What’s your plan? Seriously. Do you have a plan for your personal safety? Do you even
think about it? Most people don’t give much thought to personal safety until they see a news
story about some tragic event. After such a story people might think about safety for a day or
two. During the height of the pandemic millions of people decided they needed to buy guns, but
I’m guessing very few of them had much of a plan after the purchase. What about you? What is
your plan?
When it comes to personal safety, the first and most important thing is to start thinking
about it. Don’t dwell on it and get paranoid. Instead, consider the things you currently do and
what you could do better. Let’s start with some very simple tips.
BE AWARE
Defensive tactics instructors will often break down levels of awareness into color codes but it is
far easier to think about this in simple plain language. Here are the four states of awareness and
a brief discussion about each
● Unaware – This is most common when you are doing something like reading a book,
listening to music with earbuds in your ears. You don’t know what’s going on around you
and you are simply not paying attention. My suggestion is that you only settle into this
state when you are safely behind a locked door. Being unaware allows any potential
attacker the opportunity to get very close to you without you even noticing.
● Aware – This should be your standard level of awareness every time you leave the
safety of your own house. Being aware means that you are paying attention to what is
going on around you and who is near you or paying attention to you. Are two people
arguing outside a theater? Is there a group of young men just standing in a shadowy
corner of the parking lot? Is someone showing anything more than a passing interest in
you? Don’t just see these things. NOTICE these things. Look for details. When you are
aware you don’t get easily surprised by things and you are in a position to control the
distance between you and anyone you happen to notice. These people may not always
be threats, but you still want to be aware of them and how close they are to you.
● Alert – Being alert means you have spotted something that registers in your mind as a
possible threat and you are immediately formulating a plan of action. The first element of
that plan should be to look for escape routes or paths and locations that allow you to
avoid the danger. Avoidance is always the best tactic. Still, it is not always possible. That
means your planning should include what you might do if the person approaches you or
attacks you. Do you have a weapon? At what point will you reach for it or prepare for its
use? What are the triggering criteria that will prompt you to move to the next step?
● Alarmed – This is your next step. At this point you reasonably believe something bad is
going to happen and you are actively implementing your plan. That might mean making
your escape or preparing your defensive weapon and starting with other elements such
as telling the person, in a firm voice, to leave you alone. It might also mean that you are
ready and willing to engage in physical self-defense.
when shined in a person’s eyes
Carry a Flashlight!
I consider a small tactical style flashlight to be one of the single most effective defensive
tools you can carry. It is small, lightweight, legal in all 50 states and incredibly effective for a
wide range of defensive uses. Consider this, criminals are predators and predators like soft
targets and the element of surprise. If you shine one of these super-bright tactical flashlights in
the direction of an unknown person that immediately lets the person know they have lost the
element of surprise. If the person did not have ill intent, well, all you did was shine a flashlight at
them. You have truly done no harm.
However, if the person was thinking about attacking you, you have now shifted the status
of the situation and the would-be attacker has to come up with a new plan. While he takes time
to think about what he might do next, you can be using that time to make your escape, get to
your care or implement some other element of a self-defense plan.
If the wayward bad guy decides to continue in your direction, shine your flashlight
directly into the person’s eyes. Today’s modern flashlights are so bright that they will force the
bad guy to close his eyes. This gives you yet another great advantage. Not only is he a bit
disoriented, it gives you time to move, forcing him to again rethink his plan. This is shifting the
advantage in your favor even more.
home without it
Finally, your flashlight can become a very good impact weapon if the situation escalates
to the point of a physical fight. Hold the flashlight as you would hold a hammer, with the bezel
(the lighted end) at your pinky. This way of holding the light allows you to easily shine the light
by holding it up next to your ear. With the light in your left hand it puts you in the perfect position
to deflect a right-handed punch and allows you to drive the bezel of the flashlight right into the
face of your attacker.
GET YOUR MIND RIGHT
We are good people. We don’t like to fight and we wish we didn’t have to. But when
someone forces us to fight we need to fight hard, because the attacker will be fighting hard.
Remember, most people willing to commit criminal assault have been in more fights than you
have. They get to choose the time, place and manner of the attack. Defenders are almost
always just a little bit behind because even if we are using good awareness skills, we are still reacting to the attacker’s actions. Ideally, you will be able to avoid those actions.
If you can’t avoid the fight, you need to be ready, willing and able to strike. You need to
know before the fight starts that you are going to fight hard and do what it takes to stop the
assault quickly. The longer a fight goes on, the greater the chance that you might get hurt. So,
punch, kick and move. Fight your way to an effective and safe escape and then call the police.
My guess is that before you started reading this article you weren’t thinking about
bashing a bad guy in the face with the bezel of your flashlight. Now you know that action is an
effective means of stopping an attacker and, more importantly, an acceptable way to employ
reasonable force to stop a violent assault. Give yourself permission to protect yourself and your
loved ones. Think about this before you are involved in a self-defense situation. Your mindset
will help carry you through.
