No-Frills Self Defense Life Hacks

For many people, situational awareness and self-protection are not at the top of mind when running errands or enjoying an evening out. Though everyone here at T.A.G. Muay Thai hopes that no one encounters a dangerous scenario, there are things you can do to improve your odds of avoiding and surviving harassment.

White House employee self-defense training

Preventative Self Defense Hacks:

• Maintain a level of situational awareness. Pay attention to your surroundings.
• If walking your car, walk with your keys out.
• If a situation if making you uneasy, keep calm, think clearly and plan an exit.
• In an elevator with a creep? Be the weirdo that presses buttons to all the floors and get off on the next one.
• Use the buddy system when going out after dark. 

How to defend yourself with zero fighting skills:

• Keep calm, cause pain and escape!
• Ladies, rings = weapons. Wear rings as part of your ensemble, they will make any punches that you need to land in order to defend your life much more devastating (especially if an attacker is larger and stronger).
• Make as much noise as you possibly can. Think of your voice as an alert for help. Most aggressors don’t want to be caught.
• Once it is too late to run, do not retreat or make yourself small. Instead, charge forward and go crazy. Don’t make it easy to be harmed or silenced.
• If you have nails, use them to scratch eyes and any body part that you can.
• If an arm or hand is near your mouth, bite down hard.
• Strike vital areas with your fists, elbows or a knee to the groin (one to two strikes should do the trick).
• Escape!* BONUS: How-to Escape a Chokehold

What to avoid:

• Using headphones or other apparatuses that might block hearing when walking alone
• Geo-tagging your every move on social media (it is common for an assaulter to be in your circle)
• Areas that are not well lit
• Public fights, do not stand by as a spectator
• If paying for an item with cash in public, avoid pulling out large wads of cash.
• Don’t your most valuable items in your wallet. Store them in an Altoid tin, if you get mugged, quickly toss your wallet over without anxiety.
• In a self-defense scenario – Resist kicking and stomping as this can easily cause you to be knocked down. Ending up in a ground fight significantly increases your chances of injury or fatality.
• In a self-defense scenario – The torso is extremely resilient, avoid striking the torso. You’d be better off with a hard slap to the throat or ear and knee to the groin.

Mobile Phone Self Defense Hack:

• Share My Location: Send one text message to a trusted family member, spouse or friend and they’ll be able to see your exact location for up to 1 hour or 24 hours. Available for iPhones and Droids. *Free

Want to learn more about self-protection and self-defense? Check out our Youtube channel. If you live in the DC-metro area, Northern Virginia or Calvert, MD, stop by the gym for Muay Thai and MMA classes or arrange a self-defense workshop near you!