You spend so much money on self defense training and devices, but fear takes hold of you when you think of what would happen if someone really approached you. Fear is one of the crippling emotions that prevent individuals who have trained for the moment when they will be attacked, to freeze up and forget everything that they have learned.

In a scenario where you worked late and you happen to have to walk a good distance to your car in the parking garage, if a guy approached you with a knife, think right now what you would do to protect yourself.

Do you travel with lipstick pepper spray on your key ring? Have you learned the latest moves in your karate class? Do you have a cell phone stun gun in your purse?

All these things are part of the preparation process and yet fear takes over and you forget that you have any of these self defense products or a mechanism to counteract the fear, which is belief in yourself that you are in danger and will do what it takes to get out of it.

Your own body language is a sign to the robber or attacker if you are afraid or not. Carry yourself with confidence and awareness of your surroundings and you will have your attack running away from you instead of toward you.

If you are training in a martial arts or karate class, you may not be getting the right training to use in a street fight.  You cannot wait around for a robber. The robber waits around for you.

Never use your fist in a street attack. You are more prone to experience injury. Use a palm strike to hit your opponent in the head, jaw or nose. Size and muscle has nothing to do with self defense. It is not the size of the person, but the right tactics used. Speed is the element of surprise. Your opponent won’t expect your reaction and you will catch them off guard.

Your training does not incorporate a real life attack and so it is up to you to use your instinct in situations when you are faced with an attacker. Always remain calm in an attack. You don’t want the attacker to feel that they are in control of the situation.

Familiarize yourself with different types of weapons such as guns, knives, stun guns, laser guns and pepper sprays. By doing so, you will not be frightened when you see one of these.

Watch the body language of the attacker. You will know by how they speak or move whether they are looking around as if afraid or are determined to take you out. This information will help you to know how to respond.

Look for any move that the attacker makes to come closer to you. Be ready to respond. Most street fighters will use the “Haymaker,” swing hook as their first line of defense. You must be ready for it. The attacker will waste enough energy to deliver this strike for you to counteract it. If you are not, then you will be thrown off balance.

Be on the defense at all times if you are not able to leave the scene. Make sure that the attacker is always in front of you where you can see what is going on and every move that is made.

It is better to do something than nothing at all so running away is a safety mechanism that you can use to save your life. Never be confrontational if you want to save your life. Never try to become a hero by fighting back. Become a hero by saving your life.

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