A.P.P.E.E. stands for
Remember: your mind is your most powerful weapon. Your perspective and
your reactions will determine whether you win or lose. If you see
yourself as a
AWARENESS. Train yourself to constantly assess your current environment. Look around, listen and feel. When you detect a possible hazard, you need to react appropriately. Being aware will give you an advantage in every situation you encounter. Not just in threatening situations, but in your personal and professional life as well. Pay attention and be aware of everything around you.
Constant awareness does not mean living in a paranoid state. It means that you understand that criminals watch for people who seem distracted. They want to make it easy on themselves, so they’re less likely to attack someone who walks with a purpose and seems to be in control and aware of their surroundings. Pay attention and be sensitive to potential dangers so you can react appropriately and in a timely manner. At first it may feel stressful to continuously be on the lookout, but after awhile it’ll be second nature, and you’ll do it in a relaxed and natural state. It’s simply learning a new good habit.
If you’re approaching your car and see a suspicious person lingering, calmly go back into the business or residence you were visiting and ask someone to accompany you to your car – or at least come and watch until you get to your car safely. You may feel silly doing this, but it’s better than being a victim.
PREVENTION: There are many ways to prevent crime and keep yourself out of threatening situations. For example, if you have a car, make sure it is well maintained and keep the gas tank at least half full at all times. There have been many incidents where a car broke down at night, and the driver became the victim of a random attack.
A few years ago, a woman ran out of cigarettes late at night and she decided to make a quick trip to get some more. Her husband was out of town, and her kids were in bed. She didn’t leave a note, because the store was only three miles away, and it would only take her a few minutes, so no one knew where she went. She never made it to the store. The next morning, the kids woke up and couldn’t find their mother. They called their father, who called the authorities. The police found her car about two miles away from their house. She ran out of gas and was raped and murdered.
It’s never the victim’s fault when a crime is committed, but basic precautions, awareness and preparedness can help prevent crime and save lives. Although we’re all subject to a car breakdown, running out of gas is preventable. Using crime prevention and self protection techniques is a good habit to get into. It’s better to be a little overly cautious. Here are some things to remember:
Always be sure to give yourself a half tank of gas.
Never leave your house without telling someone or leaving a note (especially late at night.)
If it’s late and you’re almost out of gas, don’t leave.
Be sure to lock your doors as soon as you get into the car.
Keep a flashlight with you, along with flares and water
Take a basic self-defense class, and a basic first aid class.
PREPARATION. Awareness helps us stay out of trouble, but sometimes trouble finds us anyway. That’s why it’s important to be prepared for unexpected situations. One of the easiest things to do is to keep a cell phone with you at all times. These days, cell phones are relatively inexpensive, and allows people the freedom to do things they wouldn’t ordinarily do. I know several women who feel safe to travel alone, now that they have a cell phone. They never would have risked it before. Part of being prepared is using your natural weapons, including common sense and intuition.
EMPOWERMENT: Empowerment is a state of mind. It comes first from your self image, and then from your ability to take care of yourself. Empowerment is strongly linked to your self-esteem. If you feel worthy, you are more likely to feel empowered and in control of your life. A strong self esteem creates a stronger survival instinct.
You can gain empowerment and strengthen your self-esteem through various resources and experiences. A good self-defense class helps tremendously in gaining physical empowerment. There are many books and classes that can help build self-esteem and mental/emotional empowerment. Identifying and understanding your weaknesses is a good place to start. This is a mental and physical process. You must develop both parts to acquire true empowerment.
Many people let others step on them, intimidate them, and easily diminish their confidence and ability to fight back on all levels. Most of these people have issues that go back to childhood. If this sounds like you, it’s critical that you put the time and effort into developing your self-confidence. Once you recognize the behavioral patterns you have, you can break them and change your life. Many people don’t realize that we can be victimized by family and friends - and even ourselves. It’s more subtle and probably less dangerous than an attack by a predator, but it can cause damage nonetheless. If you need help dealing with the emotional side of this, find a good, trustworthy professional counselor and a good support group to help you work through your issues. Your quality of life depends on it!
Women have always been more vulnerable to attacks. Therefore, they have a different perspective than men do, when it comes to self protection. Many women are taught from childhood that men are going to protect them, and so they don’t need to learn self-defense. This is a dangerous attitude for women and girls to have. It limits their quality of life tremendously, as well as their ability to reach their full human potential in life. Fortunately, times have changed, and we all recognize that women need to feel the freedom to do whatever they desire. They need autonomy and independence, just like men do. For many women, taking a good, realistic, hands-on self-defense course not only empowers them, but also teaches them that they’re not victims. Women should be proud to be women and should never feel inferior because of their gender, size or physical limitations. In other chapters we will deal with emergency self-defense for women, and for seniors – another vulnerable group.
EXECUTION: Execution is the last stage of self-defense. Once you are empowered with the mental and physical ability to defend yourself – you must be willing and able to execute effective self defense tactics.
If you put the effort into developing personal empowerment along with self-defense knowledge, but cannot bring yourself to use it, you’re not only wasting your time and energy – but you’re also putting yourself in danger. You may take risks that you shouldn’t take because, you over estimate you ability to use what you know. Although you have the knowledge, you’re unable or unwilling to execute the technique.
In defending yourself, you may have to hurt someone else in the process. In fact, it’s fairly certain that you will. You need to be aware of that and accept it. Most of us have been taught that it’s wrong to hurt another person. But if you’re ever in a situation where you’ve hurt someone in self-defense – know that you had no choice. The other person made the mistake of thinking you were a victim, and got a big surprise. If you feel badly, it simply means that you’re a compassionate person, not a predator. Being compassionate is wonderful. We need more compassion in the world. But never compromise your own safety and well-being for an attacker.
It is important to have a simple plan that meets the needs of you and your family. It must be easy to remember and easy to execute. You don’t have to be a martial arts expert – just take a class to learn some basic blocks and effective strikes, and learn to incorporate environmental weapons into those skills. Find an instructor that will explain the psychology of self-defense – because it is a mental activity as much as it is physical. Practicing your self-defense technique is also important, so that it becomes second nature. Incorporate your practice into a daily exercise routine.