Five-Minute Self-Defense Tip
Here’s a quick five-minute self-defense tip. One of the things I learned during my time in the Foreign Legion was that time spent gathering intel was very rarely wasted. It’s a lesson I teach my students and people who attend my personal safety presentations. How does it apply to civilians? When you can, take five minutes to gather information about your surroundings.
Don’t Be Pedantic
When I say “take five minutes,” it doesn’t have to be exactly that. Leaving the house and you might only need ten seconds to pause at the door and observe your surroundings. Does everything look ok? When you exit the mall, do the same thing. Pause for a few seconds, work out where your car is parked, and study the path between you and it. Is there a group loitering, is there a van parked next to it with the engine idling, and is there a gunfight going on between gangbangers? Most people are so absorbed with their purchases that they neglect to do this, and the next minute they’re victims. (You might think I’m exaggerating about the gunfight, but I saw a clip years ago of a mother and daughter exiting a mall into one. They were so absorbed with their purchases that they didn’t notice the gunfight till they were in the middle of it.)
Real-World Example
If you’ve read “How To Be Your Own Bodyguard,” you’ll remember this one. It saved my neighbor in Wilmington. She’d attended a presentation I did for a group of businesswomen, and a few weeks later, she came home and did the fifteen-second observation routine from her car while sitting in the driveway. She noticed a window open and scuff marks from feet up the front wall of the house. Immediately she drove away and called the cops – smart girl – who came and found evidence of an attempted break-in. Later she called me to tell me that prior to that lecture, she’d have waltzed inside and possibly turned a break-in into murder by surprising the intruder and causing him to panic.
Sadly that’s what happened to my mate “Radar.” He has the dubious distinction of being Charlotte, North Carolina’s first murder victim of 2010. He came home to a kicked-in front door. He went inside and found the burglar inside. The burglar grabbed a knife and stabbed Chris to death. Totally preventable.
So, take five minutes. It might just save you a ton of heartache.
Summary
Article Name
Take Five Minutes
Description
An article about the importance of taking five minutes to scan your surroundings before walking blindly into something
Author
Nick Hughes
Publisher Name
Warriors Krav Maga
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