IT CAN BE AS SIMPLE AS SPREADING A RUMOR, YOUR THREAT COULD BE THAT YOU WILL TELL EVERYONE BAD SHIT ABOUT THEM.
IT COULD BE A LIE, A SIMPLE "I KNOW WHAT YOU DID", INSINUATING YOU KNOW MORE THAN YOU DO, A GOOD POKER FACE CAN SCARE SOMEONE SHITLESS.
AND IF THEY CAN'T HANDLE THE BANTZ AND PUT YOU IN A SELF DEFENSE SITUATION, JUMP WITH JOY, BECAUSE YOU NOW HAVE FREE LEASE!
Tbh most of the time you will not have to gouge and rip, most of the time standing up to a pest FIRMLY NOT SOFTLY, NOT POLITELY, WITH VICIOUSNESS, WITH EVIL HATRED AND SPITE, TELL THEM THEY'RE ***WORTHLESS*** AND ***GARBAGE***. Watch them shrink, get confused, become unsure and afraid, most of the time that's how they are.
Oh and I'm not saying that gouging eyes and biting fingers off will save you per say, it'll probably get you beaten to death if they're bigger, but at the point where you have to defend yourself it's better to fight back than to curl up, if possible.