Here's a look at Tactical Athletes in action. Whether trained or not, these kind of crimes and attacks are happening with increased frequency. Time for law abiding men, women, and children to be prepared. (Video below)
Robbery
good samaritan
robber gets stopped stops robbery
Self defense
Robbery gone wrong
Karma
robbery fails
Cashier fights back robber
Robbery suspect gets shot....(continued below)
THE ERA OF THE MACHINE ENDS!
The
era of massive fields of cardio equipment and warehouses of strength
training machines may still be dominant in extreme-fee globo-gyms, but
people have been rapidly discovering the problems inherent in these
membership-driven agendas.
Moving freely and powerfully like the mythical John Henry, without
machine control, we develop true functional fitness through movement,
not merely muscles. This is how in our system, we’ve ELIMINATED injuries
in federal agencies, where injuries are usually high, and where
physical conditioning is an absolute job requirement.
Learn more...................
Self Defense While Walking
Self defense starts with self
awareness. You should always be conscious of what's happening around
you. Let's say you are out for your daily exercise walk. I try to walk
for twenty minutes during my lunch break from work. I work for a large
medical center that advocates this activity by mapping out indoor
routes, through the various hallways, tunnels and building connections
complete with mileage. If I'm walking indoors due to adverse weather
(which is 75% of the time here in the upper Midwest) I do wear my MP3
player. When walking outdoors I never wear my MP3 player. Not only does
it block my sense of hearing, but the wires dangling from my ears only
broadcasts anyone who is interested that I am essentially deaf. Go ahead
and sneak up behind me, pull the van up to the curb and hop out to
abduct me.
You could walk with a buddy. Some people find that
this helps to keep them on track with their exercise program. I've
always felt that if two people are walking together, one of them is not
walking to their full aerobic potential, but it is safer. You could walk
the dog. This would also be safer, whether it's a small barking dog or a
huge intimidating dog. I do, however know of cases where the dog is
found later, wandering after the walker goes missing.
So, we're
walking alone, outside, no dog, and no MP3 player. Keep your eyes
moving. Look at everything. This should become habit. Don't look at the
ground as you walk unless you are walking on rough terrain, then just
glance down, then back to scanning. Perpetrators are looking for victims
with low self esteem, which may be demonstrated by keeping their eyes
down. Listen. Hopefully you'll hear bird chirping, a breeze blowing
through the trees, perhaps children laughing. Be aware of vehicles
driving on the street- are they slowing down as they approach you? Do
you hear footsteps? If you hear these last two things turn and look at
them. Assess the situation- don't be shy. You have the right to know
what's happening around you.
Someone approaches you walking on
the sidewalk. They are probably just out walking also. Make eye contact
with them. Don't stare at them, they may find that confrontational--
just what we want to avoid. I like to give them the "tight smile" and if
I feel real friendly, even a quick nod. If they say, "Hey", I say,
"hey"-- then I look away. They should anticipate that at my pace I'm
walking for exercise-- no time to chat. That should be the end of it. It
someone is running toward me, in front or behind, I cross the street.
If they follow-- either the walker or the runner-- it may be time to
exercise some techniques. I know many techniques, I teach them, and I
practice them. I am confident that I could defend myself against one or
two perpetrators.
I think everyone should have a self defense
plan. Studying a martial art can be helpful, some more than others. At
the very least being a martial artist can help build fitness, discipline
and self esteem. Some martial arts are more sport and some purely self
defense. Knowledge of pressure points is also useful; there are a lot of
them.
Should you carry weapons? I wouldn't carry a weapon I wasn't proficient
with and willing to use. Make sure you know that you would use it if
confronted! If you carry a weapon and it is taken from you, it will be
used against you! A personal alarm is a handy item to have. They emit a
squealing sound of up to 130 decibels- enough to be heard up to a
quarter mile away. Because the bad guy does not want the added
attention, this is probably enough of a deterrent to chase him away
without being something that could be used against you. Have it ready to
use, though. It's not any good to floating down in the black hole of
the bottom of your purse! Some of these personal alarms can also be used
on door knobs and used for home security as well.
Self awareness and preparedness are the essence of self defense for all
occasions. In a perfect world we would not have to worry about this.
This is not a perfect world.
Su Ericksen is a first degree TaeKwonDo black belt and has taught self
defense workshops. She lives in the Midwest with her family and works at
a large medical center in the cardiology clinic.
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