DON'T BE EASY

What do the people in the following scenarios have in common? 

Someone exits a store looking at the receipt from their latest purchase. A woman stands in the parking lot rummaging through her purse in search of her car keys. A man walks, jogs, or runs with headphones. A friend is texting while walking to work or school. 

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Each person is distracted and unaware of their surroundings. To a predator, they might as well have “Easy Target” written on their foreheads, making them easier to mug, hurt, or rape. 

Criminals fear two things: being caught and being hurt, which is why they look for an easy target in the first place. 

It takes a predator seconds to zero in on an easy target. Fortunately, you are not easy. You're a Hard Target because…

• You are aware of your surroundings.
• You walk with your head up and with a purpose.
• You look confident.
• You pay attention to the people around you.
• You make eye contact letting people know you see them, but you don’t stare so as not to challenge them.
• You wear headphones when exercising at the gym, NOT while exercising outside.
• You have your keys in hand when going to your car.
• You park in well-lit areas. You know who poured your drinks.
• You don't leave your glass unattended. You protect your personal space.

The first step to self-defense is common sense. But what can you do if you're attacked? 

1) Posture: Posturing is making yourself appear confident, strong and intimidating to your attacker so they lose their will to fight before the confrontation even begins. It is both a fighting position and attitude.

Perhaps you’ve seen someone who was about to get into a fight stand a little taller, puff out his chest, stick out his chin, shout, swear or flat out take a fighting guard. This is posturing. 

2) Voice: Our voice is so important to self-defense that martial artists have a name for it. Kiai (Kee-eye). This spirit shout has a few purposes:

• It helps draw attention to our situation. Someone may come help or call 911.
• It can scare our attacker.
• It tightens our muscles to prepare us to take a hit.
• It fires us up. (Don’t athlete’s do this before games? “Come on!” “We got this!” “Go [insert team name here]!” Of course, they do.

You might recognize a kiai as the “hiya” from old karate movies. However, it can be any word or sound that you want to make. Swearing counts. Or shouting, “Fire!” or maybe for a child, teaching them to scream, “Stranger, stranger, 911!” It doesn’t matter what sound you make. Just make noise. 

3) Fight Back: Fighting back doubles the chances that the assailant breaks off his attack. Remember the two things criminals fear: getting caught and getting hurt. There’s more than one way to stop an attack. The important thing is stopping it. 

4) Weak Targets: No matter how much someone trains or lifts weight, there is nothing they can do to increase the strength of their weak targets - eyes, throat, groin. Fingers to the eyes, a punch to the throat, or a knee to the groin may be enough to make the attacker stop or flee. At the very least it will shake them up so you can continue to defend yourself or escape.

These are only a few tips to help you protect yourself. If you’ve never taken a self-defense class, I urge you to take one. It could be the single most important thing you do! If you have taken a self-defense class, take another one. Repetition, repetition, repetition will help you fight back with confidence and effectiveness.

Don't be easy! Be a hard target and tell your loved ones how to do the same.

~K.M. Fawcett
Author and martial arts instructor
Romance for the rebel heart 
www.kmfawcett.com