Women's Self Defense - 4

A question that was sent to me last night whether or not I was going to actually start a women's self defense class at Keller Williams. The answer is...yes! And what I will be teaching in this class is what I will write about today because it has to do with my objectives for the blog that I mentioned yesterday.

 The very first thing I talk with any person (man or woman) about is environmental awareness. If you see a sign that says "Danger: Do Not Enter," then it's pretty obvious that there's some reason, whatever it may be, why you shouldn't enter that area. If you were to enter that area, then the "Danger," whatever it is, may bite you in the butt.

I'll tell you a story - a true story - that happened to me one night. Hopefully it will bring home the point.

 I was out and about one night with a friend. It was a Friday around 10pm. We stopped by a local gas station in a nicer part of town. As we pulled up to the gas station I saw 2 guys standing near the side of the gas station. No big deal, right? But I noticed that although they were standing side-by-side like good ‘ol pals, they were not talking. They were looking up and down the street. So then I looked inside the store. I saw another guy about the same age standing at the magazine rack. No big deal, right? But this guy was flipping the pages of the magazine while staring around the store at the customers inside.

At this point I was in a parking spot with the car still in drive. I did not put it in park and I was looking at the 2 guys on the side and at the other guy inside. My friend asked what I was doing. Without gesturing, I talked to her about what I was seeing. I said, "This place is about to get held up." I put the car in reverse and drove away.

The next day on the news we heard that the gas station where we were was robbed by 3 men at about 10:30pm. No one was hurt, but the employees and customers were all held at gunpoint.

Now, do I have some sort of psychic ability? First of all, I don't believe in psychic abilities. What I do believe in is noticing your surroundings, considering oddities, being wise to how our world (unfortunately) is, and making wise decisions based upon these things. Had I been flippant about what I saw, we may have been inside of that store.

So the first thing I will teach women about is how to be aware of their surroundings. Is it wise (for men or women) to walk across a dark parking lot...ALONE...at night? I'll give you a hint -

 I'm not trying to be offensive. I promise. It's just not smart to make a decision like that. I am aware that sometimes the situation is unavoidable, but most times it isn't.

It's also not smart for a woman to go to "Happy Hour" and then (after a few drinks) head out to her car, accompanied or unaccompanied. It's also not wise to be in a strange place with no lights, maps, friends, gas, etc. And people - don't hang out ALONE.

I'll elaborate more this upcoming week. But I wanted to answer the question about whether or not I was going to start a class. I guess I answered it...and then some.

Dustin Curlee...