Yelling at someone who is attacking you

[Freetacos]

Would yelling at the top of your lungs give you a psychological edge over your assailant, or do you think it would make you lose your nerve and concentration in target aquisition?

[springmom]

I would yell because it would get attention. At that point, I want somebody calling 911 if I'm unable to do so. And I might get lucky and have some knight in shining armor come help.

This is not the time to keep a secret. Yeah, yell. Loudly.

Springmom

[Samurai]

both.

The "kiai" in martial arts strikes serves a number of purposes. Moving large amounts of air through your lungs can boost your endorphines, relax your muscles, and synchronize your breathing with your body movement, all resulting in quicker, harder strikes.

At the same time, when you're moving that much oxygen, it's very easy to get excited. Running kata with good hard kiais can make my heart race, and in running kata, there are no attackers present!

That's a short answer. People have expounded for whole books on the pro's and con's of kiais. But, if your intention is to keep control of yourself, and to calm the situation, then yelling at an attacker is not the way to go. If your intention is to quickly overpower your assailant and render him inoperative, "KIAI!"

[marlboroman84]

Agreed with Samurai. There have been alot of psychological studies about the effects of yelling and loud voices and the psyche. A loud voice tends to put people on edge. Yelling at someone who is not expecting it can cause them to momentarily stop. In alot of instances that is all you need. Anyone who has been in the military will tell you that yelling at your opponent in hand to hand can unnerve most people greatly.

[RedPhnx]

I train Judo and hand to hand with some prison guards and cops in our area and most of them use a string of explitives before attacking some one who is dumb enough to come after them. Come to think of it they also use those when some on is dumb enough to run from them.

[Bill T]

You see a lot of cops doing this sort of thing when they make forced entries to serve arrest warrants. "GET ON THE GROUND!!", usually repeated several times. I don't think anyone could say one way or the other. It certainly is annoying to listen to. Bill T.

[MD_Willington]

When someone yells at me like that I flip out... It really scares me. Yet someone can walk up beside me and fire off a 12 guage and I don't get that bothered, wonder what's up with that


MD

[Zak Smith]

Ooda.

[jhenry]

What you don't want to do is screach and flap about like a 12 year old girl who saw a spider.

[CDH]

Yelling is absolutely the very first thing you want to do. Predators don't like to be noticed so even if people nearby don't come rushing to your aid, you have the advantage of letting the perp know that there are going to be lot's of witnesses.

But there's something else I discovered by accident when I was in grade school. I was forced into a school yard fight by one of the class bullies who definitely had me at a disadvantage by weight, height, and aggressive attitude.
Well, I was screwed so when I realized I had nothing to lose, I really DID "lose it" and the moment I knew the fight had to happen, I acted totally crazy and went at him like I was totally intent on killing the SOB.
Now keep in mind that this is a story about 12 year olds, but the moment I went nuts and attacked him like I didn't care if I lived or died, it really unnerved him and after my getting in a couple of fast and hard lucky hits, he said "f(expletive) you, man, you're crazy" and got out of there as fast as he could. He never bothered me again nor did anyone else of his type.

So right or wrong, I have this notion in my head that there "may" be a situation that warrants acting not only loud, but totally crazy.
Of course, I haven't had to apply this theory for quite a while, although if you ask my wife, she might tell you that I apply this philosophy daily...
YMMV.

Carter

[Wildalaska]

What you don't want to do is screach and flap about like a 12 year old girl who saw a spider.

When did you see me do that and why would you tell everyone?

WildyounathtybwuteAlaska

[chris in va]

For some reason that conjured up images of a penguin. Screech and flap about.

[Blackwater OPS]

I would yell, "GET BACK PLEASE DON'T HURT ME, NO GET AWAY HELP STOP!!!!" ect. This might seems silly coming from an armed 230 pound male, but what you say is what people will remember, and testify to in court.

[Wildalaska]

GET BACK PLEASE DON'T HURT ME, NO GET AWAY HELP STOP!!!!

Good technique and an important point.

Why do I have this smile on my face, am I thinking of you screeching that in falsetto before you cap a goblin ?

WildohpleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeezeAlaska

[209]

Yelling adds one more thing to your defense. That's why policer officers do it. It also serves to disorient a person, so you get a few moments of additional time to do what you're doing to prepare.

Plus, as pointed out, if you're yelling , "get back" or "stay away", it imprints on a witness (and there is always a witness somewhere). Verbal commands are good.

Sometimes, you may get the sequence wrong and it may actually be the gun saying "BANG" followed by you saying "Stay Back"! But, as witnesses are usually not perfect in their recollections, they will still recall you did give a verbal warning/command.

Obviously, it doesn't work all of the time. There are a variety of reasons why a person will be unaffected by anything you say.

[mete]

If they're high on crack, meth , alcohol they won't respond !!

[Bender711]

Actions speak lounder than words, and .45s speak REALLY loud.

[revjen45]

I'm afraid that under stress I can't think of what to yell while I'm making a deadly force decision and getting ready/opening fire. I probably should keep my mouth shut because what I would say would not be real nice in retrospect when witnesses recall it with the expected inaccuracies.

[Don H]

Yelling at your assailant may be your only option (besides running away) in some locales.

[Mannlicher]

I am more the silent type.

[Tokamak]

A few months ago I pulled my weapon - the police later said I was justified.

I yelled very loudly at the person I was aiming at. I told him in no uncertain terms to stop his attempted/threatened assualt (he was approaching a woman and threatening her and she was asking for help) or he would be shot in about 2 seconds.

He stopped and I retreated with the woman and called 911. He had a knife but I did not know that at the time. Funny how he was able to control his "uncontrollable rage" in the face of a fire arm...

I would not yell in all circumstances but in this case I thought I could avoid a shooting - and it worked.

If he had been holding a gun during a robbery I would have just shot him in the head (if close enough) or center of mass (98% of the time) with no yelled warning. I would not give him the chance to swing around and shoot me.

You have to treat each circumstance individually.

[oldbillthundercheif]

Go ahead and yell. If it gets the scum's attention or feaks them out, great. If not, it can't hurt the situation so you might as well.

What is bad, however, is attempting to give commands while yelling / growling. You see cops do this a lot. "Get on the ground" turns into "Yuurg unna rouuuuun!". They then get angry because the person does not follow the unintelligible command. What is even worse is when they scream a whole series of contradictory / unintelligible commands:
"Freeze! Get unna ground! Get your hands up! Get on your knees! Yuuurg unna round! Freeeee! Gee yer han up! Don't look at me! Get back in the car! Freeze!"

If this ever happens to you, drop spread-eagle on the ground and wait for them to calm down. Keep your mouth shut and stay absolutely still and they will say something coherent eventually

[rem33]

Talk softly and carry a big stick.

[tony pasley]

I would use bad manners and point at the person ( my mother said it is not polite to point at some one) then bang.

[Deaf Smith]

I can see shouting when the situation has not escalated to deadly force yet. Say when three BGs are trying to surround you before they attack. But once they attack, well, people scare better when they are dieing.