Yesterday, I completed a Self-Defense Course that I took with two of my girlfriends, Michelle and Judy. I want to share some things with you, because I believe safety in today's world is very important.
I had never really thought about taking a course until last November 2010 a lady in my networking group told a story how she was followed in her car on the freeway all the way from her job in Dallas to her home in Fort Worth. The experience she relayed made me realize, what would I do in a situation like that??? I didn't know. She knew a guy that taught Self-Defense Courses and she contacted him. He gave her some tips and she shared them with us.
Michelle had told me about this class offered in my local community and I opted to take it with her and Judy joined us when I told her about it. Our instructor is a Christian, has been a Police Officer for 30 years and has a Black Belt in Marshall arts. He currently works in the Crime Scene Investigator Department with the Fort Worth Police Department. He teaches Criminal Justice at a local college, Self Defense and Sign Language Courses at the Burleson Community Center. I want to share a few safety tips that he stressed in the 1st class, some things you may already know, some that you may just need to be reminded of:
- Prepare the best you can for situations
- Don't have a false sense of security
- Lock the Doors
- Have a Cell Phone
- Keep distance between vehicles (so you can maneuver out of a situation if needed), enough that you can see their complete tires on the pavement or as they teach you in California Drivers Ed so that you can draw a wide white line at a stop sign between you and the car in front of you
- Don't play road rage
- If followed make 4 right hand turns
- Park as close to where you are going
- If an unmarked car tries to pull you over, don't stop, call 911 - if its really a Policeman/Policewoman their buds will be there within seconds once you call
- Use lots of lights
- Mini-blinds turn towards the window so that the inside slat is "up"
- Have a dog, if you don't want a dog, have a dog bowl and chain to make it look like one is inside
- Have a pair of men's boots sitting on the front porch
- Keep your car alarm key-chain next to your bed to set-off if needed
- You can always pretend to be talking to someone on the phone, they won't know the difference
- Don't be out late at night
Recommended Reading by our Instructor:
The Gift of Fear by Gavin De Becker
The Evil That Men Do by Stephen G Michaud and Roy Hazlewood
Here are a couple videos you need to watch also:
Video 1 and Video 2 of Jeff McKissack (they guy that I spoke of in the first paragraph) in an interview with a local DFW TV Show. Jeff also has a website and blog for his business, Defense by Design, if you wish to check it out and learn more tips.
This one is called Chin Na (Seize and Control) and shows a few of the things we learned and some other techniques that are taught in Marshall arts classes. Notice how little effort is used and how much pain is inflicted.
Charlie came and spoke as the spot light speaker at Cowtown Netweavers, the networking group that I am a Board Member on, two weeks ago. He gave an excellent presentation that everyone appreciated. His experience gives more creditability to statistics that are hard to fathom.
I highly recommend you take a class like this. This one is only $35 and is done over a 4 week period. You can go on and learn much more in any Marshall arts class, but this will at least give you some basic understanding of how to conduct yourself in some common positions people end up in...here is hoping that it never happens to you!
Please write me if you want more information. I highly recommend the instructor we had!
