Pepper slice?

December 30, 2008 11:46 AM

Could a healthy spray of pepper spray stop a raging tough guy like Kimbo Slice?

Say you encountered Mr. Slice in a dark alley. You somehow insulted his momma. Time to fight.

Would your keychain pepper spray stop him long enough to run back to your own momma?

posted by toastchee to Human Relations (20 answers total)

I don't know about pepper spray, but a healthy frontkick sure stopped him.
posted by AlliKat75 at 11:58 AM on December 30, 2008 [1 favorite]

Yes, it can but you only get one chance.

Also: don't insult people like Kimbo Slice, glass jaw or not.
posted by unixrat at 12:02 PM on December 30, 2008

Pepper spray is not a knockdown. It's a deterrent. But I've seen plenty of video of hopped-up freaks fighting right through it, so I'd have to say no.
posted by Aquaman at 12:03 PM on December 30, 2008

Intuitive I have to say no, given that pepper spray takes 3-5 seconds to take effect, and by then you would probably already have been thoroughly worked over. By the way, his mother is a SAINT.
posted by Hildago at 12:05 PM on December 30, 2008 [1 favorite]

Does the knife-wielding bear have the ability to shoot pepper spray? This is important.

Seriously though, the best you can hope for is temporary blinding which allows you to get the hell out of the state.
posted by unixrat at 12:06 PM on December 30, 2008

Pepper spray can take up to 30 seconds to take effect. It also may not work on people who are drunk, on drugs or psychotic. It is probably also not very effective unless it gets in the eyes.

So provided you have good aim, enough distance and are dealing with a person not under the influence of anything or crazy, you'll probably be okay.

I do not know who Kimbo Slice is.
posted by triggerfinger at 12:08 PM on December 30, 2008

Best answer: My powers of search are failing me, but I saw a video online a few weeks ago of a massive tough guy pulled over by a cop. He got out of his car and jumped on the cop and started pounding away at him. The cop was able to get off a blast of pepper spray straight into the assailant's eyes but it didn't slow him down at all. From that dashboard cam video, the answer would seem to be 'not necessarily.'
posted by incessant at 12:09 PM on December 30, 2008 [1 favorite]

You might luck out and have him be one of those people who has a respiratory disorder and dies fairly quickly from it.

Other than that... well, there's been a case locally where the police basically basted a guy in an enclosed space with pepper spray, and they still felt the need to baton him to the ground afterwards.
posted by rodgerd at 12:25 PM on December 30, 2008

Best answer: In the specific case of Kimbo Slice, he's got quite a bit of experience with fighting and is used to fighting through pain, so probably not. I wouldn't be surprised if he's shaken off pepper spray at some point in his past.

It'd probably be more effective against the average raging guy in a bar, though I don't know to what extent.
posted by Metroid Baby at 12:33 PM on December 30, 2008

Some people are resistant to pepper spray. I don't think it's a matter of being tough as it is just having the right genes.
posted by valadil at 12:34 PM on December 30, 2008

I think the answer depends on the cloud created by the pepper sprayer. The intent should be to create a pepper spray cloud around the opponents head, irritating eyes, nose, and throat. In other words, it depends if you tactic is surrounding the opponent with a copious pepper mist, or trying to secure a direct hit to the eye with a pepper-water jet.

Think about the tear-gas canisters cops use on crowds that are quite effective versus the individual protection devices cops use, which as mentioned above, are much effective.
posted by McGuillicuddy at 1:32 PM on December 30, 2008

My experience (on both ends) has been that if you get the eyes, it works on contact, pretty debilitating for most people but I saw one person just wipe it from his eyes and keep on going. I don't think over all strength would have any bearing, some people just don't respond to capsicum.
posted by InkaLomax at 2:14 PM on December 30, 2008

I watched one of the Lockup documentaries on MSNBC. There was a guy that was always prone to disobeying the corrections officers. In an interview he claimed the pepper spray didn't affect him anymore because he'd been sprayed so many times he'd built up a tolerance. Perhaps he was playing it up for the camera, but I certainly believed him.
posted by sharkfu at 2:32 PM on December 30, 2008

After watching that video clip where Kimbo eats a bunch of wings, I'm not confident that capsicum has much of an effect on him.
posted by box at 2:39 PM on December 30, 2008 [1 favorite]

A more effective option, reputedly, is a mixture of pepper spray & civilian-strength Mace. I forget the trade name, but it shouldn't be too hard to find. Supposedly, the Mace acts immediately, occupying the bad guy for the several seconds required by the pepper spray to take effect.

While all this better living through chemistry is happening, the sprayer is of course encouraged to put as much distance as possible as quickly as possible between he or she & the sprayee.

Even better advice is to play the cool, not the fool.
posted by Forrest Greene at 3:39 PM on December 30, 2008

Best answer: Have you never watched Cops? They mase the shit out of some guys and it doesn't do squat! And I know that's stronger than keychain pepper spray.
posted by CwgrlUp at 5:22 PM on December 30, 2008

Standard training for many branches of law enforcement is pepper spray endurance. You get sprayed and still have to function. If they can do it stone cold sober just for training, imagine what a motivated nut can do?
posted by gjc at 5:36 PM on December 30, 2008

To be honest, I don't think capsicum mist would have much of an effect on anyone. Capsaicin mist, on the other hand...

:P
posted by Dysk at 6:07 PM on December 30, 2008

It can stop a charging grizzly bear stone cold so I'd say yes but probably not one of those little key chain ones. The way bear spray works is be being inhaled into the lungs where it causes a gigantic bronchial spasm that can literally knock the animal off it's feet in mid step. I don't think "mace" creates the same kind of spray though, its more liquid-y and more concentrated.
posted by fshgrl at 10:00 PM on December 30, 2008

After sleeping on it, a better tactic might be saying "Hey Kimbo, if you don't hit me I'll give you this nice can of pepper spray."
posted by unixrat at 5:16 AM on December 31, 2008