Is this a good way to self defend?

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For someone who doesn't lift, would it be useful to use a sharp knife to quickly grab the assaulter's hand and cut the tendons?

No

As a knife is a potentially lethal weapon; you either go all in or not at all (your life is in danger or it isn't).

Best to run from any fight, as any fight has the potential for escalating. If you can't flee [and your life is in danger], then go all in with lethal cuts/hits/shots.

No.

I was once taught, never brandish a weapon you don't fully intend to use. Never use a weapons you dont fully intend to use to it's fullest capacity. Else it can just be used against you.

It is bets to avoid conflict. However if not possible, as the other guy said, quick unexpected and without hesitation. Otherwise you may just make a bad situation far worse.

Best defense if you are worried like that and dont have any physical ability to defend yourself is either a stun gun or pepper spray. Or a real gun depending on where you live.

No. The chances of you being able to "quickly grab the assaulter's hand and cut the tendons", are slim-to-none----first-of-all, if you don't feel you're very strong, he'll simply jerk his hand away from you; secondly, if you're THAT close to him, chances are he'll hurt YOU, before you can even THINK about hurting him. He has the advantage----the element of surprise!

One can hypothesize all they want----they can THINK they've thought of everything----they can THINK they've researched / practiced all TYPES of defense----but, bottom line: one never knows how they'll react, in a REAL situation.

I would strongly advice against the knife. Depending on your location, a knife may be illegal to carry publically. A knife can be taken from you and used against you, and while threatening to use the knife may serve as a deterrent to attacks, actually using the knife runs the risk of backfiring on you as it is recognizably a weapon. I suggest finding alternatives.

relevant:

OP - Are you actually in fear of being attacked or is this more of a hypothetical question?

If the person you are referring to is in better physical shape then you, said individual would only take from you and ues it on you. Pepper spray or mace would be a better choice. Best yet, don't get into situations that would lead to confrontations.

Its just that my appartment block is filled with drunkards and people messed up in the head.

I can see where you would have a problem. Is it legal for you to have mace and/or pepper spray?

Just going to add:

Contrary to what some are saying, a knife is actually a very good weapon for self-defense. No, no one will take it from you no matter how strong they are; in fact, a quicker and smaller person has an advantage with a knife.

It only sucks when you're beyond 20 feet or so and the person attacking you has a firearm (I guess a bow if you're in medieval Europe).

However, when you pull a knife, expect to use it to stop the person attacking you, which will most likely require you to use lethal force. You never stab/shoot to wound, as the police can say you weren't really in fear of your life.

I don't think anyone is saying that a knife is a bad weapon, just that carrying one for self-defense is inadvisable (this, of course, depends on local laws). I know I said it could be taken away from you, which I included since OP seems to be emphasising his own lack of physical strength.

OP seems to want to use his knife to pull some ninja moves to incapacitate his attacker and then escape. If we assume that the attacker unarmed, but is much larger and more agressive, it would still be the OP who introduced what will likely be termed a deadly weapon into that encounter.

As I understand it, a court is much likelier to look favourably on someone who defended themselves with an improvised weapon (see umbrella video above) than on someone who carried an actual weapon as a preventive measure.

Can be, but the best thing to do is learn self defense, because if the attacker is really fast and really good, he'd snatch that knife - and use it on you.

Self defense's the best. I'm so happy I learned, and it was plenty of fun. Should check out it's really all about self defense though, before you start the course, and not something for sport, discipline, meditation, dance, etc. Gotta concentrate on self defense and nothing else.

OP - The original technique you have mentioned is not a good choice, it is very unlikely that someone will allow you to hold them and inflict a cut like this. It will also require both of your hands leaving you unable to block a blow from the other person.

The best method of self defence is to maintain a distance, if this is not possible then you will need to find another method. Carrying and using a knife has risks, as mentioned already. Pepper spray, and similar, are better used at a distance. If used when you are close enough to touch the other person there is a chance that you will also be affected by the chemical. As above, consider carrying something that is dual purpose, to reduce any legal implications, and ideally keeps a distance between you and the attacker. Whatever you choose, you will need to practice how to use it. I assuming those unbreakable umbrellas are quite expensive too.

I also recommend you consider taking up a martial art. You don't need to become a MMA cage fighter.
Tai Chi is good, in a combative form not the more relaxing, meditative style. It is based on defensive actions and concentrates on using the attackers body weight and momentum against them. Whatever technique you choose, you need to practice it so that the motions are already programmed into both mind and body. This will also improve your confidence which in turn will make you less likely to be attacked.

I have practiced various types of martial art. Recently two guys tried to attack me, I immediately went into a confident defensive stance and they choose to walk away.

If you're male, there's isn't a big age difference between your attacker and you, and he is unarmed, aren't you very much universally condemned as a coward if you use any kind of weapon? I've always been under the impression that basically everyone agrees that the fact that you are defending yourself matters zilch as far as this judgement is concerned, and that being afraid of your opponent's physical strength only shows how undeserving you are of any sympathy. Being weak is being unworthy of living, so the fight simply puts you to the test, and only a coward would shrink from the challenge, knowing he doesn't cut it. By showing how easily he destroys you, your attacker shows how morally superior he is to you, too.

Before someone jumps to the opposite conclusion, no, I don't like these ideas, but I see them everywhere, and my opinion doesn't seem to matter much in practical terms. As usual, people seldom bother to make explicit the ultimate logical consequences of the ideas they casually show now and then, and this keeps them from looking as crazy and obsessed as I do, but the consequences are there all the same.

I'm talking about 40 year olds couldbe rapists who might always harrass my mother and might try breaking down my door at any time. - The only door separating us. No place to hide.

Firstly, who cares? would you not rather be alive and potentially seen as a coward by some than being unversally recognized as the worlds manliest corpse? We are assuming that we are talking about a real, sincere attack, not some BS macho half-show half-duel.

Besides, would you want to be the attacker who was defeated by a seemingly ordinary umbrella?

Secondly, if the other guy is twice my size and filled to the brim with incoherent rage, I may as well be a geriatric for all the good fighting him unarmed like the worlds manliest future corpse. You seem to think that society at large operates on some sort of superficial social Darwinist BS. Humans are incredibly weak compared to other animals. Humans are incredibly smart when compared to other animals. As a consequence of our intelligence, we learned how to work together to overcome tasks we couldn't overcome alone, and we learned how to use tools to do things we couldn't manage without them. And just as he would think twice about attacking you if you hade a bunch of friends with you and he didnt, the same applies if you have a club and he does not. Fight smart, not hard.