After living in the state of California all of our lives, five years ago my husband and I decided we were ready for a change, and we moved to Missouri. We have enjoyed the change that we experienced with that move and decided that it was finally time for us to purchase our first home. We purchased our house in mid-July and have been enjoying being homeowners. We honestly couldn’t ask for a better first home as we both love it very much. It feels great, and we both feel quite accomplished that we were able to become homeowners much sooner than we ever thought was possible. Our new house is located in a neighborhood only a few miles away from the house we were renting. Now, this is generally a safe and quiet neighborhood. However, last week we learned an important lesson, that bad things happen even in "safe and quiet" places. Around midnight one night, someone threw a rock through our front window. I was very shaken up and want the criminal(s) caught, but as I write this blog, that hasn’t happened yet. Whoever did this not only caused a lot of physical damage to my house, but also rattled my nerves so much that I have been on edge since then. Who wouldn’t be though, right? Well, the night that happened, I had so much adrenaline running through me (not to mention that I was a bit scared) I barely slept, but that gave me lots of time to think. One of the things that I thought about was my training in self-defense. I'm a red belt in Tae Kwon Do, after three years of training. I’ve never needed to use it, but should I ever be in a situation that I would need to use it, I am prepared and have practiced many hours so that I could be as prepared as possible. Having trained in Tae Kwon Do, which included weekly self-defense classes, I would like to think that I could defend myself as necessary, but really, I never want to have to do such a thing. I then started to think more about my safety, especially since I work from home. While my husband’s workplace is only a few miles away, I needed more of a sense of security than that. The next morning I started to call around for quotes on alarm systems and within two days, we had one installed, which has helped me feel safer. I know that things can still happen though and while it is a great thing to have, the alarm system is just one precautionary measure. I feel like the alarm system is my first defense for anything happening when I’m home. My second defense though, is the knowledge of self-defense and having a plan should anything else happen, including when I’m away from home. I will say that now we have the alarm, I am less worried that something should happen to me, but again, it won’t help me if I run into a situation when I’m out and about in general, or if someone breaks in while I’m home and tries to harm me. I’m sure many of you have heard about various situations where someone was attacked (male or female) and how they got away and saved their own lives. I think it is a wise decision for everyone to learn how to defend themselves. Even if you think it would never happen to you and/or that you live in a nice area with little to no crime. It does happen, even in nice areas and to nice people. I highly recommend that people of all ages take some type of self-defense class, including kids, to at least get the proper instruction on how to defend yourself. You just never know when it might come in handy and hopefully you will never need to use it, but it is very nice to know that you have the confidence to defend yourself should you ever find yourself in that type of situation. While you can find some resources online to help you learn some self-defense techniques, it is best to learn it in person with an instructor who can work specifically with you and allow you to properly practice and get the techniques down correctly. With that said though, below are a few online resources that may help you get started with some self-defense techniques and ideas. (I still recommend learning from an instructor in person. You can check with your local police or sheriff department to see if they offer self-defense courses or one of your local martial arts studios.) Self-Defense Techniques from eHow Self-Defense Techniques youtube video (A long video, but has some good information and examples.) 8 Self-Defense Techniques for Kids (Good information for kids.) Being prepared for the worst is the best thing you can do for yourself and your family. I believe that taking extra precautionary measures now can make a big difference and even save your life should anything ever happen to you. I am thankful that I have been trained in self-defense and because of this recent incident, I thought it was a great reminder to not only practice the techniques that I know, but to also remind others about their safety and that they too can learn self-defense. Have you ever had to defend yourself? Do you know any self-defense techniques? If so, what tips do you have to offer others? |
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