Self Defense – Basic Tips to Stay Safe

Understanding some basic self defense tips will make your life much safer and less stressful. In this article, I address some key considerations that will enable you to better protect yourself if the need arises.

1) Awareness – This is the most important aspect of your self defense training strategy. Always be aware of your external environment and avoid potentially dangerous areas and situations. Above all, be smart, know your limitations, and always err on the side of caution when your safety is at stake: if something doesn’t feel right, avoid it.

2) Outward Appearance: Behave and always behave in an authoritative, assertive and confident manner. Attackers, like all predators, look for easy victims or prey that will cause them the least amount of trouble. Walk purposefully, keeping your head up, shoulders back, and chest out. Maintain a steady breathing rhythm, along with a relaxed firmness in your posture.

3) When you get out of your car, after parking it, check the rear view mirrors and the external environment to make sure there is no danger. In case of doubt; park somewhere else. When you approach your car, do so so that you can see around you. Have your keys ready; avoid getting to the car and then trying to find your bag. Always check the back seat of the car before entering the car.

4) Always carry a cell phone that has its charge maintained. Carry it on your person, not in your bag or briefcase where it can be stolen or hard to come by. Encode the numbers of the emergency services and those of your partner and closest friends on the one-touch call buttons.

5) Carry self-defense weapons such as pepper spray, if legally permitted. If you are restricted from carrying personal defense weapons, learn how to use the everyday items you carry with you as weapons, such as; pens, umbrellas, combs, stilettos, car keys and key chains, etc. Carry a personal security alarm.

6) If you notice or feel that you are being followed, either in your car or when walking, move to a more populated area. Avoid driving directly home. If you are approached, shout for help, but direct the call to someone specific, as it has been observed that if you only ask for help, most people will not help as they do not want to be involved. If you address your request to someone specifically, you are more likely to get a response.

7) If you are threatened and an attack is imminent, one of the most important attributes to acquire is the ability to keep your distance from the attacker. One of the biggest mistakes most people make is letting the attacker get too close. Raise your hands to form a barrier between you and the attacker. A basic position of hands up at chest level, as if pushing something. Learn to yell in a firm, authoritative manner with a simple command like “Back off!” or “Go away!” or “Leave me alone!” Develop the use of one of these commands like a “broken record”: don’t strike up a conversation with a would-be attacker. If someone attacks you, order it right then and there, don’t let them take you to second place, as most cases end with serious injury or death.

8) If someone is armed and wants your wallet or bag, just give it to them with a minimum of fuss, don’t abuse the thief, just give them what they want and let them go. Only resort to attacking them in defense if it is clear that they will hurt you more and you have no recourse.

9) If it comes down to having to fight, do it with a fully committed and determined mindset of brutal survival. You must develop a survival mentality, whatever the cost, and carry out your defensive strikes with a continuous, relentless, full force attack. Attack with the most powerful weapons at your disposal, eye wash, face palms, forearm strikes to the throat, elbows to the head, kicks to the shins and knees to the groin, stomps on the knee joints (or in the head if the attacker leaves). down). If you can find something to hit the attacker with, use it. Use whatever is available and once the job is done, get out of there, run and get help. Remember that it is your life, you only have one and it is right to protect it. And no one else has the right to take it away from you.

10) When you feel the adrenal fear response kick in, relax, focus on your survival intent and your breathing. When you feel that the attack is imminent, just do it. A favorite mental strategy I teach is to have my self-defense students imagine that the attacker is about to kill or rape one of their children or murder their mother right in front of them and imagine themselves attacking and destroying the attacker with unstoppable force. Will.

11) Learn a good self defense course. You must deal with all the tips above; the actual techniques taught should be simple, brutal, and easy to execute under the stress of adrenal discharge. Look for a course that addresses the adrenal fight/flight/freeze response. Also, develop a mindset that kicks in when needed, as it is the mind that is the most important factor in your ability to respond quickly, efficiently, and effectively.

These basic self-defense tips will give you a solid foundation for self-protection. Be smart, use your common sense and stay safe.