Hello Everyone! Welcome to my blog! My name is TJ, and I am the owner of Vertical Journey Martial Arts in Hewitt, TX. This blog is a way for me to encourage students (and non-students) with principles and techniques of the martial arts as well as some lighter subjects such as book and movie reviews on occasion. I look forward to sharing with you all throughout the coming years. So, without further delay, here is the first article in my self-defense series:
Parking Lot Safety
Picture this: It is a Saturday evening in spring. The weather has been perfect all day, and you have spent most of the day at the lake with your family and friends. Late in the afternoon, you manage to carve out some time to pick up a few items at your favorite store. As you finish your shopping, you start to feel hungry and that turns your attention to dinner. You pay at the register and walk leisurely out the door into the parking lot. The sun is setting by this time, and the street lights haven’t come on yet. So the parking lot is a little dim, but the sky is a beautiful pink and all seems right with the world. As you walk down the row, you take out your phone and begin texting your significant other about what you will have for dinner.
The parking lot is quiet as you approach your car. While looking at your phone, you catch a glimpse of movement out of the corner of your eye, but think it must be one of the birds that plague the parking lots every evening during this time of year. You reach your vehicle and set your phone on the trunk as you try to find which pocket your keys ended up in this time. Suddenly, and without warning, vice-like arms grab you from behind lifting your feet off the ground. Before you know what has happened, you are thrown to the ground and struck several times in the face and body. You attempt to struggle to your feet, but someone yells and pushes you down on your face. You manage one cry for help, but suddenly everything is quiet again. As you stand up, you notice two hooded figures jump into a dark sedan and speed away.
You check yourself for any major injuries and breathe slight sigh of relief as you discern that you are mostly intact aside from scrapes, bruises, and a bloody nose. Looking around, you discover that all of your possessions excluding the car (useless without keys) have been taken. Fortunately, you are one of the lucky ones. Many people in the world experience similar confrontations and endure greater losses than a few pieces of paper, plastic and cell phone. At the moment, however, that doesn’t seem like a very comforting thought…
So how do you avoid becoming a victim of a parking lot mugging? Here are some simple tips that could save you from just such a situation:
1. Prepare for the transition – attackers tend to look for “transitional areas” to make their move. Whether it be from store to the car, the car to the house, or any number of other transitions we make on a daily basis. It is good to be aware that these are potential danger zones. One way to prevent yourself from being vulnerable is to find your keys before leaving the relative safety of the building you are exiting. This will provide you with a smoother, faster transition that limits the opportunity for attack.
2. Put the phone away! – Cell phones have become an integral part of our daily lives, and they have many advantages. However, many people have found themselves in terrible situations because they were looking down at their phone instead of at their surroundings (think: walking into poles, falling down manholes, and… being abducted). Put your cell phone away as you pass through transitional spaces, particularly in dimly lit areas since the light from your phone can cause your eyes to lose adjustment for the ambient light.
3. Look – Any time you are moving through a parking lot, your attention should be on your surroundings. Not just a few feet around you either. You should try to look out in at least a 100 foot radius so that you know when cars or people are in motion near you. Don’t focus in one place for too long. Scanning is the key to preventing many an accident that might occur.
4. Listen – Ears are one of the greatest self-defense tools given to the human race. We can hear things often before we see them! Keep your ears open and analyze what you hear. Is that a car coming around the corner? Footsteps between the rows of cars? What if things are too quiet? There are many acoustic cues that can help to forewarn you of impending disaster.
5. Think – The MOST important self-defense tool we have is our BRAIN. We have been endowed with the ability to observe, analyze, and reason. Got a bad feeling in your gut? That probably isn’t the Mexican food you had last night. It is probably your subconscious brain telling you that it sees something you don’t. It is called instinct. Listen to it! Find another way to get to your destination, or simply wait for a larger number of people to exit the store at the same time.
All of this sounds pretty serious, and it is, but don’t allow fear to rule your every move. Once you make these 5 tips into habits, you can go about your shopping with a smile on your face knowing that you are much less likely to end up the victim of a parking lot attack.