Thread: How seriously do you take your personal safety?

Hi all,
Im going to start this discussion with a question, Who is responsible for your personal protection and the safety of your family and home? My answer to the question is YOU.Taking into account that the police will 99% of the time respond after the incident has happened.This is an area i have spent alot of my life trying to understand and pass my experiences onto others.Without thinking can you answer the following two simple questions, how many windows are in your home? How many stairs are in your home? My reason for this is the first line of defence we have is our sense of self awareness.More often than not we walk around in our own little bubble,not taking in our surroundings,unable to spot the abnormal. Before we can start with any form of self defence we first must understand ourselves, how to spot a potential situation,understand what is going on in our body prior to the attack, during the attack and after the attack,( i use the word attack rather than assault as each situation is different and may not always be physical). Lets throw it out there guys and hopefully get some interaction going here.Im egar to hear what measures you take,be it self defence classes (and what style) carrying of firearms (for our TI brothers who live in countries where it is legal to do so), and anyone who has been victim to such an incident (leave out the gorey details) and what you have learned from such an experience and what you would do different if you ever had to relive it..

I keep a 12 gauge shotty next to my head when I sleep, and conceal carry a .380 auto p3at when I'm not going to school/work/bar. Additionally there are base ball bats at every door in the house and under the front seats of my two cars.

I was robbed at gunpoint twice when I was in high school. I grew up in a sketchy area and associated with even sketchier people. Both instances were drug were drug related so it's not likely to repeat itself again. If it did happen again, I would probably handle things exactly as I did before, even if I was packing. Both times the guys had the jump on me, and reaching for a gun would have resulted in a quick death.

Very interesting my friend, for to go to such ex streams to live a normal life would indeed assure me that you do live in a sketchy area.But a question if i may ask,is that the life you would want for your young children? Have you considered moving? The best way to avoid a violent confrontation is not to be there in the first place, unless it is by choice.I have lived in some sketchy areas also, it was because of the sketchy people that lived within my community that i chose my profession, but im from a small country where we are not permitted legally to carry firearms,but thats not to say that the sketchy people dont(and without fear of any law would use them).I moved from there almost 20 years ago, but the thing is, 90% of my childhood friends are dead,from gangland feuds,shootings,drugs and murders,the other 10% are in prison.By choice i moved as i seen a violent future ahead both for me and my children.

I live in Rio de Janeiro, and I can say that nonetheless other countries sees on tv, it's not so violent... Of course I have to take some precautions in order to keep safe! Usually when hanging out late I return home i usually take a cab, it's better than public transports (We have here a permanent dry law, if u drink a glass of beer and drive you'll receive a high fine, if you drink more you can be arrested)... other thing is that almost every neighborhood has slums around, and these are areas that I avoid!

About home security, at least for me it isn't a problem since I live in an appartament, so we have security on the building .

I think that many times people put thenselves into dangerous situations, that could be avoided...

I lived in Tokyo for a couple of years, there you can sleep with the windows and doors open.. you can walk anytime, anywhere, and not encounter or even see/hear of anything. There are no "poor" neighborhoods.

Now I live in Canada and it's relatively safe here, some places in this messed up world are worse than others, I bet some people never encounter such experience in their life, while others multiple times, in all cases I think you should never risk your life for any material. Many times you can talk yourself out of most situations, be respectful, compliant, show your cool and hope for the best. Biggest mistake is to be a hero and try some alpha-male moves. Like MJ says, just beat it ;p

I don't have knifes or guns and even if I had them I wouldn't be stupid enough to try to use it if I can avoid it, also I can't imagine a scenario where I would have to chance to use it, if I'm being rubbed I probably won't have time to reach for my gun in time, unless the guy is a total amateur, some people think it's like in the movies where you have cool knife fights - in reality you'll get a hole in your torso before you reach your knife, most of these guys know what they're doing have a sixth sense for it. It's a different story if they break into your house while you're there, I can't think of anything worse - I have no idea what I would do.

When I was younger my friend got rubbed at the metro station, during the evening while lots of people are around, the guy (tall black dude) just showed him the knife and my friend gave him the $20 in his pocket right away, it was an easy and simple transaction, that's life, sometimes you win sometimes you lose. Who knows what surprises life holds for us.

I think most people just are not aware of what is happening around them. I was moving to Buffalo, NY a few years ago (already left) and the first thing I did was download the address of every murder and robbery and put it on a map. The areas with the least events is where I looked for a place to live.

Now a few years later I am looking to move again and there are website that do this for me.

I don't own a gun, but I am thinking about it. I don't put myself in places that would place me in danger unnecessarily and where ever I go I people watch, looking there actions and movements, if someone is following me or comes at me I will see it. I have had jobs where I done security work where I have had to apprehend people, that alone has given me a skill to notice people's body language.

Never been in that situation, and never put myself in a scenario where I would be faced with it, so I feel pretty safe in my castle. Those that do not look for trouble will rarely find it. My door is left unlocked 24/7 and usually left wide open in Summer unless I'm at work, even then the back door is always open so my dog (and fresh air) can get in and out.

I do not live in the US. Firearms are legal here (Australia) albeit hard to obtain, and you need a legitimate reason such as pest control, sport shooting, etc (self defense is not a reason).

If someone enters my home that is not welcome, he is more than likely after something I own. I would much rather give him what he wants and claim it back on insurance than make a situation worse by having a firearm lying around. Possessions can be replaced, life cannot. I've never been robbed before, touch wood.

I reserve concerns about my safety for when I consume copious amounts of caffeine or am driving my bike in the rain. :)

Interesting Chadlittle, i like the method of people watching,something i do all the time myself, reading body language etc, in order to spot the abnormal you must be familiar with the normal.A method i use is the traffic light system.Ill explain without going into too much detail,Lets put Four colours out here.White, Green,Amber/Red. OK,so white is my state of awareness when im lying in my bed at home,totally switched off..Green is when im out of bed, in my home and walking around the street doing my normal daily tasks, green i have a medium state of self awareness,im taking in my surroundings, people watching, alert.Now, lets just say i happen to spot a shady looking guy walking behind, or towards me,he just looks out of the normal,well now im changed from Green to Amber, a HIGH state of alertness, potential danger..So lets just say again i decide to cross the opposite side of the road,or change the direction im walking to avoid this guy,but he is still on me,Now im RED,prepared for a potential violent confrontation..What happens from here is down to personal training, but the point im trying to make is this, im now PREPARED for a potential violent confrontation because of my state of awareness.The previous posts to your says almost the same thing, CAPIVARA avoids the slum areas as they have potential for violence,while LOCOCO makes a very real point,ITS NOT LIKE THE MOVIES, indeed its sloppy, nasty and nothing like what you see on tv.He has the right idea to try de escalate the would be attacker,but this I find will not always work,of course situation dependent.

My view on the home invasion situation is that if someone breaks into my house while I am there, they likely are criminal enough to try to physically harm me. I wouldn't give them the chance. We have "castle' laws here, so that if someone enters my home unlawfully I am legally excused to kill him. None of that 'must call out a warning, cannot have a reasonable escape path' stuff. If you home invade in Tucson, you better be prepared to die.

In HS I knew a group of friends that wiped out during a home invasion. I wasn't friends with them or anything, just acquaintances. Some gang bangers crashed their party and the friends weren't happy about it, so they kicked the thugs out. Later that night the bangers came back, kicked in the door, and killed everyone inside. The police never solved the case.

Tucson is about an hour north of the Mexican border, and although the city is mostly safe, there are somewhat regular home invasions related to the drug cartels. They aren't always careful about their target selection.

I conceal carry around town because it is legal and I feel that it is just another safety measure, like putting on your seat belt. It only takes a second to slide a pistol into the waistband.

Random violence can happen anywhere and to anyone. Hell, that Gabrielle Giffords shooting happened a little over a mile from my house.