Improvised Weapons

I don't carry sand or dirt with me, but your point is valid. There's always more than one way to get out of hot water. Not sure I agree people will always flinch though.

That move seems to work best when you're already near the ground or can easily scoop some of the stuff up real quick, and maybe dramatise the throwing action a little bit so it's noticed for more of a flinching reaction. I haven't really tested this myself yet though.

There's an entire discipline in Japanese martial arts, called Metsubushi, that focuses on throwing powders to blind or disorientate the enemy. Historically they even filled eggshells with powder, or kept them in a small whistle-shaped container on a cord around their necks to blow all over the enemy. Of course, historical techniques (such as poison or ground glass) would be excessive these days, but say you practiced these techniques with a hot curry powder...

ECW's Tajiri used to keep wasabi in his mouth, and spit it in the eyes of his opponents during matches. When he went to WWE, they started calling it the, "green mist".