Resources Visit Karen Anderson's web site at: |
Being Prepared Can Help You in Ways You Never Imagined! by Karen Anderson I know women who have learned the hard way about how being prepared (or not being prepared) can make the difference between tragedy and survival. I can tell you from personal experience that having a prepared mind-set can help you, and how not being prepared means you're taking big unnecessary risks with your own safety and the safety of your family. Here's what happened to one woman who lived in a "safe" residential neighborhood with a low crime rate who experienced this harrowing incident: "One of my deepest fears - and I know it's one shared by many women - is the fear of being attacked. Tragically, I've known more women than I care to count who are rape survivors. Some are my close friends. There came a point when I could no longer delude myself that I was somehow immune from becoming a victim. I had a couple of close calls with some very menacing men, and I decided I didn't want to push my luck and risk becoming another crime statistic. So I enrolled in a self-defense class. I wasn't "paranoid" about being attacked, but I knew that there was a decent chance, based on my experience and the experience of other women, plus the statistics I had read, that one day I could be put in a threatening situation. I wanted to be prepared when and if that day came. Well, it came one afternoon, in broad daylight, while I was filling my car at a corner gas station. I hadn't bothered to close the driver door, so I was boxed in on three sides between the car, the gas pump, and the open door. I had just taken my credit card out of the machine and was waiting for the gas to finish pumping when I noticed two young teenagers in baggy, grungy clothing walking toward me. They were wearing caps pulled down low, and the cold, hard way they stared straight ahead gave me the creeps. Now, in the old days I would have probably chastised myself for being "paranoid" and felt guilty about making snap judgements about somebody based only on their looks. But after taking self-defense classes, after learning from veteran cops who'd developed a sixth sense about people and crime, after listening to rape victims who learned the hard way to trust that little voice of warning inside their heads, I didn't dismiss my instincts. I trusted what I felt, and what I felt was that these two teenagers were up to no good. As they got closer, they suddenly split up. One headed to the side of my car where I was boxed in, and the other went [around] to the other side. I was sure I was being set up for a car-jacking or a hold-up, possibly even a kidnapping. My self-defense training taught me that I had to act quickly, so I kept my eye on the teenager closest to me and walked out into the open, toward him. I didn't want to be trapped with nowhere to run if they were going to try to corner me. Even though I sensed I was in danger and there was very little time to plan, I was able to think about my priorities very clearly. I remember saying to myself, 'They can have the car but there's now way they're going to get me.' My first concern was to keep myself safe, and worry about the car later. I came toward the one teenager with my balance squarely centered, my eyes never leaving his face, and an attitude that I was not going to be a victim. Even if I had to fight to protect myself. That way of carrying myself came from training and practice, from having a prepared mind-set. There's no way to fake that kind of attitude, you have to earn it. And the teenager probably sensed this because, at the last moment, he turned away to avoid me, and met up with his friend as they left the gas station. I closed my gas tank, grabbed my receipt, got into my car, and locked the doors. As I drove away, I saw him and his friend loitering outside a drugstore next to the gas station. He gave me a vicious glare as I zoomed past him up the street. The fact that I avoided becoming a victim wasn't just luck or chance. It was because I had spent time preparing for the possibility that someone might want to hurt me. I learned to recognize and deal with a dangerous situation, and I acted appropriately. Was I "paranoid" for taking self-defense classes? Some people might say I was. But then again, I managed to avoid getting hurt, and my car wasn't stolen. All because of a prepared mind-set." This article provided by courtesy of Karen Anderson from her book entitled "Y2K For Women: How to Protect Your Home and Family in the Coming Crisis." |
Being Prepared Can Help You in Ways You Never Imagined! by Karen Anderson I know women who have learned the hard way about how being prepared (or not being prepared) can make the difference between tragedy and survival. I can tell you from personal experience that having a prepared mind-set can help you, and how not being prepared means you're taking big unnecessary risks with your own safety and the safety of your family. Here's what happened to one woman who lived in a "safe" residential neighborhood with a low crime rate who experienced this harrowing incident: "One of my deepest fears - and I know it's one shared by many women - is the fear of being attacked. Tragically, I've known more women than I care to count who are rape survivors. Some are my close friends. There came a point when I could no longer delude myself that I was somehow immune from becoming a victim. I had a couple of close calls with some very menacing men, and I decided I didn't want to push my luck and risk becoming another crime statistic. So I enrolled in a self-defense class. I wasn't "paranoid" about being attacked, but I knew that there was a decent chance, based on my experience and the experience of other women, plus the statistics I had read, that one day I could be put in a threatening situation. I wanted to be prepared when and if that day came. Well, it came one afternoon, in broad daylight, while I was filling my car at a corner gas station. I hadn't bothered to close the driver door, so I was boxed in on three sides between the car, the gas pump, and the open door. I had just taken my credit card out of the machine and was waiting for the gas to finish pumping when I noticed two young teenagers in baggy, grungy clothing walking toward me. They were wearing caps pulled down low, and the cold, hard way they stared straight ahead gave me the creeps. Now, in the old days I would have probably chastised myself for being "paranoid" and felt guilty about making snap judgements about somebody based only on their looks. But after taking self-defense classes, after learning from veteran cops who'd developed a sixth sense about people and crime, after listening to rape victims who learned the hard way to trust that little voice of warning inside their heads, I didn't dismiss my instincts. I trusted what I felt, and what I felt was that these two teenagers were up to no good. As they got closer, they suddenly split up. One headed to the side of my car where I was boxed in, and the other went [around] to the other side. I was sure I was being set up for a car-jacking or a hold-up, possibly even a kidnapping. My self-defense training taught me that I had to act quickly, so I kept my eye on the teenager closest to me and walked out into the open, toward him. I didn't want to be trapped with nowhere to run if they were going to try to corner me. Even though I sensed I was in danger and there was very little time to plan, I was able to think about my priorities very clearly. I remember saying to myself, 'They can have the car but there's now way they're going to get me.' My first concern was to keep myself safe, and worry about the car later. I came toward the one teenager with my balance squarely centered, my eyes never leaving his face, and an attitude that I was not going to be a victim. Even if I had to fight to protect myself. That way of carrying myself came from training and practice, from having a prepared mind-set. There's no way to fake that kind of attitude, you have to earn it. And the teenager probably sensed this because, at the last moment, he turned away to avoid me, and met up with his friend as they left the gas station. I closed my gas tank, grabbed my receipt, got into my car, and locked the doors. As I drove away, I saw him and his friend loitering outside a drugstore next to the gas station. He gave me a vicious glare as I zoomed past him up the street. The fact that I avoided becoming a victim wasn't just luck or chance. It was because I had spent time preparing for the possibility that someone might want to hurt me. I learned to recognize and deal with a dangerous situation, and I acted appropriately. Was I "paranoid" for taking self-defense classes? Some people might say I was. But then again, I managed to avoid getting hurt, and my car wasn't stolen. All because of a prepared mind-set." This article provided by courtesy of Karen Anderson from her book entitled "Y2K For Women: How to Protect Your Home and Family in the Coming Crisis." |
Resources Visit Karen Anderson's web site at: |
