Go to an actual martial arts school if you want self defense, but if you're really that worried just try to dig deep and find the courage to run in the day. Don't let people bring you down. Use them as part of your motivation.
This is an accident waiting to happen. So how would you know that out of your paranoia you would not use whatever you chose to defend yourself with on the wrong person and injure or kill an innocent person. Shooting a trash can thinking it is a person ready to ambush you is one thing but could you really live with the guilt that you have taken someone's father, mother, son or daughter out of your paranoia. I got a better idea, get help and take some meds to help with the paranoia. You don't need to know how to defend against trash cans and rabbits hiding in the bushes.
Just because you are doing martial arts doesn't mean people are gonna know unless you b tell them cause if you do some people are gonna try to fight you and that's what you don't want.
The best self defense is a gun.
You should smell Karate and you know the brown belt doesnt know.
I'm VERY out of shape and trying to run every day to lose weight. I'm not very fast, unfortunately. I run at night because I am embarrassed to be seen (with very good reasons) and it's a lot cooler than while the sun is out. I have a problem with this, though--paranoia. I know there are a few weirdos/criminals in my area, so every distant trash can is a person crouching down behind a car, every slight rustle in a bush is a stalker, not a rabbit, to me. I'm not very strong, so I need tips--how can I learn self defense WITHOUT it being obvious to others what I'm doing? No one in my family even knows I'm doing this and I can't take classes, so can you tell me some of the basics? I have my own room to practice in.
