Self Defense

How Should I Hold My Keys in the Parking Lot?

Who has been taught that, to truly be safe in the parking lot, you must hold your keys sticking out between your fingers? You can see the sharp, jagged metal of the keys protruding from your fist, almost like lion’s claws or little personal spears. How does that not hurt the bad guy if you have to strike him?

I hate to tell you this, but keys between your fingers is NOT a good self-defense strategy.

Why? Here are three reasons:

  1. To strike the bad guy with the keys protruding, you need to punch him. I’m not really a big fan of women punching anyone for self-defense unless you have practice punching solid targets – repeatedly. If you punch someone and do not have the proper arm alignment, you risk hurting your wrist, your shoulder, or possibly the little bones in your hand. It is better to strike with an extended palm or fingers slightly bent. You have much more strength and can use the entirety of your body to deliver a strike open-handed.
  2. If you did connect with some bad guy, will the keys stay solid in your hand and puncture him? Or will they scrape you? Try this: grab your keys and hold them between your fingers. Now, find something semi-solid resembling a person (not your teenager!) like a sofa cushion. Ever so carefully, push the keys into the cushion. Keep pushing. Do they stay solidly fused in your hand, driving deep into the target? Or are they splaying to one side or another, maybe even digging into the sides of your fingers? Now imagine adding speed and thrust, fueled by adrenaline. All of a sudden, you see blood – and it’s not from the bad guy, it’s from the sides of your fingers where your lion’s claws have cut into the skin down to the bone.
  3. What if you need to get to your keys in a hurry? Have you practiced grabbing your keys, placing them quickly and automatically between your fingers, over and over again until it is automatic? Have you practiced punching something solid so that you will connect with the bad guy and successfully stop him? What if you’re opening your car door and the bad guy comes up? Can you get them between your fingers so fast then? There’s a much easier way to use your keys for self-defense in the parking lot.

Here’s a much safer, more practical and powerful way to hold your keys in the parking lot. Grab the base of your key like you are going to start your car or open the lock.

Hold it solidly between your thumb and forefinger, with the rest of your keys hanging down and poking out below your little finger. Try the cushion test now. Does your key want to move or will it continue into your cushion until your sofa is ruined? OK, don’t push it in that far. You should find it much more stable and strong. You’re holding your key like this anyway, so you have the muscle memory which will keep you holding on in case you need to use it.

So, from now on, hold your car key in the parking lot or your house key in the driveway as if you’re going to insert it straight into the lock. Practice how fast you can grab your keys and get your hand into this position. Don’t forget to keep your head up and your mind on what is going on around you while on your way to the door. Prevention first: turn around and go back if you see anything or anyone that doesn’t look right and get some company to walk you out.

You have the right, the ability, and the power to keep yourself safe!

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