This article was written for and published in DigiHitch, an independent hitchhiking community magazine. However, a lot of the information contained in it is valuable and applies to a wide range of situations.
Do NOT use any techniques mentioned herein on your friends. You’ll have fewer friends and more problems. I’m not responsible for any resulting injury or lawsuits.
Hitchhiking has become far less dangerous in the past few decades than it used to be. Whether this is due to the lull in hitcher numbers as a whole, better public awareness, or that there are simply less malevolent people out there is to be questioned. However, if you spend enough time on the road, you’re bound to wind up in some sticky situations. These may be instances of kidnapping, shady drivers, or even people you meet such as homeless people, street thugs or common citizens. Whatever the case, you should be prepared for the worst. It’s a good idea to carry some form of protection such as mace when you are on the road.
Even if you’re a seasoned road warrior, or have taken every precaution necessary, you may eventually have the unfortunate luck of getting into a car with a complete psycho.
If you have reason to believe that your life may be in danger, don’t try to rationalize with yourself. No, they probably won’t just let you go. It’s also unlikely that they just want your pleasant conversation.
There’s a lot of stopping in urban driving. If you are in a dangerous situation and the driver stops, grab his keys if you can. Rip those suckers out of the ignition. Get the heck out of the car, chunk the keys one way and run in the other direction. Chances are he’s more concerned about his keys. He also won’t be able to follow you in the car. This works better if you’re sneaky and undo your seatbelt before you yank the keys. This makes your escape quicker. If you’re sneaky, you can have the seatbelt undone and hold it as if it were fastened with your left elbow to keep it from retracting. You can also cross your arms over it to keep it put. This is a naturally guarded body posture when you’re being kidnapped or otherwise held captive and won’t be suspicious. If you’ve been stuffed in a trunk, kick the taillights out. People tend to shown concern when the car in front of them has an arm flailing wildly from a gaping hole where a taillight used to be.
If there is a weapon involved, particularly a gun, things change drastically. Keep in mind that if there are people around, you’re unlikely to be shot. The last thing a criminal wants is to be caught, and shooting you while you try to flee his vehicle is a good way to get some unwanted attention. Most of the time they’ll just stare after you like ‘well, crap’ and just try to high tail it. If, however, you don’t have the luxury of an audience you can’t count on him not to blow your brains out. Struggling with someone in a car, especially a moving vehicle is extremely dangerous. Not only are you unlikely to gain control of the weapon, but even if you do, you’re most likely going to crash. Talk about yourself instead. Your high school crush, your hobbies, why you like traveling, some of the people you’ve met. Invite your kidnapper to join in the conversation. Many people have survived kidnappings by forcing their assailant to view them as a real person with a real life.
Let’s say for a moment that you have the space to fight. They might be transporting you from the vehicle to somewhere else, or you may just get into a pinch in a different situation altogether while on the road. There are some simple rules of defensive tactics to remember. For one, keep in mind that your assailant is making up his own rules. Don’t for a second think that he won’t do this or that…assume the worst and give it your all. Bite, kick, scream, claw, whatever it takes.
There are dozens of pressure points on the human body, two of which are easily accessible by just about everyone. You don’t have to be big and strong or know martial arts to hit the common peroneal. This is the nerve that runs near the arterial femoral muscle. It’s located just above the knee on the outer thigh. You can see a diagram here: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9d/Gray832.png By hitting this nerve with your knee you can completely disable the affected leg for a few seconds. You should execute this maneuver by bringing the side of your knee against the nerve as hard as you can. There is a similar nerve in the arm. Stretching your arms out in front of you, palms up, the nerve is located just above your inner elbow on the side facing away from you. Hitting this with the edge of your palm (like a karate chop) will disable the arm.
Unless you are trained or experienced in using your fists, don’t. The flat of your palm can cause far more damage with less damage to yourself. The palm-heel strike is particularly effective. Your hand should be shaped like this when using this technique: http://www.cse.dmu.ac.uk/~bb/dg/SelfDefence/Strikes/palm3a.jpg By bringing the palm of your hand up and against a person’s nose, you can break it with minimal force or exertion. You can also palm heel strike someone on the flat of the shoulder and make them lose their balance. I’ve used a combination of the peroneal kick and a palm heel strike to the opposite shoulder to much success. Generally a person will lean their upper body toward the injured leg, hitting the opposite shoulder can easily knock a full grown man on his rear. A palm-heel strike to the center of the chest can push someone back and knock the air out of them all at once.
Another palm-strike technique is called ‘tiger paw’. To most, this just looks like you’re slapping the crud out of someone, but it’s actually a valuable method of self-defense and is derived from the tiger portion of Uechi Ryū, a Japanese martial art. The focus of this style is in the hand posture, the "Tiger Claw", in which the wrist is drawn back, the fingers spread as wide as possible and the fingertips held forward to deliver a blow while grasping and twisting. When delivered successfully, all five fingers should drive forcefully into the opponent with the strength of a tiger's claw. When delivering a blow, one should aim for their opposite hip. You are not aiming for your opponent. The object of the strike is to go through your opponent. By aiming for your opposite hip you are commanding more force and control. You can also bring more strength to your attack by using your hips to maximize force.
Also, it’s good to remember that for most people, the strongest and most effective attack you can perform is with your elbow. The bones of your elbow are incredibly strong and resistant and by striking someone in this manner you are using a plethora of advantages, including various muscle groups and your weight. The most effective areas to elbow someone are the face, neck (back or front), stomach and chest. An elbow to the temple can render your assailant instantly unconscious.
In self defense it is extremely important to know human physiology. A proper blow just about anywhere on the body can completely disable a human being. Here are a few quick tips that will work for just about everyone; by pressing your thumbs beneath the eyes you can press them into the orbital sockets and remove your attacker’s eyeballs, no matter how hard he clenches them shut. You can do this by placing the pad of your thumbs against their cheek bones and tipping your thumbs into the recess of the orbital socket, press up and inward with both thumbs. It’s also remarkably easy to keep someone from breathing. Many people would try gripping the entire throat with both hands. Instead, with your fingers and thumb on opposite sides, grip the ridge of the throat and squeeze. Another trick is to place your thumb behind the person’s ear in the small recess behind the lobe, against the hard cartilage there. Press your thumb up and toward their face with enough force and they are unlikely to want to continue fighting you. In most cases, avoid striking your attacker’s mouth as teeth are sharp and can hurt you more than it does them. Instead, try a palm-heel strike below their chin.
Research various defensive techniques and take some classes particularly if you are female or small bodied. I have trained extensively in the event that I should need to defend myself some day and since I am small I’m likely to be underestimated. Use this to your advantage.
Most of the hitchers I have spoken with have never had an experience that involved bodily harm, but you can never be too prepared. Keep in mind that while statistically, you are unlikely to be assaulted while hitching; your general odds are drastically increased just by the number of people with whom you interact.
Remember, trust your instincts, be prepared and happy hitching!
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