When we think about violence, we may have a tendency to think immediately about how we would be able to successfully defend ourselves if attacked e.g., what would
we do if somebody grabbed us, threw a punch at us, or tried to choke/strangle us etc. We may have ideas about hitting the groin, stomping a knee etc., or we might
conclude fatalistically that our best defense would be to curl up and hope that somebody would come to our assistance etc. We might conclude that even if we were to
learn some self-defense techniques, they would be ineffective against somebody much bigger and stronger than us etc. When we think about the scenarios we might have to
face, we often imagine extreme ones where the odds are stacked greatly against us e.g., being attacked, whilst alone, in a public place late at night, or having to
physically deal with a burglar, in the darkness, who has broken into our home in the nighttime. These are the types of stories/events that are reported by the
news media, and which are intended to grab our attention and make us fearful. However, they are not representative of the vast majority of violent incidents,
which is why they make the news.
Most potentially violent confrontations are avoidable, even those involving committed predatory assailants who actively look for people to victimize. Such offenders follow
processes and protocols even if they aren’t consciously aware of them e.g., for somebody to attack you they have to synchronize their movement to yours; they have to follow,
approach, intercept and/or wait for you. If we know how to identify these movement patterns, and the ones that precede them, then we stand a good chance of being able to avoid
being attacked. It is one thing to say that people should be more aware of their surroundings/environment, but it’s another thing to tell them what they should be aware about,
and what they should look for that predicts danger etc. This is where effective self-protection (personal safety) training is invaluable.
Boston self-defense instructor, Gershon Ben Keren, is a criminologist who has been working in the security sector since 1990. He has studied who assailants select victims
(the victimology of violence), and gains access to them. As an environmental criminologist, he looks at the places and times where/when violent assaults occur, and what
the common features of these are etc. By understanding the where and when of violence, along with the processes that violent offenders use it is possible to predict,
identify and avoid violence before it occurs, or if that isn’t possible to better prepare ourselves and set things up to improve our survival, using the effective
self-defense skills and solutions we have learnt e.g., such as positioning ourselves in the environment – by putting objects and barriers, such as a parked car, between
ourselves and our assailant etc.
If you are interested in learning these skills, as well as effective and proven self-defense skills and techniques etc., the best place to start is by registering and attending one of our beginner self-defense classes, using the button below.