Home defence consultations?

Bruce7

I have a rough idea of the types of self-defence courses that one can take, and the martial arts that people practice as sports, but was wondering if there is such a thing as a service whereby someone will come to your house, and train you to defend yourself and your family if an intruder gets in?

As I understand it, most self-defence and martial arts instruction takes place in studios and halls, but it seems to me that this might not be exactly what you want if you are faced with someone on the stairs, or in a room full of furniture etc. So it seems like would be good to practice / train in various rooms of the house and rehearse your response to very specific situations - i.e. you wake up and find him in your bedroom with a screwdriver on your wife's side of the bed, or he is in the hall with a knife and you are coming down the stairs, etc. etc.

I understand about home security systems, calling the guards, and the ideal way to approach these situations being to avoid confrontation, but am just talking about what to do if the worst comes to the worst and you have to tackle an intruder.

It would also be useful if someone could advise a homeowner on how to use household objects as weapons, both from the point of view of having something to hand in an emergency, and also not making weapons available to an intruder that they can use against you.

Does this kind of service exist?

Bruce7

I don't mind paying if the service is good, and if it is very practical, common-sense stuff, but am only thinking about a few hours max.

A friend did a weekend Krav Maga course which he thought was good, but has since been getting these mails from them that are a bit off-putting.

Now that you know a bit, you know how vulnerable you are to all these other scenarios, and we have a course for each one, etc.

Dyr

Dave Joyce posts on here. He might be able to give you a steer on this

yomchi

This is a genuine question boys and girls, keep it useful.

nino1

you won't learn anything useful in a few hours.

if you are relatively strong/athletic buy a baseball bat. (you don't need much training to use that)

if you are not relatively strong/asthletic it will probably get taken off you and used against you.

alternatively get in your car afterwards, drive him down and break his legs like the guy did in drogheda (on the news last night!!)

Dyr

nino1 wrote: »

you won't learn anything useful in a few hours.

if you are relatively strong/athletic buy a baseball bat. (you don't need much training to use that)

if you are not relatively strong/asthletic it will probably get taken off you and used against you.

alternatively get in your car afterwards, drive him down and break his legs like the guy did in drogheda (on the news last night!!)

baseball bats don't need any above average strength or athleticism to swing, they do need a good deal of space though, try swinging one in your bedroom some time.

pearsquasher

As I understand it, most self-defence and martial arts instruction takes place in studios and halls, but it seems to me that this might not be exactly what you want if you are faced with someone on the stairs, or in a room full of furniture etc. So it seems like would be good to practice / train in various rooms of the house and rehearse your response to very specific situations - i.e. you wake up and find him in your bedroom with a screwdriver on your wife's side of the bed, or he is in the hall with a knife and you are coming down the stairs, etc. etc.

The thing is, and this is why Japanese martial arts have evolved over generations to be ther way they are - there's no point training specifics when the threat is unknown. What Bujinkan, for example, and other similar non-sports martial arts do is train not in specific techniques or scenarios but in the principles that underlie ALL scenarios. On a gross level this includes things like "distance, timing, angling, positioning, target aquisiton, weapons retention etc"


Put it another way... when a swat team enters a house its dealing with unknowns even if the team has trained with a model of "a" house. That doesn't mean they expect their next raid to be a replica of the house that they used for training.. they have just trained in the priciples that govern ALL house raids (blind cornering, maneovreable space, exit strategies etc)

In the end a location specific training regime might help you but I suspect it could lead to a false sense of security on your part because of the very real "unknown" factor of intrusions/assaults. I suggest finding a more general approach that allows you to actual make up your own response on-the-fly be you on the stairs with only your kids soother as a weapon, or not.

PS I believe Bujinkan does this very well but it takes dedicated training over a long time until your comfortable with the "unknown on-the-fly" response. However, its reasonable to assume that however much the media reports it statistiocally you are very unlikely to have to use self-defence like this if you take simple security precautions and then, like me, your MA training becomes enjoyable in on of itself as a sort of intellectual/physical persuit.

Peetrik

nino1 wrote: »

you won't learn anything useful in a few hours.

+1 on this. Weekend seminars etc are useless.

1. Find a full contact martial art that has full contact regular sparring in a club that competes.

2. Get in shape.

IrishKunoichi

I fully agree with the Bujinkan guys reply. He has basically said what I would have said. My boyfriend who has been a bodyguard for many years and trained in the Bujinkan for many more years, says that it takes a long time for a well trained response to become a natural response. In a moment of crises the brain will always go back to what it knows best.

If you are really interested you should join a Non Sporting martial art that will teach you the principles that you need and which you can then apply to your own personal home. Then if you want after learning those principles you could get an expert in to show you more of what you want specifically.

Sometimes the best and trained response is to do nothing and just do as your told. This is not the cowards way out it is a tried and tested way to deal with such situations instead of always trying to fight your way out of it. If you want to guarantee to win every fight you have, only fight the fights you know you can win. Don't assume the person attacking you isn't also well trained, all sorts of these people are well trained. The more you train the more you realise how difficult these things become.

lawrencesummers

IrishKunoichi wrote: »

... join a Non Sporting martial art....

Kata, defeating screwdriver wielding burglars since the dawn of time...

OP, you might be better off addressing where your paranioa is coming from, the chances of being broken into are very very tiny, most homes are broken into when the owners are out, and the chances of being broken into randomly by someone that wants to personally harm you or yours must be a fraction of the chances of being hurt in a car accident, (so why not spend your time and money learning to be a better driver) and even then IF it does happen you are at the disatvantage of bring in shock and unarmed against an alret and preparred opponent, so best to follow orders.

yomchi

lawrencesummers wrote: »

IrishKunoichi wrote: »

... join a Non Sporting martial art....

Kata, defeating screwdriver wielding burglars since the dawn of time...

OP, you might be better off addressing where your paranioa is coming from, the chances of being broken into are very very tiny, most homes are broken into when the owners are out, and the chances of being broken into randomly by someone that wants to personally harm you or yours must be a fraction of the chances of being hurt in a car accident, (so why not spend your time and money learning to be a better driver) and even then IF it does happen you are at the disatvantage of bring in shock and unarmed against an alret and preparred opponent, so best to follow orders.

I can't help but say that that is probably the most unhelpful, Ill advised post I've read in a while, not to mention your own take on statistics and poor use of analogies.

This is the self defence forum, this topic of home intrusion is relevant right now given the case that is running in the news at the moment. So rather than dishing out the usual ad hominem lines like take up a full contact sport and address your paranoia, could we have a useful discussion? You know where a guy looks for advice from others where he isn't told to go learn how to drive properly.

From my point of view OP, if you are concerned about the security of yourself and your family at home talk to someone who operates within that field. It's a legitimate concern, nothing to be paranoid about either.

As for weekend courses, to say they are useless and you won't learn anything is a tad arrogant. If weekend courses were useless first aid courses wouldn't be worth doing. Any exposure to your field of interest is useful. It's up to you how you progress.

And remember you may not find all your looking for in forums like these.

lawrencesummers

yomchi wrote: »

I can't help but say that that is probably the most unhelpful, Ill advised post I've read in a while, not to mention your own take on statistics and poor use of analogies.

Fair enough, "my use of statistics".
Based on the most recently compiled figures of domestic burglary in the state for all, statistically there is a .004899% chance that your house will be burgled tonight. If you worry that you have a chance of being in that then you suffer from paranoia.

This figure includes all burglary, opportunistic and planned and by following simple precautions this figure can be reduced, but thats not good news for the people who make a living from this "industry".

For the same period there were 238 road fatalities, where as there were 0 burglary homicides, so statistically there is a greater chance of an incident out while driving than sleeping, but the shock is obviously not as great, nor does it sell

yomchi wrote: »

This is the self defence forum, this topic of home intrusion is relevant right now given the case that is running in the news at the moment. So rather than dishing out the usual ad hominem lines like take up a full contact sport and address your paranoia, could we have a useful discussion? You know where a guy looks for advice from others where he isn't told to go learn how to drive properly.

granted, not that that case involved any self defence, but unless you can afford a top drawer legal team and are able to pay a lot in compensation then its best not to overly hurt someone who comes into and subsequently leaves your house.

yomchi wrote: »

From my point of view OP, if you are concerned about the security of yourself and your family at home talk to someone who operates within that field. It's a legitimate concern, nothing to be paranoid about either.

Its a big field, with a lot of people making money from the fear factor by selling home monitoring alarms or self defense, which are pretty much both useless because the Gardai dont care if the alarm is ringing contrary to what eircom phone watch tell you and you cant learn to fight on a weekend course, which is what self defense is, fighting.

yomchi wrote: »

As for weekend courses, to say they are useless and you won't learn anything is a tad arrogant. If weekend courses were useless first aid courses wouldn't be worth doing. Any exposure to your field of interest is useful. It's up to you how you progress.

And you have issue with my analogy:rolleyes: what does a first aid course have to do with a self defense course?

yomchi wrote: »

And remember you may not find all your looking for in forums like these.

But yes your right, you cant help.

nino1

lawrencesummers wrote: »

Based on the most recently compiled figures of domestic burglary in the state for all, statistically there is a .004899% chance that your house will be burgled tonight. If you worry that you have a chance of being in that then you suffer from paranoia.

he is not worried about his chances of being burgled tonight, he is worried about being burgled at some stage which has much higher odds and depending on where he lives may be even higher.
paranoia has nothing to do with wanting to protect his family.

Dyr

lawrencesummers wrote: »

Fair enough, "my use of statistics".
Based on the most recently compiled figures of domestic burglary in the state for all, statistically there is a .004899% chance that your house will be burgled tonight. If you worry that you have a chance of being in that then you suffer from paranoia.

Where are you getting those stastistics from? THE CSO? Do they conclude that every person in this country stands the exact same chance of someone intruding in their house? A guy I work with is looking closely at his options for dealing with this issue because he lives in an area that has had a large rate of burglaries recently and has a wife at home during the day with two young kids. He's probably just being paranoid though, can't wait to give him the good news.

I know another guy who had his door kicked in and got a hiding off scumbags last year, he said it was because he gave the gardai a statement about a crime he witnessed, I dunno if I believe him on the motive but he got a bad hiding all the same, had to move out of his apartment. Presumably you have the gift to ascertain the OP's circumstances via the interweb and pass judgement.

which is what self defense is, fighting.

lol, no it ain't. locking all the downstairs doors at night and turning on the alarm before you go to bed isn't fighting but its pretty good self defence. Having a big f**k off dog in the house is'nt fighting but its good self defence. As a matter of fact if you're fighting then you're probably doing something wrong :pac:

Its a big field, with a lot of people making money from the fear factor by selling home monitoring alarms or self defense

Just out of curiosity does the club you train in have the words "self defence" on its website or promotional material? Would they be making money off the fear factor if they did

session savage

To be fair lads this type of thing does happen. Two weeks ago my neighbour was broken into and beaten with a crowbar and robbed. That has put the ****s up my missus and I'm a bit more nervous too if I'm honest.

Get yourself a large metal maglight and keep it beside the bed. If someone breaks in you hold the maglight by the bell (the shiny end) beside your head pointing forward with the heavy handle pointing back over your shoulder. Held like this you can blind the intruder, get close and batter him on the head, seriously its an effective tactic.


... me however... I sleep with my 12guage... tackle that bitch. (joke...maybe??);)

antybots

That is an interesting question OP. I've never heard of such a course being offered. I'd say the reasons that no courses exist is that most self defense courses are born out of experience and anyone who has tackled an intruder at home has probably only done it once, which hardly qualifies them to teach a course on it.

All that leaves is theory. Who knows, maybe someone will develop something in the future? Apart from yourself, I'd say there would be a good deal of interest out there for a 'defence from intruders' course.

Dave Joyce

OP very interesting topic and thanks for bringing it up. Depends on how far or how much you want to cover your bases but there are ways to work on this type of field and not all of it involves tonnes of physical training. Some of the best work for good self protection is starting with the basics. Good home security starts with good quality doors and windows and a decent CCTV system which doesn't have to cost the earth. As Ush said a decent dog is always a good deterrent also.

However, if you want to invest time in bringing up your physical attributes then it involves a serious amount of time to be at a reasonable level.

One of the best sessions I've had the opportunity to train in was at a Friday night Hidden Agenda at a Sayoc Sama Sama a couple of years ago. The session was titled Escape and Evasion and worked on the premise that you had to vacate your house/flat immediately without been detected and how to cover your tracks so you wouldn't be discovered. The session was taken by a current serving Navy SEAL and tracking expert and the amount/variety of information was unbelievable. We trained from approx 7pm until about 2-3am which may not be a long time but I know I gleaned a hell of a lot of information from that course. Do I think I will need it tonight....NO but I'd rather have that info and NOT NEED it rather than be in dire need of how to extract myself from a situation and not have a clue on where to start.

Finally, as regards the suggestions of arming yourself with whatever and then using it on the bad guy.....well how many reps have you practiced doing just that cause you will need to put in reps to have ANY skill level and then you better have a look at any modifiers that may occur that can screw up your ability to perform that skill at an average level.

Stephen_King

Whatever you do don't drive after them and run them over...

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/dad-cleared-of-assault-tells-of-breaking-burglars-legs-3021642.html

if only for the fact you'd be doing them a favour.

Bruce7

Thanks for the advice, all. I'm not really looking to learn how to fight. I've got very limited spare time and do a bit of sport which I enjoy that keeps me fairly strong if not especially fit. I don't have the time to learn a new sport / art and, like they say, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, so I'd prefer not to half-learn a few things and mess them up when it came to the crunch.

If someone does break into my house when we are home, statistics go out the window. I have to assume the lives of my wife and kid are in danger and can't afford to give the intruder the benefit of the doubt.
The type of thing I have in mind is something like:

Scenario: An intruder is coming up the stairs.
Possible response a: grab some bleach or drain cleaner from the bathroom and throw it in his eyes, then smash him in the head with a dumbbell.
Or get a lighter and deodorant and spray fire at him.

That type of stuff.

After, I can claim they were just lying around and I grabbed them in a panic, but the idea would be that in every room I would have several options to instantly disable an intruder that involve the use of normal household objects, and a plan for how to use them.

I don't know if I am being paranoid or not. I tend to assume that sooner or later everyone gets burgled. The house I grew up in was burgled about a dozen times.

Hanley

On the weekend course thing... anyone want to agree with me when I say they may cause more trouble than they prevent?

That is, little Steve takes weekend course, little Steve is now trained killer Steve and instead of avoiding the confrontation he woulda ran from before his weekend ninja training, he now thinks he has a chance and stands up for himself.

...and becomes poor dead Steve.

yomchi

Hanley wrote: »

On the weekend course thing... anyone want to agree with me when I say they may cause more trouble than they prevent?

That is, little Steve takes weekend course, little Steve is now trained killer Steve and instead of avoiding the confrontation he woulda ran from before his weekend ninja training, he now thinks he has a chance and stands up for himself.

...and becomes poor dead Steve.

That's only if little Steve is sap, who has never done any kind of training in his life. Otherwise I think most adults would know where their weakness's are and the pros and cons to weekend courses. I don't think little Stevie is the OP either.

now thinks he has a chance and stands up for himself.

Can't be having that, imagine.. somone standing up for themselves? Cheek. :P

yomchi

Bruce7 wrote: »

Thanks for the advice, all. I'm not really looking to learn how to fight. I've got very limited spare time and do a bit of sport which I enjoy that keeps me fairly strong if not especially fit. I don't have the time to learn a new sport / art and, like they say, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, so I'd prefer not to half-learn a few things and mess them up when it came to the crunch.

If someone does break into my house when we are home, statistics go out the window. I have to assume the lives of my wife and kid are in danger and can't afford to give the intruder the benefit of the doubt.
The type of thing I have in mind is something like:

Scenario: An intruder is coming up the stairs.
Possible response a: grab some bleach or drain cleaner from the bathroom and throw it in his eyes, then smash him in the head with a dumbbell.
Or get a lighter and deodorant and spray fire at him.

That type of stuff.

After, I can claim they were just lying around and I grabbed them in a panic, but the idea would be that in every room I would have several options to instantly disable an intruder that involve the use of normal household objects, and a plan for how to use them.

I don't know if I am being paranoid or not. I tend to assume that sooner or later everyone gets burgled. The house I grew up in was burgled about a dozen times.

There's no harm in taking precautions. Very many people think about their security at home and make proactive choices to prevent break ins etc. You've just taken that thought a step further, I would spend less time thinking about what your going to do to an intruder and spend more time looking at the security of your premises first. A panic alarm fitted by your bed is a good option, you can get one's that notify the Gardai and also emit quite a loud alarm which would scare the best of them

Peetrik

yomchi wrote: »

who has never done any kind of training in his life. Otherwise I think most adults would know where their weakness's are and the pros and cons to weekend courses.

Just to play devils advocate here but I think this is exactly the kind of person who Hanley is talking about. People who might only train a semi/non contact MA once a week or someone who just goes along to the odd seminar every couple of months. They might accumulate lots of 'theory' or learn the name of a few techniques but I don't believe they are actually internalising anything.
This is just my own anecdotal experience but I'v met plenty of adults who consider themselves hard men who have never done a days training in their lives, let alone those who do the odd day and have a wardrobe full of tap-out clothing, who have absolutely no idea what their weakness or limitations are.

To clarify my position, there is nothing wrong with training full time and also going to seminars to hear from experts, I'v been to plenty of them myself. However, these once off seminars that teach you to "ensure you survive the most brutally violent attacks" (to coin a recent phrase I heard) are useless and, as Hanley said, possibly do more harm than good.

yomchi wrote: »

I would spend less time thinking about what your going to do to an intruder and spend more time looking at the security of your premises first. A panic alarm fitted by your bed is a good option, you can get one's that notify the Gardai and also emit quite a loud alarm which would scare the best of them

I agree 100% with this

yomchi

Just to play devils advocate here but I think this is exactly the kind of person who Hanley is talking about. People who might only train a semi/non contact MA once a week or someone who just goes along to the odd seminar every couple of months. They might accumulate lots of 'theory' or learn the name of a few techniques but I don't believe they are actually internalising anything.
This is just my own anecdotal experience but I'v met plenty of adults who consider themselves hard men who have never done a days training in their lives, let alone those who do the odd day and have a wardrobe full of tap-out clothing, who have absolutely no idea what their weakness or limitations are.

To clarify my position, there is nothing wrong with training full time and also going to seminars to hear from experts, I'v been to plenty of them myself. However, these once off seminars that teach you to "ensure you survive the most brutally violent attacks" (to coin a recent phrase I heard) are useless and, as Hanley said, possibly do more harm than good.

That's a fair point. Maybe if little Stevie was left alone and the ninja's weren't brought into it Hanley's point might have made sense

Stillweak

Dave Joyce wrote: »

One of the best sessions I've had the opportunity to train in was at a Friday night Hidden Agenda at a Sayoc Sama Sama a couple of years ago. The session was titled Escape and Evasion and worked on the premise that you had to vacate your house/flat immediately without been detected and how to cover your tracks so you wouldn't be discovered. The session was taken by a current serving Navy SEAL and tracking expert and the amount/variety of information was unbelievable. We trained from approx 7pm until about 2-3am which may not be a long time but I know I gleaned a hell of a lot of information from that course. Do I think I will need it tonight....NO but I'd rather have that info and NOT NEED it rather than be in dire need of how to extract myself from a situation and not have a clue on where to start.

Please tell us how and why you would ever have to cover your tracks.
Escape maybe but once your out, you just call for help. Unless you are thinking of going on "mantracker" from the extreame sports channel.

OLDMAN1

most people on boards like these talk bull****, your best bet is to contact you local garda station and ask to speak to the the crime prevention officer

The Bored One

Hmmm. I remember either an interview or a section from one of Forrest Griffins books where they talk about reaction gaps. Essentially it seemed to talking about the house layout and how each part that in some way impeded the progress or acted as a barrier against the intruders gave him more time to become aware of the threat and take defensive measures. So apparently he put alot of emphasis on the layout of the house creating these reaction gaps through doors being dead-bolted etc
The obvious point of all this was that having weapon available isn't of much use if you don't have time to retrieve it. Also that the longer and harder it is for intruders to obtain entry the more likely that they'll disengage because of time constraints or be detered from making the initial attempt in the first place.
Of course Forrest is someone who talks quite frankly about his plans for the coming apocalypse.

Barry.Oglesby

I think you could call someone paranoid and quote statistics to make them look that way, but you have to balance the likelihood of the event happening versus the effect of said event. Economically speaking of course. In this case the effect could be devastating, so asking if there's an avenue or training course to prevent that devastation isn't paranoia. In fact, it's just an innocent question. Likewise, the chances of someone having a cardiac arrest in front of me are very unlikely, but since the effects can be devastating, I know CPR just in case.

The driving analogy doesn't stack up. I can prevent the most common causes of road death by 1) not speeding, 2) not drinking and driving, 3) not getting in a car with someone likely to speed or who is drunk. After that, it's just down to chance. I can't prevent someone from wanting to break into my home, no matter how unlikely it is that they will. It's out of my control. I can deter them, and I can have a big stick by the side of my bed, but no actions of mine can change their intentions.

The first thing I would do is ask a professional, and this would mean the Gardaí. Yes I'm sure some people don't like our police force but they're actually quite effective. I would say they'd have the best advice on how to prevent home invasion. Alarms, deadbolts etc. would probably be their recommendation, along with a bedside panic button. Getting to know your neighbours would be good too. A friendly neighbour is far more likely to respond to hearing your alarm go off than someone you don't speak to.

In short I don't know of any courses and I'm not sure I'd trust anyone who claimed to be able to teach, for money, what the Gardaí, common sense and being more social would teach you for free.

RoboRat

Scenario: An intruder is coming up the stairs.
Possible response a: grab some bleach or drain cleaner from the bathroom and throw it in his eyes, then smash him in the head with a dumbbell.
Or get a lighter and deodorant and spray fire at him.

That type of stuff.

=

Bruce7

RoboRat wrote: »

=

Very funny.

I have an alarm, security lights and panic buttons. The doors and windows are locked at night. I take all the normal precautions and would assume that most intruders would run rather than confront someone. I also asssume that your common burglar is fairly low on the criminal food chain and doesn't present that much of a threat; if they were dangerous tough guys, they'd be doing something a bit more lucrative and less demeaning.

I am aware that the scenario where I would have to deal with an assailant in my house is very unlikely.

Another extremely unlikely scenario is a plane crash. But there are still safety demonstrations before every flight, the design of planes has to take the possibility of a crash into account, and there are people who are employed to work out exactly what to do in those extremely unlikely events.

Another unlikely scenario is a terrorist attack that destroys an office block. But every single large organisation in the world has disaster recovery plans that map out in minute detail all of the scenarios and permutations that they can imagine, and who has to does what at every step. They spend large sums on leasing spare buildings and filling them with equipment, even though they lie empty all year round. Just in case.

I don't see any reason why a householder might not think the same way about protecting their family, which you would expect to be the most valuable thing to them. It strikes me as common sense.

yomchi

Bruce7 wrote: »

I don't see any reason why a householder might not think the same way about protecting their family, which you would expect to be the most valuable thing to them. It strikes me as common sense.

you know what they say about common sense?!

Stephen_King

Bruce7 wrote: »

Very funny.

I have an alarm, security lights and panic buttons. The doors and windows are locked at night. I take all the normal precautions and would assume that most intruders would run rather than confront someone.

I would think the above would suffice being honest. Other than that I'd think the main problem is actually knowing when someone's actually got in and is wandering around your gaff. Maybe buy some of those motion detector ornaments that make noise if someone walks past them to give you a heads up.

Could also be an idea to designate one of your upstairs rooms (providing everyone sleeps upstairs) as a safe room with secure locking on the inside-if an alarm is raised everyone can leg it into the safe room and lock the door. Could help avoid a confrontation and give you time to call the Gardai.

If your intent on actually confronting intruders, I'm not sure what advice to give you besides avoid it if at all possible-the law has been changed to allow for such (using reasonable force) but a situation like that could get messy-someone out robbing a house is bound to have a screwdriver or some other tool of the trade on them which could lead to problems. You can work on strategies for defence but implementing them might be another matter.

Zen65

Bruce7 wrote: »

It would also be useful if someone could advise a homeowner on how to use household objects as weapons, both from the point of view of having something to hand in an emergency, and also not making weapons available to an intruder that they can use against you.

Does this kind of service exist?

I'm guessing that not many people would provide the sort of service you describe. As somebody who gives instruction in karate and also in self-defence I'd be very wary of giving the sort of instruction you propose.

In part that's because when teaching self-defence I focus mainly on teaching techniques of avoidance and evasion, and discourage "bravery" at all costs. Given that you don't have time to train to be proficient in fighting, I suggest your time is better spent by reviewing the options you have for avoidance and escape.

Some of the things I use / advise to people for protecting themselves in their home include:

• Lock the downstairs windows at night, and during the day when you're away from the house
• Ensure that there are no climbing aids around the outside of your house i.e. anything which would help an intruder access the upstairs windows
• Fit motion-activated lights outside your home, preferably front, side & rear.
• Before going to bed, leave your car keys and wallet downstairs where they can be seen by somebody before they go up the stairs (and preferably where you'll see them in the morning before you go to work!). However you should not place them where they can be seen through the letter-box..... that's inviting trouble.
• Use socket-timers to switch lamps on & off in the house when you're away. A dark house is tempting to burglars.
• Buy a battery-operated motion alarm and place it on the stairs. The best defence against an intruder in your bedroom is to be awake before he gets there. Also, if a motion alarm goes off he's more likely to turn around and leave the house.
• Have a personal alarm beside your bed, so you can set it off if somebody does enter the room.
• If you can afford it, install one or two CCTV cameras around the outside of your house.
• With your family, agree escape routes from the house in the event of a fire. Use the same escape route to get them out if there are intruders in the house. While the law says you don't have to retreat in your own home, common sense says you should not get into a conflict unless you're trained and have no option. Knives and screwdrivers make any conflict too dangerous.
• Establish a room where you can gather your family inside and lock yourselves in. Always bring your mobile phone with you, and better still, keep an old phone charged in there (no SIM needed to dial 112 for help).

Z

GARR

Get one of these maybe................works for me !!!!!:)

neozues

nino1 wrote: »

you won't learn anything useful in a few hours.

if you are relatively strong/athletic buy a baseball bat. (you don't need much training to use that)

if you are not relatively strong/asthletic it will probably get taken off you and used against you.

alternatively get in your car afterwards, drive him down and break his legs like the guy did in drogheda (on the news last night!!)

Yes you can do lots in two hours,
I guess I could teach anybody to do the right thing in such a situation.
Krav maga has house defence systems built into it, but I douth any of the krav maga mcdonald type pyrimid scheme setups in this country would help.
Go to amazon and check out high rating krav maga books, then read them and find out where you need work on, IE pysical fitness, a fire drill type plan house sucurity Ie a trap door to prevent some body getting up stairs or even the the presence of mind to block the stairs with a bed making lots of noise ringing the cops and or friend who knows the drill,
Above all Don't go down stairs or engage, say safe give them a way out.
And a wee dog is a great investment.

hope this helps.

n

vasch_ro

Barry.Oglesby wrote: »

The first thing I would do is ask a professional, and this would mean the Gardaí. Yes I'm sure some people don't like our police force but they're actually quite effective. I would say they'd have the best advice on how to prevent home invasion. Alarms, deadbolts etc. would probably be their recommendation, along with a bedside panic button. Getting to know your neighbours would be good too. A friendly neighbour is far more likely to respond to hearing your alarm go off than someone you don't speak to.

In short I don't know of any courses and I'm not sure I'd trust anyone who claimed to be able to teach, for money, what the Gardaí, common sense and being more social would teach you for free.

I have to agree with Barry here, every Garda Division offers a free service whereby a crime prevention officer can visit your home and survey the house and advise on security and improving same.
They can advice on all areas, with regard to doors, windows, CCTV, improved lighting and natural surveillance as well as Target Hardening.
The basic premise is the tougher your house is to break into the more likely that your house will be passed over for your neighbors house. They may also advice you on your rights to protect yourself and your property the new new home defence act.
Finally there is a actually some quite good advice here and a checklist you can do yourself here

I think money spent on good security measures, will provide peace of mind and would be better in the long run than a weekend Home Defence Course9 if there are any) etc.

vasch_ro

Zen65 wrote: »

In part that's because when teaching self-defence I focus mainly on teaching techniques of avoidance and evasion, and discourage "bravery" at all costs. Given that you don't have time to train to be proficient in fighting, I suggest your time is better spent by reviewing the options you have for avoidance and escape.

Some of the things I use / advise to people for protecting themselves in their home include:

• Lock the downstairs windows at night, and during the day when you're away from the house
• Ensure that there are no climbing aids around the outside of your house i.e. anything which would help an intruder access the upstairs windows
• Fit motion-activated lights outside your home, preferably front, side & rear.
• Before going to bed, leave your car keys and wallet downstairs where they can be seen by somebody before they go up the stairs (and preferably where you'll see them in the morning before you go to work!). However you should not place them where they can be seen through the letter-box..... that's inviting trouble.
• Use socket-timers to switch lamps on & off in the house when you're away. A dark house is tempting to burglars.
• Buy a battery-operated motion alarm and place it on the stairs. The best defence against an intruder in your bedroom is to be awake before he gets there. Also, if a motion alarm goes off he's more likely to turn around and leave the house.
• Have a personal alarm beside your bed, so you can set it off if somebody does enter the room.
• If you can afford it, install one or two CCTV cameras around the outside of your house.
• With your family, agree escape routes from the house in the event of a fire. Use the same escape route to get them out if there are intruders in the house. While the law says you don't have to retreat in your own home, common sense says you should not get into a conflict unless you're trained and have no option. Knives and screwdrivers make any conflict too dangerous.
• Establish a room where you can gather your family inside and lock yourselves in. Always bring your mobile phone with you, and better still, keep an old phone charged in there (no SIM needed to dial 112 for help).

Z

The above advice is quite good and I would agree with it

Tigger

Buy love and care for a rottweiller\ pitbull\ staffie
Let him want to sleep at the foot of your bed