Compliance or Physical Self-Defense???????

I am frequently asked in our workshops and training sessions what to do when you are threatened and forced to give up something; your wallet, purse or other valuable belonging. If you have a gun pointed at your head and a criminal asks for your wallet/purse, do you give it up or fight back? Where do we draw the line?

None of us are God nor have ESP; we absolutely do not know how far an assailant will go after an initial threat. Maybe we won't get raped if we give him our watch. Maybe we won't be killed if we hand an assailant the keys to our car. On the other hand, maybe we will. There are no guarantees.

There are some general rules to live by though. There are times when it is better to give up something in return for possibly saving your life and there are other times when you have no other choice but to fight for your life.

Give It Up - If you are being threatened, weapon or no weapon and he wants your purse, give it up, toss it and run like hell in the opposite direction. Everything in your purse can be replaced - your life cannot. If the assailant threats are initiated in close proximity with a weapon or physical moves, you have no choice but to defend yourself.

Fight Back - If you are in fear for your life, you must protect and defend yourself. If someone grabs you, touches you or makes physical moves that are harmful - you must protect yourself. If your assailant has a weapon (gun/knife) on you, don't give in. Giving him what he wants only puts the ball in his court and now he has the opportunity to do whatever he wants with you. Never allow an assailant to take you from point A to point B.......statistics indicate that you will not survive. You have a better chance of surviving by fighting and defending yourself at point A than point B. If there is distance between you and the weapon, you need to wait for your "window of opportunity", right moment to strike. Let you assailant figure out what the next step is going to be. You do not control the fight - your assailant controls the fight. You fight most effectively when your assailant is close and when you can see/feel the weapon.

No Choice - Only use self-defense if you are in fear for your life and you are in imminent danger - you have no other option of escape. If some drunk in the bar won't stop talking to you and is putting his hands all over you, get a bouncer to take control of the situation. Do not pop his eye out. If you are at a party and a man starts to make sexual inappropriate comments and tries to put his hand on your thigh, don't strike his throat, walk away.

• Self-defense is not a physical way to show how cool, strong or tough you are.
• Self-defense is not to be used when you CAN WALK OR RUN AWAY or VERBALLY DEFEND YOURSELF.
• Self-defense is to be used only if your life is threatened and you have no other option to get away.

Take care and STAY SAFE!
Anny Jacoby
A Success Survivor
"Raising female awareness and skills to reduce susceptibility in response to violence."
www.annyjacoby.com
www.realisticfemaleselfdefense.com

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