The following are a list of things to keep in mind for self-defense.

Following these things will augment your awareness which is really 80% of self-defense!

• Be Observant: Senses amplified. Attuned to your environment. Here’s why: two seconds of early detection could be enough time to avoid a “hit” and live to tell the story.
• To reduce the element of surprise, ditch tunnel vision and develop peripheral vision. Soften your gaze and use your eyes like a wide angle lens. This can help eliminate blind spots to common angles of attack and allows you to become a motion detector.
• Walk like you own the place. No tipping forward or schlepping! Stay upright, aligned and on balance.
• Give peace a chance! If faced with a fuming, but not yet violent individual, use verbal skills to de-escalate, defuse, lower their aggression. (Use non-inflammatory, empathy-based language.” I can see how upset you are…. I hear you.”) Maintain distance while calmly moving yourself off his line of attack.
• Act fast! The first few seconds of an assault or first sign of imminent danger is your best time to break away. The longer a person has control over you, the more difficult it becomes to facilitate escape.
• Do not allow a criminal to move you to a second location (not even from the street to the backside of a building). Second locations are always more dangerous. At a second more isolated location, criminals will have more control over you. Go ballistic on them but do not “go with them!”
• RULE! Don’t allow yourself to be tied up or bound. If you see rope, duct tape or cordage coming at you, it’s time to fight like an animal! Attack the face, eyes. Morph your legs into battering rams.
• Set boundaries (use verbal/spatial/distance controlling skills) to ward off space intruders and would-be predators. If a person encroaches or makes you uncomfortable promptly establish borders to create distance and OWN your space. Use strong (but not overly aggressive) body posture: Take a sturdy stance with hands up and palms out as if to say “Stop.” Use firm unambiguous language, such as: “Leave me alone. ” “No, I’m fine.” “I’m NOT interested. We’re done here…. Back off.” This isn’t one-size-fits-all, so adjust volume/ intensity / attitude as needed. This could be a “test” (Is she an easy or hard target? Can I get THIS close, touch or speak to him like this…? ) so be sure your words and body-language are congruent.
• Don’t fight over money, jewelry, your Gucci bag. This is self-defense not “stuff defense.” Reserve your savagery for when your life is at stake.
• Use your voice as a weapon to repel, dissuade and to attract attention. Many women have successfully foiled attacks by using their voice. Yell! Raise hell and draw attention. Point and shout to bystanders: “You….call the cops!”
• Be willing to make a commotion. Throw rocks though a window. Pull a fire alarm. (While you’re there, grab the fire extinguisher. Hint:They make good weapons.)
• If suspiciously approached, watch the hands—not the eyes. Eyeballs are never going to physically attack you. Hands and whatever they contain might. When driving, remain alert. If suspicious persons approach your vehicle and you cannot see their hands, hit the gas!
• Walk Away. If you see trouble coming and you can remove yourself, do it.
• A moving target is harder to hit! If approached by a gunman and you can easily escape, Do it! RUN! And run towards cover in a zig-zag pattern. It makes you harder to hit and distance is your best defense! When driving, try to maintain enough room between your vehicle and the one in front to make a quick getaway. In just three seconds at 20 mph a car travels 90 feet—effectively out of range of most shooters.
• Trapped with an aggressive person with no easy way out?  Take control. Lie. Manipulate. Redirect the mind of the man.
• In confrontations, mind your words. Don’t resort to disrespecting. Here’s the deal: If you humiliate or back someone into a corner, he’s more likely to go on the attack. Swallow some pride—even if he’s a jerk.
• Never Rely on just ONE move!
• Use barrier methods to create distance from troublemakers. Get your body onto the other side of large items: cars, buildings, desks, walls.
• Honor gut feelings. Stay in touch with your fear. Tune inward – not just outward – to how you are feeling and to the sensations in your body. Whether you hear fear’s signal as a quiet voice in your head, an uncomfortable nag in your gut, or as alarming sensations…obey!    Real fear is an agent of survival. Its prime directive is to keep you alive. Honoring fear and intuitive hunches—whether with strangers or intimates—could save your life.

I hope the need never comes up for any of these things, but let’s face it… The world is getting pretty dangerous out there and these things could make the difference between you just having an unpleasant interaction or you never being heard from again!

Early detection is best, knowing what to do is next.

If you are looking for someone to teach great self-defense skills, contact IMA! Sifu Stephen loves teaching seminars!

Blessings,

Sifu Stephen and IMA