MEP_SO

The parents were sitting on a bench farther down the path. They arrived at their son's side as I broke the dog.

If they were well trained, they could. If they were not trained but athletic, I think they could handle a pit bull attack and survive without permanent damage. If they were untrained and unathletic, it could go both ways. Crossposted from the other page, this is how you defend against dogs:

Tough question to answer. I was trained mostly against attack dogs, and they don't bite blindly like a typical dog. Also, we had combat knives, which would make dog attacks much easier to handle.

My quick advice would amount to this: Small dogs: Kick the shit out of them, see how far they fly.

Bigger/big dogs: You will get bitten. It will hurt. Even though adrenaline will take the edge off the pain, still be aware of this. Turn slightly away from the dog so your groin isn't exposed, and ball your fists. If the dog is growling/barking at you but not advancing, back away slowly and find something to get in between you and it. If you have a coat or jacket on, take it off and hold it in front of you as a shield. Don't pull a sweater over your head or you're SOL if the dog decides to attack. If the dog attacks, as it approaches, keep your forearm from your frontmost arm out in front. The dog will bite your forearm, and attempt to take you down. Absorb the blow and go down with the dog. Keep your chin tucked in so it doesn't bite your neck. Wrap your free arm around the dog, pull its body towards you, and do your best to roll on top of the dog so your weight is on its body. Then, from this mounted position, try to move your free arm around its neck to get it in a choke hold and squeeze to strangle it. If it lets go of your forearm use this arm to squeeze tighter around its neck. Don't try to choke it with your fingers because you'll fail. You need the strength of your whole arm wrapped around its neck.

If you happen to have a jacket in front of you like I mentioned, you might manage to push it off you as it tries to bite. If you can manage to wrap the jacket arounds its head, strangling it will become easier. If it is not particularly adept at biting you, punching its face/snout (hard -- aim specifically for its nose) might make it back down.

Summary: Do not run, get a jacket in front of you if you can, once it takes you down use your free hand to pull it onto you and roll on top to get into position to strangle it. Kick small dogs like you're aiming for a field goal.

Ha! Nice catch! I meant duffel bag, my mistake.

It wasn't anything special. Some low-life pulled a knife and demanded my handbag and wallet. I dropped my handbag and took his knife, and hopefully he learned a lesson.

The most useful part of my training was to keep a cool head during extreme situations. It's helped me avoid a few accidents while driving. Also, someone tried to mug me in a subway station when I visited New York, and it didn't work out. I kick my coworkers' asses in paintball once a month (which, I admit, is great fun), but beyond that, my days aren't too crazy. I don't have guns hidden behind paintings or a bunker in my toolshed, if that's what you're expecting. :)