Great White Shark Self-Defense? Karate Can Work!!!
27 Mar 2008
If you are like me and have scuba dived before, you have probably thought about what you would do if a shark attacked! I remember reading about this very issue in scuba classes when I was 16 years old. The instructor told us to go to the bottom and take your tank off to use as a barrier. We were taught to find a crevasse on the bottom to wedge ourselves in until the shark swam away. I don’t know about you but I think the shark has gills (unlimited air supply under water) so my best hope would be for the shark to lose interest.
I used to read Jacques Cousteau books so I could learn about the underwater environment. One method he employed was to make shark billy sticks. I duplicated the shark billy stick by pounding small nails into a small wooden bat, snipping off the edges close to the wood so the shark’s skin would not slip off the end of the bat. I also drilled a hole into the handle of the shark billy stick so I could attach a strap. My plan was to put the shark billy stick between any shark and myself so he would not eat me (If I happened to notice him).