I saw a sign once that said, "YOUR VOICE CAN SAVE YOUR LIFE." Believe it or not, our voices are one of our best self-defense tools. Most people would never think of their voice as a safety tool, but it can very well be. Law enforcement officers have been using this technique for years and have had great results. In order to make this work, one has to be able to draw up a "take charge" attitude no matter what is happening around them.
Learning to use your voice in a commanding and assertive way can literally save your life. It is a proven fact that people freeze when the words "NO" or "STOP" are said in a commanding and authoritative tone. Try this out at home (or the grocery store); play with it a little bit and see the response you get. (Come on, it could be fun!)
Some people find this a fairly easy skill to practice and use. Others find it very difficult and uncomfortable. This idea reminds me of a scene in the movie Cool Runnings, about the Jamaican Bobsled Team going to compete in the Olympics (not much snow in Jamaica!). In this movie, there is a scene where one of the team members is discouraged. His team mate stands him in front of a mirror and tells him to look at himself and say, "I am a bad mother F_--er and I'm not taking any crap off 'a nobody!" He insists that the discouraged teammate repeat this many times, getting louder and more bold each time, until he feels it.
This is a great exercise! Look in the mirror each morning before you go out into the world and say, "I am strong. I am aware. I am in charge." Say it in a strong voice and say it until you convince yourself that it is true. If it's too tough to say boldly at first--put it on a sticky note on your mirror (at least you will read it every morning) until you start to feel it. Imagine how different the world would be if we all took a minute every day to claim our space in the universe and to make a pledge to be more positive.
We all have the response built into us; as kids, when a parent or teacher said "STOP" or "NO" in a certain tone--we knew to stop. Studies have shown criminals pause or hesitate when they hear those words as well, particularly when they hear them in a commanding tone. Using your voice to command someone to stop can also work in your favor. If a criminal thinks you are an easy target--and you tell them firmly to back off--you may well stop an attack. This strategy interrupts the criminals game plan and reverses the element of surprise back onto them.
I have participants in my self-defense/protection seminars learn to literally back someone down using their voice and body language. Learning these techniques can also help you at work, and in relationships, by learning to set boundaries for yourself and be able to hold them. Your personal space is YOURS and no one should enter into that space unless you invite them!
Your voice can also be used to draw the attention of others around you when an altercation happens. Never believe anyone who says, "Cooperate and you won't be hurt." It doesn't matter if you know them or not. Statisics tell us that is a LIE.
The more noise and ruckus you can make for anyone with bad intent, the more likely they are to leave you alone, because you are too much trouble. BE TOO MUCH TROUBLE!
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Our Responsibility
Our Responsibility; Self-Defense
We are taught safety throughout our lives for many situations like the fire drill we learned in elementary school, about crossing the street safely, driving safely and many others. It is interesting to me that we are taught little or nothing about crime and how to avoid it in our education system since it is so prevalent in the world.
Most of have more of a chance of facing a violent criminal than having our home, school or business catch on fire, yet we think little or nothing about educating ourselves in how crime happens, where it happens and how to better avoid being a victim of a crime. Most of us are basically taught to leave worrying about the crime and learning about crime to the police, FBI and Government. Therefore we have a pass the buck mentality on who has all or most of the responsibility to keep us safe. This is not a realistic or healthy outlook. Just look at the basics stats in that theory; how many police and FBI agents are there comparative to current
population in your area and in the world, as well as the mass of geography there is to cover.
Looking at this, one has to realize that even if the police, FBI and government had the best training possible and were working as hard as they possibly could to protect us, there is just no way they can do it. The sooner we look at the reality of the situation and understand that we all have to take a part in our own safety as well as the safety of those we love and our neighbors the safer we will all be. We can no longer sit by and pass the buck to leave it all in the hands of the authorities. That has not and will not work.
My hope and prayer is that it does not take someone that is close to you or you being raped, assaulted or murdered to wake you and those around you up to take some action. As a self-defense/protection expert and teacher many times people come to me to learn self-defense after an attack has happened to them or someone they know. It takes something hitting close to home and literally scaring them or waking them up into the reality that they need to do something. This is sad and at the same time we have made great leaps in this field in the last 20 years and which is exciting. 20 years ago and more young girls were being told by police officers, teachers and family members that if they ever got attacked just to lay there and take it and even to try and be quiet and if they did they would most likely not be seriously injured. That is and was a lie most of the time. We also did not understand the criminal mind or have DNA testing, crime scene analysis, communication among departments and many investigation techniques we do now. Nor did we have the psychological understanding of the ramifications victims face after a violent crime.
It is our responsibility as spouses, parents, sisters, brothers, friends, children and grandchildren to protect each other and ourselves.
We can do this in many simple ways:
• By being more aware of our surroundings and letting others around us know when something is different or out of place
• When we go out watching each others backs• not letting those you care about go off with someone they just meet at a club
• By taking a self-defense class together
• We can looking on the national sex offender website to see who is living in your area and letting your neighbors know what you find as well
• Educating ourselves and our kids about what to do in an emergency or if they are separated from us• Everyone should making a plan for disaster
• Read the book “The Gift of Fear” by Gavin DeBecker
• Talk to those you love about self-defense and safety
Sherry McGregor,
Shihan~Teacher of Teachers,
Master Martial Artist
Self-Protection Specialist
Self-Esteem Coach
We are taught safety throughout our lives for many situations like the fire drill we learned in elementary school, about crossing the street safely, driving safely and many others. It is interesting to me that we are taught little or nothing about crime and how to avoid it in our education system since it is so prevalent in the world.
Most of have more of a chance of facing a violent criminal than having our home, school or business catch on fire, yet we think little or nothing about educating ourselves in how crime happens, where it happens and how to better avoid being a victim of a crime. Most of us are basically taught to leave worrying about the crime and learning about crime to the police, FBI and Government. Therefore we have a pass the buck mentality on who has all or most of the responsibility to keep us safe. This is not a realistic or healthy outlook. Just look at the basics stats in that theory; how many police and FBI agents are there comparative to current
population in your area and in the world, as well as the mass of geography there is to cover.
Looking at this, one has to realize that even if the police, FBI and government had the best training possible and were working as hard as they possibly could to protect us, there is just no way they can do it. The sooner we look at the reality of the situation and understand that we all have to take a part in our own safety as well as the safety of those we love and our neighbors the safer we will all be. We can no longer sit by and pass the buck to leave it all in the hands of the authorities. That has not and will not work.
My hope and prayer is that it does not take someone that is close to you or you being raped, assaulted or murdered to wake you and those around you up to take some action. As a self-defense/protection expert and teacher many times people come to me to learn self-defense after an attack has happened to them or someone they know. It takes something hitting close to home and literally scaring them or waking them up into the reality that they need to do something. This is sad and at the same time we have made great leaps in this field in the last 20 years and which is exciting. 20 years ago and more young girls were being told by police officers, teachers and family members that if they ever got attacked just to lay there and take it and even to try and be quiet and if they did they would most likely not be seriously injured. That is and was a lie most of the time. We also did not understand the criminal mind or have DNA testing, crime scene analysis, communication among departments and many investigation techniques we do now. Nor did we have the psychological understanding of the ramifications victims face after a violent crime.
It is our responsibility as spouses, parents, sisters, brothers, friends, children and grandchildren to protect each other and ourselves.
We can do this in many simple ways:
• By being more aware of our surroundings and letting others around us know when something is different or out of place
• When we go out watching each others backs• not letting those you care about go off with someone they just meet at a club
• By taking a self-defense class together
• We can looking on the national sex offender website to see who is living in your area and letting your neighbors know what you find as well
• Educating ourselves and our kids about what to do in an emergency or if they are separated from us• Everyone should making a plan for disaster
• Read the book “The Gift of Fear” by Gavin DeBecker
• Talk to those you love about self-defense and safety
Sherry McGregor,
Shihan~Teacher of Teachers,
Master Martial Artist
Self-Protection Specialist
Self-Esteem Coach
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