Sara Ahrens gives 10 self-defense tips to defend your self from an attacker at her blog via Beretta USA.
I was outside of town last weekend, bicycling on an old railroad bed that’s been turned into a trail. It was just about dusk when I rode up on a young woman standing in the middle of the trail. Her back was to me. Though she had her headphones on, I could hear her music. She was too busy texting to see me coming. I could tell by how little she was wearing that she wasn’t concealing a handgun. When she did finally notice me, she almost fell over with fright.
There’s an obvious lesson here, but we can all learn from her ridiculously naïve mistakes. As we have already explained in this post, active self-defense requires continual mental and physical training. Yet fitness and mental acuity will fail you if you forget about situational awareness. The best way to refresh your defensive skills is to take a good long look inside. The basics of self-defense begin long before you are forced to draw your concealed handgun. Here are ten basic self defense tips; they are fundamental ideas that will help protect you from criminals who are looking for crimes of opportunity.
Photo courtesy of “The Shooting Gallery”
We teach the buddy system to our kids, yet ignore it ourselves. Criminals are looking for an easy target. They make split-second assessments of the potential resistance they are going to face. Criminals are smart enough to recognize that their chances of successfully overpowering a victim one-on-one are better than if they choose a two-to-one scenario. Targeting more than one person means criminals are more likely to be identified, and less likely to be in control of the situation. It has been estimated that traveling with one additional person decreases the likelihood of being targeted by 70%, and with two additional people, 90%!
Action is faster than reaction. Criminals may lurk in darkness in order to get the jump on their victims. Criminals are known to hide behind dumpsters, bushes and cars awaiting an unsuspecting pedestrian. Walk and park in areas that are under streetlights, or away from shadowy places. Trust your gut. Check your surroundings. When you do have to travel alone, which you inevitably will, make sure you minimize the chance for crimes of opportunity.
It’s not always possible to have the company of an actual companion, though you may be able to stay in areas that are well populated. Avoid taking shortcuts through alleys or places that have fewer potential ‘witnesses’ or ‘good Samaritans.’ Remember, a criminal’s goal is to offend while simultaneously avoiding apprehension.
Criminals often judge books by their covers. Those who wear flashy and expensive jewelry, or show off their expensive (and easily fenced) electronics, attract attention from robbers. To avoid unwanted attention, don’t broadcast that you have valuable items in your possession. A criminal will weigh the risk of apprehension with the benefit of the crime – the greater the payout, the more likely a crook will be to take that risk.
Pulling out cash in front of potential criminals is obviously dangerous. Yet there are more innocent circumstances that may also lead to increased victimization. Criminals will go places to find targets that they know will be in possession of a payout, such as automatic teller machines, banks, casinos, and cash stores. They will follow their victims until the opportunity presents itself to victimize. In addition, it is not uncommon for vagrants to ask for money and steal the wallet or purse of the person who opts to give.
Click here to read more at Sara’s Beretta USA blog.
