STUN & RUN????

 
In self protection, the one most important thing I teach is to survive...and that means getting away from your attacker as fast and as far as possible. It is good to have all the right weapons and all the right moves but what if your weapon and/or "move" only briefly diabled or distracted your attacker?  You'd better be able to run fast.  That's why it's important that we stay in shape. 

I don't mean that you have to start running marathons or spend 5 days a week at the gym, but I do mean that in order to survive we need to be able to move and move fast! What good will it do us if we make that initial escape only to get caught a few minutes later because we have run out of breath?  Oh sure, we all believe that in that scenario our adrenaline will take over and we'll be able to do anything...and it most likely will kick in a bit, but we still need to be able to have our body trained just as well as our minds.

So today I encourage you to assess your physical condition and abilities as you consider a situation where you may have to actually be running for your life.

AND, I have to practice what I preach because one of the reasons I'm writing this is that I realize that I may be one of those that may not make it more than a block (hate to admit that) and in my mind have been depending on the weapons I carry and my self defense moves.  So today, I have made a vow to get in better shape.  I am actually going to use that gym membership that I purchased back in February and haven't used (hey, don't judge...it's been a hectic and rough couple of months lately).  I may only go once or twice a week but in addition I'm going to walk my dogs more and I am going to ride my bike that I "inherited" recently from my stepfather.  He loved this bike and rode it about 2 miles each day.  He rode it  to the bank, the drug store, the grocey store and to his favorite lunch hangout.  Again, don't judge...it's got 3 not 2 wheels and I'm not going to be racing on it, but I will be getting some much needed exercise.  Hey I can even put my dogs in the basket and take them with me.

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