Develop A Personal Self-Defense Strategy

The 6 Steps of Prevention

1. Accept the fact that there are impending dangers.
2. Accept the fact that danger can and will happen to you.
3. Create a desire to want to do something about it.
4. Have the conviction to start studying to prevent it.
5. Be willing to keep up with the studying.
6. Develop a personal self-defense strategy.

Your Personal Self-Defense Strategy

1. Be physically fit
(This is the most important but takes the longest to achieve) Being physically fit and healthy can affect your entire life not just your self-defense strategy.
2. Attitude
How do you carry yourself? Do you have a positive attitude? About yourself? About life?
3. Appearance
How do you dress? What kind of signals do you give off? Is the way you dress practical and functional?
4. Be organized
Are you always rushing around oblivious to what’s going on around you?
5. Environmental Awareness
It requires total awareness of environmental conditions that can either enhance or endanger your well-being. It takes into account where you live, how you live, where you work, the type of work you do, the school you attend, your mode of travel, where you travel, the people you meet, the car you drive, floor plan, furniture arrangement, surrounding conditions, etc. all of which might be conducive to danger. The impending dangers referred to might include those situations that have not occurred and by proper preventive planning may perhaps never occur.
6. Be Mentally Alert
This is the most important aspect of avoiding danger. It certainly sounds simple enough, but the consistent practice of mental alertness takes tremendous effort. Mental alertness keeps us from doing something that places us in a compromising situation. If we do allow ourselves to get in a compromising situation, mental alertness can help us escape to safety. If we cannot free ourselves from a compromising situation our mental alertness can help us choose the proper response to the situation.
7. Identify the types of danger
One must be able to identify what danger is, the different types of danger and where it can be encountered. Develop an awareness of all the situations that can endanger your well-being. One environmental condition may produce several dangerous by-products. You will be better prepared the more you stretch your imagination to the numerous types of danger that are present in our society.
8. Understand the nature of attack
You must learn to identify, define, and classify the types of encounters you may find yourself in; thoroughly scrutinize the various methods in which weapons (natural or otherwise) may be utilized; and instinctively determine your choice of action
9. Periodic Re-examination
It is always a good idea to periodically re-examine present as well as new dangers. Repetition of factual information helps them to become more ingrained.
10. Avoid Danger
Avoid unnecessary and/or suspicious activities where danger lurks.

Some Final Thoughts

No matter how sharp your “environmental awareness” may be, threats to your personal safety can still occur. Always be aware of the fact that new dangers can arise. Flexibility of thought and action are essential.

Understand that memorization of techniques is not enough. A detailed study of practical concepts and principles of attack and defense is the real key. Like all physical activity, training is a prerequisite for proficiency. This entails the conditioning of the muscles, joints, and other parts of the body so that they function with proficiency in the midst of an attack. However, mental conditioning is also essential if you expect to totally maximize your physical efforts. A combination of the mind and body working together is imperative. At this level, strategies and plans of defense and offense are not thought of consciously, they happen naturally. Properly trained, mentally as well as physically, your body and mind will automatically respond to any given situation.

Self-protection preparations are indeed necessary in today’s environment. Seek and prepare for it now, for tomorrow may be too late. Take the attitude that it could happen to you rather than it couldn’t possibly happen to me, and you’ll be ready, if not to protect yourself, perhaps your loved ones or friends.