Are You Prepared to Defend Yourself Against an Attacker?

Do you ever park your car in the "dark spots" of parking lots? Have you ever found yourself alone in an empty parking ramp and had that feeling that someone is right behind you? Have you been alone in the home of a stranger, or worse, in your own home with an abusive partner? These are the moments you must look to and ask yourself this simple question; How prepared was I to defend myself in that situation?

Most people go through life completely oblivious. They have very little awareness of their surroundings. They have given very little thought as to how to avoid dangerous situations all together, and even fewer of them are willing to spend the time or money to arm themselves with a few basic, practical tools that can mean the difference between becoming another faceless statistic or going home that night.

Here are a few practical tips for you:

Park your vehicles in well lit areas of parking lots. Predators do not generally work in the day and they don't like to be seen. If they have a choice between attacking someone under light or someone else in the dark they will choose the dark virtually every time.

If you park in a parking ramp at work, form some sort of "buddy" system with a friend. Agree to park your vehicles near each other and then go to them together. There is strength in numbers.

Carry some sort of personal alarm on your keyring. These are little devices not much larger than your vehicles fob that, with the simple pull of a pin, will sound a 130db alarm. Whistles are good but they require you to get them to your mouth and blow.

This sounds simple enough until you consider how difficult this might be during an attack. That is why I recommend personal alarms. Noise draws attention and predators hate attention as much as they hate the light.

There is a simple device called a kubaton that everyone should carry. It is like a mini baton. It's legal almost everywhere and the best part of it is that it requires very little training to use it effectively. Obviously you will have to spend some time practicing with it but it does not require years of martial arts training and a "black belt" to become proficient with it.

Essentially, striking an attacker to any major muscle group or large bone mass will incapacitate an attacker long enough for you to make your escape. Also, it is a non-lethal weapon. In fact, it will not even puncture skin so it will be viewed in the eyes of the law as a strictly defensive weapon.

Always be aware of your surroundings. Get into the mindset of asking yourself not what the situation looks like now but what it could look like later. That parking spot might seem like a fine one at 4:00 in the afternoon but what will it look like at 10:00 at night.

Finally, employ what I refer to as "stoplight" awareness. Say you are leaving a shopping mall. It's 3:00 in the afternoon. There is plenty of daylight left and there are no "hoodlum" looking characters lurking around. This is a "green light" scenario.

You are most likely safe to go straight to your vehicle without any trouble. Now say it is 6:00 at night. The sun is going down. The parking lot is fairly void of people. There are a some kids hanging out a few rows from your car but they don't seem to be paying much attention to you. This would be a "yellow light" scenario.

You are still probably safe to proceed to your vehicle but pay attention and be ready just in case. The final stage is the "red light" scenario. It's 11:00 at night and it's dark outside. The lot is pretty empty and there are some shady looking characters hanging out right by your car. This is not the time to take your chances.

Go back inside and ask someone to escort you to your car, or call someone you trust and ask them to come and pick you up. Do anything else but try to make it to your vehicle by yourself. No matter how much it might inconvenience you at the moment this is nothing compared to what it will do to you if things go wrong.

Be safe, be aware and be ready at all times.

If you are interested in personal alarms, kubatons, training DVD's and other personal protection devices check out this website, www.AlphaInnovationsSelfDefense.com. There is a wide array of devices that could literally mean the difference between life and death.