When people think of the words 'Personal Protection' they often think of Bodyguards, Pepper Spray, Personal Alarms or carrying some sort of Stun Gun. Well there is actually a lot that you can do before any of that. Personal Protection is about being your own bodyguard, and it all starts with AWARENESS.
Be aware of your own surroundings, be aware of you own environment, and be aware of your own personal space and comfort zone. After all you would not cross a road without being aware of what traffic is around you. We learned about Personal Protection from a very early age. I guess the old green cross code of looking and listening while crossing the road to school was one of the first forms of Personal Protection that we learned.
However since the introduction of the mobile/cell phone our awareness of our surroundings and environment have been narrowed into paying attention to the phone rather than your personal space and that makes it very easy for a predator to get closer to you in today's world.
That's why we have to get better at other skills in our Personal Protection toolbox. Skills like being able to avoid, escape and in some cases being able to deliver a firm physical response are a must have skill. It is much better to have something and not use it, that to need something that you don't have.
Personal Protection is not a beginner to black belt programme that takes several years to learn, but on the other hand it is not a crash course programme either. Think of other lessons in life, how many swimming lessons would it take to learn to swim? Just a couple of widths were not aiming for the 2020 Olympics or anything. Or how many piano lessons would it take to play something that everyone would instantly recognize? or say how many driving lessons would you need to safely drive a vehicle? Everyone is different but I would say if you have ten lessons in either of the above you would have a very good grasp on each skill.
Personal Protection is very much the same.
Above are a few pictures from from the recent IB Personnel Protection Seminar. Big Thank You to those who made it all possible.
