The world is not without its dangers, and all people, regardless of sex or age, stand to benefit from learning basic self-defense tactics. You need to be able to defend yourself if someone physically threatens you. It sounds like a difficult subject to tackle, but violence exempts no one.
If you’re a victim of abuse, you can always go to a domestic violence lawyer for legal protection and remedy. But basic self-defense training allows you to fight back and prevent more harm from happening. Many people think that self-defense is just fighting fire with more fire. But it’s all about taking control of the situation.
Thankfully, anyone can learn self-defense techniques to protect themselves.
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Pay attention to your surroundings
One of the cornerstones of self-defense is heightened awareness. Simply paying attention to your surroundings can prevent an attack from happening. Know where you’re going and make eye contact with people. If you feel there’s something wrong about the situation, then you need to trust your gut and act on it immediately.
Your body will send signals if it senses something amiss, even if you’re not conscious of it. If there’s a weird sensation in your gut or if you feel that someone is watching you, then you need to head a safe place immediately. Avoid looking at your phone or listening to music when walking outdoors.
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Exercise regularly
Keeping your body in good shape increases your chances of survival. The logic is simple: If you’re fit, you can run faster for a more extended period. Self-defense isn’t just about fighting back. You also need to learn when to run away. If you get tired quickly, the assailant might be able to catch up with you.
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Give up your possessions
Many attackers prefer to minimize violence when robbing people. If someone tries to rob you, don’t argue with them and just give them what they want. Toss your possessions away from you and run in the opposite direction.
Of course, we would prefer to keep our possessions intact. One way to protect your valuables is to store your money and cards in a different wallet and carry a decoy wallet with a small amount of money with you. But if the attacker isn’t satisfied, just hand everything over.
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Attract attention
In cases when escape isn’t an option and you have to defend yourself, you want to attract attention to yourself. Shout a verbal warning and push back. The loud noise should alarm nearby people and lets your assailant know that you’re not going down without a fight. It might not prevent all attacks, but those looking for a weaker target will probably run away.
These are just of the things you can apply do protect yourself from a violent attack. Hopefully, you won’t have to use these techniques in real life. But just knowing the basics of self-defense will give you the confidence you need to take on all sorts of challenges, both real and imagined.
