls off. Seriously, I know some extra nice ones. They acknowledge they'll be destroyed in a fist-fight, so they've got rapid suppression plans all drawn up in advance. o_0

Now that we've established women as a bigger threat than wild dogs and looters combined, what do we do about it? To be honest, I have no idea how to "fight dirty" against a woman. I've never hurt a gal in my life, nor do I intend to. I could ask about weak points, but I'm afraid they'll think all this talk about female self-defense is coming from an aspiring rapist. Hell, you should have thought that yourself two paragraph ago! I'll just have to try not to get on any female survivor's bad side...

P.S. Well, there was that one time I squeezed some-body's hand a little too hard. If push comes to shove, I guess we can always try and cheat our way to life and victory: before the two of us abandon our last remnants of humanity and go for each other's throats over that last piece of ham, why not wish each other luck with a sporty hand-shake?