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The following are a few thoughts about how to decrease your chances of being a victim of a violent crime. I know a lot of times we focus on the nuts and bolts of a fight and we assume most of us know these things and this information is common knowledge for some of you, but it some times it’s always good to review.

Your assailant has to get close to you. No matter what, in order for anyone to impose his will on you, he has to get next to you. Here are a few ways to get a criminal to select someone else.

1. Always survey the area you are walking.

2. Look for street lights that are out.

3. Look in the cars parked next to you, do you notice anyone sitting in the car parked next to you.

4. Vans with sliding doors that face your car make for a good way to take you out of the area quickly.

5. Look under your car. A few years ago criminals would hid under vehicles, slash the ankles of the owner of the car with a razor while an accomplice would secure the keys, money and valuables of the victim.

6. Don’t pass by alley or door ways too closely. Give a wide birth when walking by.

7. Don’t walk next to parked cars. I know this may get a little difficult, but give about 6 feet between you and cars parked in a parking garage.

Don’t be distracted.

1. Good victims are preoccupied. If you are over burdened with bags and children, you will make a good target.

2. Do you look lost? Trying to figure out where you are going and looking around and cursing is a good tip-off that you’re not paying attention.

3. Have your keys ready to go and have a plan to get the kids and the packages stowed away.

Know your environment.

1. If you are not familiar with the area, especially cities, the street you are on may change from morning to evening. What was a busy business district in the morning; may be a wasteland come 11:00pm. So know where you are and if its unfamiliar to you, leave at the same time of day that you arrived.

2. Buy a map and have a course mapped out.

When you’re driving…

1. Leave enough space in front of you to pull out if you had to.

2. Constantly check mirrors and briefly check the surrounding cars.

3. If you are bumped while driving. Dial 9-1-1 and drive to the police station. You don’t have to stay there and get out of your car to survey the damage. If you can get a license plate, good. But you’re not obligated to stay there. You are obligated to contact the police.

4. Keep your tank full if you are going someplace unfamiliar.

5. Always consult a map. Map quest is well, map quest.

Three of the most common dodges that are used for setting you up:

1. Do you have a match?

2. Do you have any change?

3. Do you have the time?

4. Can you give me some directions?

All of these are designed to do two things, occupy your eyes and your hands. Answers to the above questions

1. No I don’t smoke (even if you have a cigarette hanging out of your mouth)

2. No

3. No (even if you are wearing a watch)

4. I’m not from here.

Never stop, keep walking and keep moving. If the person asking the question keeps persisting, then they want more than the time.

An ounce of prevention…

1. If you carry w weapon have your hand on it, and have some back ups secreted on your person.

2. Don’t depend on pepper spray and stun guns to end the assault. Do expect them to give you an opening to escape.

3. If you feel you are being followed:

a. Get ready to defend your self. Place your hand on your weapon of choice.
b. Mark ‘em. Make brief eye contact, even if it means turning around
c. Change direction and pick up the pace.
d. Duck in to a public place.
e. Call police (even if you are a little paranoid, its OK)
f. Run

4. Practice drills in you head.

a. What if my car was approached, how do I get out of here?

b. Am I boxed in, what are my avenues of escape?

c. Practice dialing 9-1-1. (Disconnect the phone). Have your kids practice it. You would be surprised how many people under stress dial 4-1-1.

d. Do you have a safe room in your house? The bathroom is a good one. One entrance. A small or no window. Put a few choice weapons hidden in there as well. Practice getting the kids together going in the bathroom, locking the door and dialing 9-1-1. You don’t have to do this all of the time; a few times a year is enough?

e. What about a fire? Pick a spot to meet and have a fire drill. Same thing, only about once a year. Does each room have a safety ladder? (Note: don’t leave the ladder accessible from the outside; it’s a good way to give access to your home. you may have to employ drill “d.”

The list isn’t all inclusive, but I’m sure you get the idea. I could write a book on Home Safety, but its been done and its not my thing.

Just remember a little bit of paranoia goes a long way.

©2005 www.thetruthaboutselfdefense.com

Damian Ross is the owner of Zenshin and instructor of Tekkenryu jujutsu and Kodokan Judo. He started competing in the combative sport of wrestling in 1975 at the age of 7 and began his study of Asian martial arts with Moo Duk Kwan Tae Kwon Do at the age of 16 in 1984. In 1989, Shinan Cestari gave a seminar at Sensei Ross’s dojo. Sensei Ross has trained under Shinan Cestari’s direction ever since. In addition to Tekkenryu Jujutsu, Judo and Tae Kwon Do, Sensei Ross has also studied Bando. Sensei Ross continues his study of Judo under the direction of 8th degree black belt Yoshisada Yonezuka and Tekkenryu Jujutsu under it’s founder, Carl Cestari. Below are is a list of some of his title ranks:
Yodan (fourth degree black belt) Tekkenryu Jujutsu under Carl Cestari
Shodan (First degree black belt) Kodokan Judo under Yoshisada Yonezuka
Varsity Wrestling Lehigh University under Thad Turner
2nd Degree Black Belt Tae Kwon Do
http://www.thetruthaboutselfdefense.com

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Preface

There are many different ways to understand Aikido philosophy and perceive, utilize, and benefit from energy. What I offer here is one of many ways. Indeed when I do other kinds of activities I perceive of and work with energy in quite a different manner. What follows is my experience of energy while performing Aikido over the course of more than twenty years. Certainly there are likely to be many other Aikido practitioners that would explain their experiences and beliefs in a manner that is somewhat different than mine. I offer you here, one experience, my experience, and thus all that I say is part of my belief system, and not at all necessarily THE truth.

Aikido

Aikido is a Japanese martial art, and it does not have an attack form. We do not kick, punch, or in any other manner, attempt to hurt our opponent.

The meaning of Aikido:

“Ai” To gather or harmonize.

“Ki” Universal life force/energy.

This is the energy that we share with nature and all living beings.

“Do” An artful path of discovery.

“Aikido” An artful path of discovering how to gather and harmonize the energy of the universe.

When we sense and move with the energy that is manifesting throughout the universe we find that we have a greater ability to live a life that is healthy and fulfilling.

“Ki”

In Aikido we believe that all human beings utilize and share a common energy source (ki) that helps to run and maintain our environment as well as our individual human systems. We believe that since we all share a common energy source, that in some important way we are all truly members of the same family, and truly sharing our lives with all of nature. We do not have an attack form in Aikido, because attacking an opponent would be like attacking a family member that you love. Attacking an opponent would also be like attempting to damage the flow of Universal energy in the world, and such acts are likely to have many far reaching consequences.

In the Japanese language words that use the concept of “ki” are common.

“Gen-ki” means “root energy” or one’s “personal health.”
“Ten-ki” relates to “heavenly energy” or “the weather.”
“Hon-ki” relates to “original energy” or “the truth.”
“Yuu-ki” relates to “brave energy” or “courage.”
“Ki o tsukete” means “attach your energy to what you are doing, or “be careful.”

The origin of ki?

Where does ki originate from? In Aikido the answer is poetic in nature rather than scientific. It is suggested that ki was “born” at the same instant as the rest of the universe, and that we are all born from the ki of the universe. Ki is considered to be an energy that we all have equal access to. It is an energy that courses through our system if we do not restrict it. In Aikido we believe that excess tension physically and emotionally, fear, hate, greed, and anger, all cut us off from the universal source of ki. Our daily practice involves working at maintaining a balanced state physically and emotionally, and indeed, practicing ways to cultivate physical and emotional balance is much of what the study of Aikido is about. In Aikido physical and emotional balance are meant to be two sides of the very same coin. Physical balance helps to engender emotional balance and health, and vice versa as well. Often in my professional work with individuals I find myself first addressing the clients physical balance when they come wanting to resolve emotional issues, and I do the reverse as well. I often first address or explore how emotional imbalance might lead to the physical difficulties they are experiencing.

“Ki signature” mind, spirit-Energy manifests as spirit, spirit manifests as mind

Energy manifests within each individual as spirit, spirit manifests in each individual as mind. In some way that is a mystery to all of mankind, the freely available energy of the universe is transformed by each person into one’s own unique “ki signature”, spirit, mind. No two people have the same exact “ki signature”, just as no two people have the same exact written signature. No two people have the same exact spirit, no two people have the same exact mind. The unique way that we each take in, utilize, and expend energy, can be considered to be our “ki signature”, mind, or spirit. Each person starts with the same source of energy, and manifests this energy in a way that will never exactly be duplicated by any other human being.

Thought, body structure,and movement, shape the flow of ki, into spirit/mind

Think of the freely flowing water of a powerful river that comes upon a series of fairly large rocks spread out across the river bed and extend up beyond the water’s surface. These rocks affect the flow of the river but they do not change the nature of the water itself. Ki flows through the river bed of our brain and body. Our thoughts, body structure and movements, are like the rocks in the river bed. These are the main elements that shape ki into individual mind, or spirit The flow of ki is uniquely transformed by each human being, but the nature of the ki itself, is not altered in the process. Just as the pattern of rocks spread out along the river bed is never exactly duplicated in any other place on earth, the pattern of our thoughts, body structure, and movement is also never exactly duplicated. All mind is similar, but no two minds are exactly alike.

A heartfelt understanding of the nature of our spirit will help us to create a healthy alignment of our thoughts, body structure, movements, and actions. When every aspect of our self is fully aligned we have a much greater ability to think, feel, and act in accordance with what is best for us in any given moment. We are better able to adapt and change in a manner that is supports the well being of our entire self and our surroundings.

The misnomers of “mind-body” and “mind and body”

A definition of “mind” that I often use it in my work, is the following:

“Mind is a dynamic, self-organizing, creative system, capable of overcoming physical and temporal constraints. Mind uses and manufactures energy in order to support the self and one’s surroundings, trade information, and adapt to change.”

When considering this definition of mind, we can say that mind manifests equally in the body and in the brain in the skull. Because of this I believe that the terms “mind-body” or “mind and body” as used in the Western world, are somewhat missing the mark and tend to lead to a certain degree of misunderstanding. If you ask a Japanese person to point to their mind, usually they will point to the area of their heart, or they will point to their lower abdomen. If you ask the average Westerner to point to their mind they will point to their head. This is why I think the terms “mind-body” and “mind and body” were developed in the Western world. I believe that the average Western person thinks of the term “mind” in relation to “thinking” or “thought”. Oriental philosophy considers “mind” to be immanent in both the body and the brain. In Aikido we say that we practice in order to calm the mind, by coordinating our thoughts, the actions of our body, and our breath. Or we say that we practice in order to further empower and actualize our mind by coordinating our thoughts, physical actions, breath, and spirit.

When looking to calm our mind we give our primary attention to calming our breath and our heart beat, which will tend to lead towards a relaxing of our musculature and a slowing down or cessation of our internal dialogue. If we calm our body we will tend to calm our cognitive thought processes. Calming the mind can also be accomplished by giving primary attention to the speed, rhythm, and tone of voice of our internal dialogue. If we calm our cognitive thought processes we will tend to calm the body. When we calm both our cognitive thought processes and our body, then we calm our mind. Cognitive mind and somatic mind are part of a recursive feedback loop. You can’t affect one without affecting the other.

Charlie Badenhop is the originator of Seishindo, an Aikido instructor,
NLP trainer, and Ericksonian Hypnotherapist. Benefit from his thought-provoking
ideas and a new self-help Practice every two weeks, by subscribing to his complimentary
newsletter on the website Seishindo: Accessing
Your Body Wisdom. On the website, you can also find out more about Aikido
Philosophy and the importance of understanding the
internal language of your body.

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