The only thing that really matters is mentality. Suppose you wake up in the middle of the night at the sound of a burglar breaking into your house. Most folks would panic and freeze. But there are folks who would grab the nearest solid object at hand and proceed without hesitation to smash the bad guy's skull into a pulp. Everything depends on the attitude. That's why you can have a house full of machetes and fire extinguishers but it won't help diddly squat unless you are genuinely prepared to fight.

Those kids did not necessarily need a machete. They needed a lot of guts, some physical skills and attributes and a dose of common sense. Looks like they were out of luck. Had the bad guy picked the wrong apartment and pissed off the wrong people he would've ended up in a world of hurt himself.

I don't know if there are any quick ways to developing a proper self-defense mindset. I'm not confident I could handle myself in such a situation myself regardless of my previous training. Unless you are consciously developing that fighting attitude (and can back it up with hand-to-hand skills) it might not be there when you need it.