These days, our world can feel quite unpredictable. It is important to prioritize our safety no matter where we are or what time of day it is. While not everyone may naturally have a security-focused mindset, it's essential to understand what's needed to stay safe.
"Keeping your head on a swivel" when you're out and about is a good practice, but it can be challenging when focused on your daily tasks. Simple actions like being aware of your surroundings, knowing where exits are, keeping enough distance from others in public, ensuring easy access to your car, and keeping your children close can make a big difference. But we should also be prepared to respond when something disrupts our daily routine.
This blog provides some useful information to help keep you safe in unpredictable situations.
What to do in an Edged Weapon Situation?
Understanding how to respond or react to someone wielding an edged weapon, like a knife or blade, is not common knowledge. Even skilled professionals can be injured in these situations. While it takes a lot of time and training to become skilled in edged weapon defense, there are a few things you can do to protect yourself. Each situation is different, and attackers may present the weapon in various ways. So how do we stay alert and remember what to do in unexpected and under-stress situations?
Here are some basic, yet powerful points to remember that could save your life in an edged weapon scenario:
- Situational Awareness – Stay aware of your surroundings and trust your instincts. If something feels off, listen to your gut!
- Give yourself plenty of space to move around, avoid tight or confined spaces and know where exits are located.
- Try to stay calm if an attacker presents an edged weapon and remember to breathe.
- Run away as fast as possible while keeping an eye on the attacker.
- YELL! Make noise to draw attention to yourself and potentially distract the attacker. They don’t want the attention.
- Do not attempt to grab the weapon yourself, as this could result in injury. You don’t know their skills or abilities with a weapon.
- If you're in a confined space and need to fight back, aim for the attacker's knees with a quick “bicycle kick” (see photos) to knock them back/down and escape. You’ll need speed, the element of surprise, and a quick burst of power from your legs. This is known as “edged weapon response” in the Management of Aggressive Behavior (MOAB) certification.
Edged Weapon Response
1. Bent at the waist and knees to get ready to drop down to the ground.
2. Drop directly vertically down on your side, preparing to launch your feet out.
3. Throw your feet out to kick directly at the exposed knee or the one closest to you. Then kick with both feet like you’re pedalling a bicycle as fast and hard as possible.
STAY SAFE OUT THERE!
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