Avoid potentially dangerous situations
-
It's usually safer to go with a friend or in a group, especially after
dark
(but just because you are with a friend, don’t assume you
don’t need to be careful;
an attacker with a weapon can threaten a whole group)
-
Keep doors and windows at home locked (or use the safety catches on
windows that only let them open a few inches)
-
Don’t hide a key to your house in an obvious place outside your house
-
Don’t make your garage door code something easy for someone to figure
out
-
Don’t open your door to strangers or for unscheduled appointments
(Even with a chain on the door, an attacker could push hard
enough to break the chain)
-
Ask for identification to be shown through a window or peephole even
when you’ve scheduled an appointment for someone to come to your home;
if you don't feel comfortable with the situation, call the company this
person says they represent
-
If your dog always barks when someone comes to the door, don’t try to
break them of that habit; you want a stranger to know you have a dog
-
If you come home and a door is unlocked or a window is broken or lights
are on or off that shouldn’t be or you don’t hear your dog that normally
barks, don’t go inside; instead call the police
-
Keep your car doors locked and don’t lower your windows far enough for
someone to reach their hand in
-
If it may be dark when you come out to your car from work or the
grocery, park under a light and/or ask someone you know and trust to
walk you to your car
- You may feel safe because you carry mace or pepper spray, but on a
windy day, your safety spray can blow back into your face and blind you;
if an attacker is close, they can wipe your safety spray off their face
and into your eyes
Trust your instincts
One of the best books I’ve read on this
topic is “The Gift of Fear.” Females are often raised to not hurt
anyone's feelings, to never embarrass anyone no matter how
inappropriately they behave, to always use a quiet "ladylike" voice, and
to put other people's needs and wants before our own. Attackers
know this and may play on it to get you to cooperate. There are
often clues our subconscious picks up on, so:
- If you don't feel safe, get out of
the situation
- If you feel this person isn't
trustworthy, don’t give them a ride, don’t invite them in and don’t go
anywhere with them
- An acquaintance of a friend of a friend of a friend isn't necessarily
someone you should trust or be alone with
- Just because someone is a co-worker or always bags your groceries
doesn't mean you should trust them to give you
a ride somewhere or that you should ride with them or be alone with
them
- Don't let someone try to embarrass you into cooperating with them
- if something about your car or house
seems odd when you return, stay out and ask for help
A "successful" attacker is going to be
one who looks safe, who befriends you or who guilts you into cooperating
until they can get you alone. We tell our children not to go with a
stranger who asks them for help and we adults shouldn’t either. This
includes a new co-worker who offers or asks for a ride home, someone
you’ve just met at a party, the stranger you’ve struck up a 20-minute
conversation with on the bus, a customer who seems a little too
interested in you.
Be aware
of what's around you.
Notice who is around you, who is walking toward you, where your car is,
where the lights are, the safest place to run to if necessary, what you
have that can be used as a weapon. Don’t become so involved in a cell
phone conversation that you don’t see or hear a potentially dangerous
situation before it happens. If you are walking alone, though, having
someone listening on the other end of a cell phone call (as long as you
are paying attention to your surroundings) until you get to safety is a
good idea.
Don't let someone get close enough to lunge at and grab you. And just
because they seem to be oblivious to you as they are moving toward you
doesn't mean they aren't planning to walk past you and then turn quickly
and grab you from behind. We don't like to make a scene or embarrass
ourselves or make others uncomfortable, but it's better to cause a
possible embarrassment than to risk your life.
Have a
plan
We’re not suggesting that you should walk around in fear. As a matter of
fact, having a plan can make you feel LESS fearful as well as more
self-confident and prepared should something happen. As soon as you are
aware that you do not feel safe, use your plan to decide what you are
going to do to get out of the situation now, or what you will do if it
gets worse:
- Try to defuse the situation, not
escalate it; be assertive, not aggressive.
- Think about what you have that you
can use as a weapon, if needed:
Your voice, teeth, hands/fists/fingers, elbows, knees, feet, purse,
keys, perfume, ink pen, nail file
- Figure out what direction you should
run if you need to get to safety
Do not be an easy victim
An attacker is typically looking for someone who they can intimidate and
get to do what they are told without making noise or putting up a fight.
- Look self-confident when you are walking around
- Pay attention; Do not be absorbed in your cell phone, looking in your
purse or wallet
- If someone does approach you, use a strong self-confident voice and
look them in the eye
- If someone starts to get too close, put your open hands up, palms
toward the other person in a "stop" position and
tell them in loud assertive voice to "STOP!" or "BACK OFF!"
- Be the loud, yelling crazy person; attackers to not want someone who
will draw attention to what they are doing
Other things to
think about:
Should you fight back or not?
No one can tell you what YOU should do in any situation. The goal is to
survive. But if you’ve learned some easy-to-use and easy-to-remember
self-defense techniques, you’ve increased your options if you are
attacked.
If an attacker
tells me that I won’t be hurt if I stay quiet or just get in the car,
what should I do?
Again, no one can give you an answer that will be right for every
situation. And again, the goal is to survive. But you need to ask
yourself why the attacker wants you to stay quiet (he doesn’t want you
to attract attention to stop his attack) or why the attacker wants you
to get in the car (so he can take you to another location so he can do
whatever he plans with less chance of being stopped) and why you should
trust and believe a person who is taking you against your will when he
says he won’t hurt you if you do what he tells you to.
Frequently asked questions about our self-defense classes
1. How will a self-defense differ from your regular taekwondo
classes?
This will be less formal than our
regular taekwondo classes. In taekwondo we learn patterns of
moves, focus on sparring skills and develop wood breaking techniques,
all designed to help us defend ourselves better through the repetition
and practice that comes with regular workouts. In self-defense classes
we will teach just a few basic techniques with partners and soft targets
that can help give you an edge in a difficult situation.
2. Do I need to buy a martial
arts outfit for this?
Nope! In fact we’d prefer you didn’t.
Just wear comfortable loose-fitting clothing like sweat pants and a
short-sleeved t-shirt. You won’t need your shoes or socks during the
class either. While the class won’t be terribly strenuous, you can bring
a water bottle if you like. We do have drinking fountains.
3. Will we meditate and do a lot
of bowing?
Nope! There is no meditation or
religious philosophy associated with the Hilliard Taekwondo Academy
program in our "regular" classes or in our self-defense, stranger-danger
or bully prevention classes. While there are formalities associated with
our taekwondo program such as answering each set of instructions
promptly with "Yes, Sir!” or “Yes, ma’am!” and the courtesies of bowing
to your partner and shaking their hand, our self-defense classes are
less formal. However, the more promptly everyone responds to
instructions, the more we can accomplish during these classes.
4. Are you trying to get me to
sign up for classes?
Of course we’d love you to sign up for
classes, because we love taekwondo and think it’s a great all around
strength training/cardio workout and self-defense program, is great for
the whole family, plus a good way to make new friends, but that isn't
why we offer the self-defense classes and we don't try to sell you on
our program before, during or after the self-defense classes. We don’t
want any student we have to strong-arm or trick into signing up. On the
other hand, if you enjoy the self-defense class and think you might like
taekwondo, we urge you to try one of our taekwondo classes for free to
see what you think.
5. Where do I get more information?
For more information about our self-defense seminars, bully awareness,
stranger danger or our taekwondo program, give us a call at 777-6033 or
stop in to visit us. Just check out the calendar and class times on our
schedule page.
Check out which Taekwondo America school is in your community:
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