HI DENNIS AND JEN,

I wanted to share this story with you.

I was living in San Francisco with a friend having left my hometown to be out on my own. One day I met a man while at a cafe. He made me feel very comfortable and we began a conversation. Knowing I was new to the area he suggested visiting Golden Gate Park. When we got on the bus, the first thing I should have noticed, (first warning) was the bus driver kept looking in his rear view mirror at us.

When we got off the bus, the driver shook his head as if to warn me (second warning)! As we walked along the park my new best friend suggested a shortcut through a lightly wooded area. I did not think much about his suggestion.  As we walked, he suddenly grabbed me from behind and had me in a choke hold.

Knowing I only had a few seconds  I knew right then and there I had to fight for my life and landed several blows that hit their mark. That simple move gave me time to run. A passing motorcycle picked me up and, took me to a public place where I could call my friend.

Susan W

Thanks Susan – Most women tend to hold back when encountering physical violence.  Having a plan of action in advance is the key.  While real life self-defense is all about stopping an attack by disabling your attacker, the real focus must be on learning how to recognize danger signs in advance of a physical encounter.

Listening to your intuition and following that small voice inside your head that says “avoid this danger” is one of the best things you can do to help yourself. Congratulations on having the mindset not to become a victim.

The paradox of women’s self-defense is that the more prepared you are, the less likely you are to need it. If you do need to call on those skills  that same confidence can end an attack quickly.