Self defense should be an important topic for women as they are often the most targeted for crime against a person. While women may bemoan the terms “the weaker sex,” it is basically true and male attackers will take advantage of this fact. Therefore, there are quite a few things you can do to avoid becoming a victim of a crime. Most advice is common sense but it does bear repeating to ensure that you do not let your guard down when out and about conducting your business or pleasure.

1. Be Aware of your Surroundings – It is very important that you are cognizant of the environment around you, whether you are in a new part of town or an area that you have frequented for years. Do not become complacent just because you have never had a problem before. Always be diligent, trying to identify potential problems. When alone, do not walk and talk on your cell phone as this draws your attention away from possible dangers. Also, do not park your car if you see any suspicious-looking people hanging around and do not park next to a van or other vehicle that has people just sitting in them as they could be waiting for someone unsuspecting to grab and rob or worse.

2. Be Confident and Self-Aware – Always walk with your head held high and make eye contact with people. If a potential attacker believes you will be able to identify them later, they are less likely to attack. Criminals want women who appear timid, someone who will likely not fight them or cause problems.

3. Rely on your Instincts – There is a thing called women’s intuition and while there is no scientific evidence to truly support it, relying on it has helped many women avoid problem situations. Trust your instincts. If you feel funny about entering the parking garage for your car, seek out a security guard as your escort. When you see someone lingering near your car and are not sure if you should head there, don’t. Whenever you get that hinky feeling – it’s that gut, neck or back tingling sensation that something is not quite right – pay attention. It is always better to be safe and inconvenienced than sorry later on.

4. Have an Escape Plan – Whenever you go anywhere or do anything, always scope out the exits and come up with a plan should you need to escape. This same scenario applies for home as well. Inform your family of possible escape exits in the home and your companions if you are out and about. And when you are cornered, be ready to employ whatever weapons and self defense tactics you have in your personal arsenal.

5. Be Vocal and Make Eye Contact – When you are in a potentially dangerous situation such as being followed or approached by someone you feel may hurt you, be vocal and make eye contact. Ask what they want in a loud voice and look them in the eye. The eye contact, as mentioned above in #2 is important because criminals do not want the victim to identify them and will likely pass you up. If you have misjudged a situation, it is always better to be a bit embarrassed and perceived as rude rather than beat-up or killed and left in a ditch somewhere.

6. Do Not Rely on Weapons to Save You – There are stun guns, tasers, pepper spray and more that can be great self defense tools but they should not be relied on to save you in a dangerous situation. Learning self defense moves is a better investment, particularly if you are not comfortable operating the self defense devices. They could be used against you.

There are many things you can do and should be aware of in a self defense situation. However, it should not take a criminal act against you to inspire you to get self defense training and education. Start now before you become another statistic.

One of a woman’s worst fears is being targeted by an attacker but there are several things you can do in self-defense in preparation of any potential attack. But what happens when you are trapped regardless of the precautions you take? One of the most difficult positions you can be in when attacked by a perpetrator is being pinned down face down. This position is the ultimate in loss of control for you and being in the command position for the criminal.

You could be attacked from behind in a parking garage or a carjacker could push you down into the seat of your vehicle. The pin down position is optimal for perpetrators because they could easily choke you, beat you, rape you or all of the above. It is very important to note that you are in a very bad situation because being face down and pinned removes most of your ability to defend yourself. In order to try and reverse the situation and stack a few odds in your favor, you should know what to do in this situation:

First of all, you need to learn how to deflect some of the blows and abuse. Drag one of your elbows to your side and try to place the palm of your hand beside your face. This keeps the perpetrator from not only choking you but your hand and wrist can deflect some of the blows. When something is in its path, a chokehold cannot kill you.

If possible, extend the opposite arm straight over your head. This action will protect the opposite side of your neck from getting into a deadly chokehold. The biceps of your arm and your shoulder, when the arm is straightened, also protects your facial area somewhat from a beating.

The next thing you should try to do in a face down pin hold is try and roll over. While the perpetrator could slow your efforts, you will ultimately succeed as it is hard to stop the rolling momentum. Start with the side which has the completed extended arm and rock back and forth to try and get on your back. It may take some effort if the perpetrator is beating the back of your head and other areas but even if it is inch by inch, you can succeed with effort.

Once you are on your back, you have just inserted yourself back into a fighting position with hope of escape. While being pinned face up is still not a good position, at least you can see your attacker and anticipate their movements. Please with your eyes searching your environment, you can seek items that could be used as a weapon against them.

Pinned face up, you will be able to block the blows from your attacker and try to take the offensive. As the attacker’s hand comes down to hit, lift your arm in a blocking position and then try to wrap it around his and trap it against your bodies. At the same time, move the foot (on the same side as the blocking arm) to the outside of the attacker’s leg. Then, using as much momentum as possible, push both feet against the ground, bringing up your body from the pelvis area and up.

The feet pushing movement above should cause your attacker to lose balance and the best part is that you have hold of their trapped arm and if you roll to the same side of the trapped arm, you will end up on top of the attacker’s thighs in a good position for attack – aiming for the groin area with your elbow, free hand or any other body part.

After the groin attack, you push against their knees, essentially locking them, while you get up to make your escape.

There are a number of variations for getting out of the face down, pinned hold but the above is a good representation of how to start. A good self defense class will go into further detail and show other scenarios you should remember.