@Ethan Elliot that "grab a bear by the underbelly" is a myth. Grabbing a bear at all is a bad idea. If the bear is acting defensively, playing dead *may* help. But if it is actively hunting you, fight fight fight. Playing dead in that case will 100% not work. If it is a black bear (North America), back away slowly, yell and that may help. If it charges, fight fight fight. Playing dead rarely works on black bears because they are much more aggressive than brown bears. (BTW, it is *also* a myth that bears won't eat rotting flesh or already dead animals, but those are NOT their preferred food--which is why playing dead can help unless the bear is actively hunting you)