One spring morning a lady is in her apartment going about her day when suddenly there’s a knock at the door.  The girl looked through the peephole to see who it was and saw her ex boyfriend on the other side.  The main phrase here is “ex boyfriend”.  She doesn’t open the door and tells him to leave.  They are yelling back and forth through the door.  She finally opens the door a little and he rushes in.  Before he leaves he verbally and physically assaults her.  What would you have done?

There’s a quote that says “people will do more to avoid pain than they will to seek pleasure”.  If that’s the truth then people must live an extremely submissive and confining life.  They must live a life that limits what they do and doesn’t allow them to live life to its fullest.  Living in fear must be a terrible thing.

The definition of a coward is “a person who lacks courage in facing danger, difficulty, opposition, pain, etc.; a timid or easily intimidated person”.  This definition doesn’t paint a picture of a bad person.  To me, it paints a picture of a person who doesn’t know what to do when faced with these situations.
When a person is able to face danger and survive they are often times called a hero.  Doesn’t it make sense that this “hero” is simply a person who applied learned knowledge?  Does “doing what we know to do” make us heroes?  I don’t think so.  I think it makes us prepared, responsible people.

The question remains though, what’s to be thought of those who aren’t prepared?  Are they to be thought of as irresponsible?  I say yes, especially when training is so available.  Remember, there are many things worse than death and performing poorly is one of them; or so many times not performing at all.

All you have to do is:

1. Leave a comment about your favorite personal safety tip or self defense technique.
2. Tweet on Twitter ‘@AnEscape Plan wants to give you a free #Protective Thinking DVD http://anescapeplan.info/blog/‘ . Just click the link to post to your twitter status now.  Leave a separate comment for another chance to win.
3. Become a fan of Escape Plan on Facebook, and leave a separate comment here telling us you did (or are) for a third chance at winning.
4. Subscribe to our blog and comment here saying you did (or tell us your already do) for a fourth chance at winning.
5. Post on your personal blog about Escape Plan’s giveaway with the title ‘Escape Plan wants to give you a free “Protective Thinking” DVD’ and post a comment with the link for a fifth chance to win.

Make sure to leave a comment for each separate entry to win. They cannot be counted unless they are separate comments. Comments will close Thursday, January 21, 2010 at midnight. The winner will be chosen by random.org and announced Friday, January 22 between 9a and noon. Remember to share this with your family and friends!

As hard as I try it is difficult to make people believe that crime can happen anywhere, to anybody, at anytime.  I can teach all the techniques in the world but if people don’t begin to accept the fact that crime can happen to them and that they need to be prepared to deal with these situations, then all they have really received out of the class in a few hours of exercise.

As a father of two daughters I want to give Katie Wolfe a special shout out for doing what she can to guide our female youths.  Keep up the outstanding work Katie.
As promised, here are some of the safety tips that I talked about at the event that may help you have a better holiday shopping experience.
On-line shopping

• Only order from reputable sites
• Use sites that were referred by friends
• Be sure to allow time for deliveries
• Have shipped to a second location (you don’t want kids going through the stuff)

Parking lots

• Park in well lit areas
• Be sure you can see the doors of the store (if you can’t see the doors they can’t see you)
• Watch for suspicious people sitting in their cars
• When leaving your car cover your packages or put them in your trunk (don’t make it easy for thieves to see your packages)
• Always be alert while walking in parking lots and be on the lookout for anything that looks suspicious

Shopping

• Shop in a group (the more the merrier and the more the safer)
• Don’t leave purses unattended (even “just for a second”)
• Don’t carry expensive bags (the bag alone can catch a thief’s eye do to the fact that they can get money simply from the bag.
• If you pay with credit cards only carry a few and then have all the information you will need to reporting them of they become lost or stolen

Nobody wants to think about negative things happening, especially at Christmas, but it’s better to take a Pro Active approach to our holiday shopping to ensure we have a safe and wonderful season.
Merry Christmas!

1. Be aware of your surroundings. Knowing where you are and who is around may help you find a way to get out of a bad situation.
2. Try to avoid isolated areas. It is more difficult to get help if no one is around.
3. Walk with purpose. Even if you don’t know where you are going, act like you do.
4. Trust your instincts. If a situation or location feels unsafe or uncomfortable, it probably isn’t the best place to be.
5. Try not to load yourself down with packages or bags as this can make you appear more vulnerable.
6. Make sure your cell phone is with you and charged and that you have cab money.
7. Don’t allow yourself to be isolated with someone you don’t trust or someone you don’t know.
8. Avoid putting music headphones in both ears so that you can be more aware of your surroundings, especially if you are walking alone.