Many of us live in a bubble. We live in relatively safe neighborhoods, hang out with a good crowd, and have decent awareness skills, staying away from places that we think could cause us trouble during times when we shouldn't be there. However, despite our best efforts we will still end up in unfortunate circumstances from time to time. So, what are the factors outside of your control that can put you in a bad situation, regardless of your intentions?
Something I saw the other day made me think about this. On interstate 395, traffic was backed up with traffic leaving DC, go figure. Once I actually passed where the jam-up was, from my rear view I saw that there was an immobilized car in the middle lane, with a woman in the drivers’ seat: no headlights on, no hazard lights, dead in the middle lane. Having cars whizzing by at 50-70 miles an hour, swerving out of your lane because they don’t want to be inconvenienced by you, can be seriously dangerous. Now change a few factors. Same scenario: your car dies, but it happens in a really bad neighborhood late at night. You may have done nothing wrong and may not have been negligent in any manner, but the unpredictable happened. “Some days you’re the bug, some days you’re the windshield.” What are some takeaways from this hypothetical scenario that we should all consider?
-Keep your car maintained- you can have the best awareness and avoidance plans in the world, but if your car stops running in a bad neighborhood at night, or you run out of gas, it could be a situation that you didn’t think was relevant because of your normal habits, that may have been avoided by being more diligent with overall preparedness and preventative measures.
-Know your emergency plan- does swearing and pounding the steering wheel expedite your goal of the problem at hand? No? How about pulling your hair, yelling, even for ten minutes straight? Think constructively. Who can you call to pick you up? Do you leave the car or stay locked inside until a friend or family member arrives?
If something does happen, do you have the tools, knowledge, and resources to get away safely? Even if the lady had road flares in her car, which would have at least helped other cars identify her, she would likely be stuck with the problem of getting into the trunk to get the flares out and place them.
In Personal Defense Readiness, the 3 Golden Rules are: ACT
· Accept what is happening
· Get Challenged
· Keep Thinking
This is a great concept that can be a catalyst to getting into action during duress and that has application much broader than just personal defense. If and when something happens. ACCEPT IT, GET CHALLENGED, and KEEP THINKING.
There is a line between preparedness and paranoia, and nobody wants to be the latter. (I can’t believe I took off my tinfoil hat to write this blog-entry). That being said, a little bit of planning and thinking can go a long ways. The purpose of this blog entry is not to give you the answers, it’s to get you to think and be introspective about the simple, everyday things regarding preparedness that can make you safer.
Evan Dzierzynski
NOVA Self Defense
Owner/Lead Coach
www.novaselfdefense.com
Something I saw the other day made me think about this. On interstate 395, traffic was backed up with traffic leaving DC, go figure. Once I actually passed where the jam-up was, from my rear view I saw that there was an immobilized car in the middle lane, with a woman in the drivers’ seat: no headlights on, no hazard lights, dead in the middle lane. Having cars whizzing by at 50-70 miles an hour, swerving out of your lane because they don’t want to be inconvenienced by you, can be seriously dangerous. Now change a few factors. Same scenario: your car dies, but it happens in a really bad neighborhood late at night. You may have done nothing wrong and may not have been negligent in any manner, but the unpredictable happened. “Some days you’re the bug, some days you’re the windshield.” What are some takeaways from this hypothetical scenario that we should all consider?
-Keep your car maintained- you can have the best awareness and avoidance plans in the world, but if your car stops running in a bad neighborhood at night, or you run out of gas, it could be a situation that you didn’t think was relevant because of your normal habits, that may have been avoided by being more diligent with overall preparedness and preventative measures.
-Know your emergency plan- does swearing and pounding the steering wheel expedite your goal of the problem at hand? No? How about pulling your hair, yelling, even for ten minutes straight? Think constructively. Who can you call to pick you up? Do you leave the car or stay locked inside until a friend or family member arrives?
If something does happen, do you have the tools, knowledge, and resources to get away safely? Even if the lady had road flares in her car, which would have at least helped other cars identify her, she would likely be stuck with the problem of getting into the trunk to get the flares out and place them.
In Personal Defense Readiness, the 3 Golden Rules are: ACT
· Accept what is happening
· Get Challenged
· Keep Thinking
This is a great concept that can be a catalyst to getting into action during duress and that has application much broader than just personal defense. If and when something happens. ACCEPT IT, GET CHALLENGED, and KEEP THINKING.
There is a line between preparedness and paranoia, and nobody wants to be the latter. (I can’t believe I took off my tinfoil hat to write this blog-entry). That being said, a little bit of planning and thinking can go a long ways. The purpose of this blog entry is not to give you the answers, it’s to get you to think and be introspective about the simple, everyday things regarding preparedness that can make you safer.
Evan Dzierzynski
NOVA Self Defense
Owner/Lead Coach
www.novaselfdefense.com
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