Street Safety & Security Self-Defense Survival Tips
Please take 5 minutes to read these!

These tips could save you or someone you love. Traditionally, the advice we’ve been given is to do whatever the guy with the gun/knife says. In recent times, this is changing because all too often the criminal is willing to kill with or without our cooperation. The September 11th hijackings changed the way passengers & flight crews deal with hijackers. (Now it is “subdue/kill any way possible” rather than “do what they say so we land safely.”) The modern criminal on the ground deserves the same response. These may apply to you while traveling or in your own neighborhood. The point is to NOT let fear dictate all of your responses. Let experience (some of these tips are from cops), surprise, and noncompliance help stop crime in its tracks.

• If a robber asks for your wallet/purse, DO NOT HAND IT TO HIM! Toss it away from you!* RUN IN THE OTHER DIRECTION! Chances are that he is more interested in your wallet/purse than you, and he will go for the wallet/purse. Take a good look at his face, memorize or photograph his license plate (if applicable) and call 911 ASAP so the cops can do their best to find him.
  *Unless you’re a crazy old codger like me who’s already lived a full, happy life, in which case you can say, “F*ck you, give me YOUR wallet!” An old friend of mine essentially did this and lived to tell the story, albeit with some PTSD...which you might experience whether they get your wallet or not.
• If you are ever thrown into the trunk of a car (OK, not likely, but it's better to have a plan than end up feeling helpless), kick out the back tail lights if possible, and stick your arm out the hole and start waving like crazy. The driver won't see you, but everybody else will. This tactic has saved lives.
• Many people have a tendency to get into their cars after shopping, eating, working, and just sitting for a bit (doing their checkbook, making a phone call, a list, etc.). DON'T DO THIS! A predator may be watching you, and this is the perfect opportunity for him to get in on the passenger side, put a gun to your head, and tell you where to go. AS SOON AS YOU GET INTO YOUR CAR, LOCK THE DOORS AND LEAVE.
• If someone is in the car with a gun to your head DO NOT DRIVE WHERE THEY TELL YOU TO. Instead, fasten your seat belt and accelerate to high speed as soon as possible with your hands at 9 & 3 o’clock on the wheel (to reduce the chances of your arms getting broken). Run into something solid (e.g. big tree or wall). Your Air Bag will most probably save you while the clown with the gun will be freaking out and getting thrown into the windshield (you can bet he didn’t bother with his seat belt). If the person is in the back seat they will get the worst of it since the passenger-side airbag will likely deflect their body to the right or left as they fly forward. As soon as the car crashes, bail out and run if you can. Even if this “action movie-style” plan doesn’t work as planned, it is better than having police find your body in a remote location.
• If the predator has a gun and you are not under his control, ALWAYS RUN! It is most probable that they don’t want to shoot you, and they will only hit you (a running target) 4 in 100 times. Even then, it most likely WILL NOT be a vital organ. JUST RUN, preferably in a zig-zag pattern!

Other tips regarding getting into your car in a parking lot or garage:

• Be aware and sober! Look around you, look into your car, at the passenger side floor, and in the back seat.
• If you are parked next to a big van, enter your car from the passenger door. Most serial killers attack their victims by pulling them into their vans while the women are attempting to get into their cars.
• Look at the car parked on the driver's side of your vehicle, and the passenger side. If a male is sitting alone in the seat nearest your car, you may want to walk back into the mall/office and get a guard/policeman/companion to walk you back out. Feel free to take a photo of the car’s license plate with your phone, too.

Martial Arts Street Tips:

• The elbow is the strongest point on your body. If you are close enough to use it, do so, especially to the face.
• A good old fashion kick to the nuts goes a long way in disabling most male attackers. (Practicing that crotch-height “front kick” can be good, fun exercise!)

Mall/Office Complex Safety:

• ALWAYS take the elevator instead of the stairs. (Find other opportunities to work on your fitness.) Stairwells are horrible places to be alone and the perfect crime spot. This is especially true at NIGHT!

BE WARY. Too often, women are sympathetic to the perpetrator. DON’T BE! It may get you raped or killed. Serial killer Ted Bundy was a good-looking, well-educated man who ALWAYS played on the sympathies of unsuspecting women. He walked with a cane or a limp, and often asked “for help” into his vehicle or with his vehicle, which is when he abducted his next victim.

Unfortunately criminals and hackers are always thinking of new tricks. Examples:

• Play a recording of a baby crying. What caring woman wouldn’t go out in the dark to help save an abandoned baby? Don’t. Just call the cops.
• They turn on all your garden hose taps in the middle of the night to get you to come out of the house to see if your pipes burst. When in doubt, call 911.

Please share this page with someone you love and care for. It may save your life or a loved one's life one day.

Unfortunately there are a lot of heartless, selfish, violent people in the world who have no clue what the golden rule is. As the sayings go, “it is better to be safe than sorry,” and “better to be paranoid (or skeptical) than trusting and dead.”