Looking For Kinks In My Self-Defence Armour

In the past few months, I had a number of occasions to discover some of the kinks in my self-defence armour that made me question just how vulnerable I am to an attack.

My most recent revelation was at the Intensive Krav Maga Instructor’s course that I attended with KMSA for 10 solid days (refer to http://defence-unlimited.blogspot.com/2015/07/krav-maga-explosive-aggressive.html ). During the 10 days, I was physically, mentally and emotionally challenged in a variety of ways!  There was kicking, punching, falling, grappling and intensive exercising for 8 hrs solid EVERY day. My body was tired, sore, and stiff in places I couldn’t even imagine. For instance, I had to take a risk the one day and not wear my groin protector as the skin on my inner thighs got so  chaffed from the cumulative days of training, that it resembled a gravel road in the hot, Kalahari desert. Murphy ’s Law dictates that it would be on those days I would be stuck multiple times in the groin by my training partners! On another occasion, one of my contact lenses got damaged and was irritating me so much that I had to remove it midway through training. Considering the contact lens was to compensate for my -8.0 vision in that one eye, I was pretty much blind. For those who do not wear contacts, having vision in one and non in the other can be very disorientating and nauseating. Worst still, I had to brave a 45 min drive back home, along which I would have to travel on one strip of road was notorious for being a hi-jacking hot spot. Keeping in mind that I do also live in one of the most crime-ridden countries in the world (as per the global stats), I knew I had to be extra vigilant and be ready for whatever action was necessary to preserve my life. I therefore took the decision to put the damaged contact lens back into my eye. As painful as it was to have it in, it was the only choice in my eyes (pun intended), considering the alternative - die in an accident trying to get home or die in a possible hi-jacking attempt because I was unable to see the danger around me. The best way to describe the pain was as if someone was poking my eye every 10 seconds with a fountain pen! For a 45 min journey, that was a lot of pokes! It was during these painful moments of my body and my weakened mental and emotional fortitude, that I realised that these were kinks in my self-defence armour - my moments of vulnerability and opportunities that the common criminal will look out for so as to take advantage of my pitiful state.

This brings me to self-defence 101, being self-aware. By understanding what I was or was not capably of in that state of body and mind, I could put a plan together to make myself a "hard target", or making it APPEAR that I am a hard target. The theory of being a "hard target" is to make it appear as if I am a person who is capable of handling myself in a situation, or to create sufficient barriers around me that will discourage a potential attacker from harming me. This may be as simple as the way I walk, or the way I observe (or not observe) the environment around me; to having an injury, illness or disability that may weaken my perceived defensive fortress, and having the ability to mask or subdue it. Then, there is also an understanding what "social-conditioning" has hampered my ability to defend myself, should I need to (more on social conditioning in a later blog).This is what I teach when referring to SELF-AWARENESS.

Secondly, being a hard target is also being aware of my immediate environment or the activities I undertake within this environment that may make me appear to have a "disadvantages" of any kind. For example, do I have a child with me, in which case I will be distracted or more concerned of their safety should something happen; am I being distracted by my phone and if so, I am leaving myself open to a possible surprise attacks); am I carrying too many groceries or paraphernalia that could hamper my getaway; am I showing a bit too much skin or bling in a not too savvy neighbourhood? This is what I refer to MICRO-AWARENESS and is the EASIEST of all three awareness to control and exact immediate changes to reduce these vulnerabilities in my micro-environment.

Lastly, which is the hardest to control, is the macro-environment, which is the environment or situation that falls outside my sphere of control or influence, or require a great effort to influence some kind of change. This could be your neighbourhood, city or country that I live in; the treacherous strip of road that is notorious for hijackings that I need to travel on as it is the ONLY road to get to and from work and home; specific rules or laws that prohibit me from carrying a weapon (and is strictly enforced). As mentioned, this is very difficult to control, however, just by being aware of what elements are in these environment that will get me to look at some creative ways to reduce some of these risks. (MACRO-AWARENESS)

To conclude, here are “10 Vulnerability Factors” to consider when evaluating what your chances of becoming a victim of crime is:

1. Injuries / Illnesses / Handicap

2. Gender

3. Age

4. General Health (Cardio, Strength, Stamina, Flexibility)  

5. Specific self-defence and safety mind-set

6. Social conditioning

7. Martial arts or combative training experience

8. Are the current activities I am undertaking making me vulnerable? (Micro-environment)

9. Overall macro-environmental risks (job, home, laws & rules, city, country)

10. My self-defence attitude!

Hopefully with this knowledge, you will take a closer look at where your kinks in your self-defence armour are and take the necessary actions to fill the gaps. Whether it's educating yourself with more knowledge of the topic of personal safety, or empowering yourself by taking up a self-defence or martial arts class or getting  fitter by going to the gym or taking up some other fitness activity, the ultimate objective is to live a good life of your choice, a FULLY-ENGAGED life.

Till next time.

Get EDUCATED. Feel EMPOWERED. Live a FULLY-ENGAGED life.