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So what can I do to defend myself?
Well the first thing I’m going to talk about is avoidance. Following is a brief overview of ways to keep you safe:
What’s really required to survive in the modern world is firstly, awareness of your environment and surroundings as many attacks will happen to those who unknowingly put themselves into a potential dangerous situation. Be aware of your surroundings and also carry yourself well and avoid putting yourself in a potential dangerous situation and become a victim in the first place. If you are going to walk down an alleyway or into a tight corner you need to have awareness of your surroundings. You must be aware of developing and even potentially developing situations and people/groups around you. Those looking to mug you or cause you harm, if they aren’t suddenly jumping out from somewhere or making sudden moves towards you may also seem to be normal to you by approaching you and asking you a question just to distract you, to give them that split second advantage. If you ever see a fight or someone being attacked it is quite common that the attack is sudden and often the victim is unaware and struck before they even saw it coming. The attack can come from anywhere and you will not be able to predict how and when it will happen and that is the reality of it. So hopefully before it even gets to that stage, you will be able to avoid that.
If a situation does arise, you will need to keep a cool head in order to think clearly and not let your emotions/ego get the better of you. Yes I understand that statement about your ego is a bit difficult for many to realise and often the wanting to save face and/or not let someone get the better of you can trigger the wrong response, when in reality in order to not escalate a situation, you really ought to just do your best to control this type of response. Therefore, if you can get some distance between yourself and any potential dangers, try to walk away (keep watching them, don’t turn your back on them, unless you have sufficient distance to run/get away). If you can’t get away, talking may/may not help, you will need to assess the situation, but try talking calmly and don’t react to insults or get into an argument. It may be better to just say sorry and make any excuse to get out of a potential dangerous situation. If there is one potential aggressor/attacker keep your eyes on them and their body and hands, be ready for anything. If there are multiple potential aggressors/attackers, try to align yourself so that only one is in front of you, without putting yourself in a position you cannot get out of (i.e. a corner), or don’t allow yourself to be surrounded, sucker punches from the side can happen very suddenly and more than likely you wont even be expecting it, let alone see it coming. Therefore try to maintain a distance where they can’t make a sudden attack or strike and it’s also a good idea to keep your hands up in front of you, preferably with your palms facing away from you in a defensive non aggressive position/manner.
If you are unable to avoid a physical confrontation, you will need to be able to defend yourself with proven effective easy techniques. If weapons are involved, it is always, without exception best to run if possible. There is next to very little if any chance of getting away with no injury and a likelihood of getting killed when a weapon is used, be it a gun, knife or any other lethal or even possibly non lethal item, despite what many so called experts teach. Regardless of your experience, when weapons are involved someone is likely to be seriously hurt or killed with all the consequences to follow for both parties, so do your best to get away from the situation.
