The Importance of Personal Self-Defense in 2021
It’s a new year, a month and once again it’s National Self-Defense Awareness Month. While most of us are focussed on safety from germs and disease, it’s important to also be prepared for potential personal attacks.
Strand Security is proud to offer self defense classes through our Myrtle Beach Self Defense division.
January is not only a good time to set New Year’s resolution, but also a great time to assess risk.
- How safe is your home?
- How safe is your family?
A new year is a great time to do a safety and security audit!
National Personal Self-Defense Awareness Month
What does National Personal Self-Defense Awareness Month stand for and bring awareness to?
This month is designed to bring awareness to the need to learn self-defense and the reasons why.
Questions to ask yourself include:
- Can I defend myself in case of an attack?
- Do I know what to do when someone approaches me in a dark parking lot?
- Will I fight or flight?
Awareness months are designed to bring Public Service Announcements to the foreground.
As we realize that the world we live in today makes it harder for in-person instruction, we’ve collected a few videos for you to watch that share self-defense tips you could practice at home!
13 Self Defense Tips That Could Save Your Life
Here is the first video. These 13 tips are good!
The video is about 10 minutes long and the tips included are really good. Preparation is essential to survival in case of an attack.
3 Simple Self Defence Moves You Must Know
Learn how to defend yourself without getting into trouble. Use it in a way where you protect without too much injury to the perpetrator.
- Strike to the neck
- Knuckle fist
- Protect AND strike
Women’s Self-defense That Actually Works! (Gracie Jiu-Jitsu)
Heather of Strand Security is trained in Gracie Jiu-Jitsu! Check out this amazing video.
Set boundaries to protect yourself.
- Verbal
- Physical
- Psychological
“In a perfect world, women wouldn’t need self-defense because men wouldn’t perpetrate these crimes — but the world is far from perfect. The Gracie Women Empowered program is a jiu-jitsu-based women’s self-defense system which addresses the 15 most common threats against women.”
How Best To Protect Yourself From Harm
The best way to protect yourself from harm is to prepare.
Read. Learn. Watch self-defense videos, take a class, raise your awareness and learn more about prevention. Decide on training and potential weapons you might want use to during an attack.
Here are the steps we recommend.
- Prepare your mind and body
- Learn by training with a professional
- Practice until muscle memory sets in
- Be aware of potential danger and help raise awareness
Who Needs To Learn Self-Defense?
Here are 7 types of people who should learn and know self-defense
- Teenagers
- Elderly
- Singles who live alone
- Runners and outdoor enthusiasts
- New drivers
- College student
- YOU!
Strand Security: Your Security – and Safety – is Our Business!
Don’t hesitate to call us in 2021 if you need help with securing your property, business or need self-defense classes. We want you be safe, feel safe and continue to do so.
Tips on How To Prevent and Survive A Home Invasion
From Holiday Fun To Holiday Tragedy In The Blink of An Eye!
From one minute to the next, you and your family could be faced with a tragedy instead of a fun Christmas day and week.
Home invasions are more prevalent around the holidays and we are here to remind you to stay vigilant and prepared to prevent a home invasion from happening. If an intruder does happen to invade your home, we want you to know what to do!
Here is a scenario that might sound familiar to you.
Busiest Time of The Year at Your Home!
Maybe you had a new dishwasher installed so that when company is here for Christmas, you are prepared.
Maybe you had an installer in your home to replace your washer and dryer as a gift to yourself.
Maybe you had an HVAC mechanic in your home to do your winter HVAC maintenance.
Maybe UPS, FEDEX or the USPS stopped by with deliveries of long-expected packages.
Really… people in and out of your home all day, all week.
People might even have noticed the hustle and bustle from outside of your home, noticing the deliveries made as they drove by.
You didn’t really keep track of everybody, right?
It’s the perfect storm scenario!
Someone, somewhere might have noticed your lack of a security system.
Someone, somewhere might have noticed your lack of a dog.
Someone, somewhere might have noticed your valuables like TVs, computers and expensive phones.
Someone, somewhere might have noticed your valuables like TVs, computers and expensive phones.
Someone, somewhere might have noticed your expensive watch and diamond ring.
It really doesn’t matter how it happened, but somehow you ended up on a home invasion hit list!
A home invasion is an illegal and usually forceful entry to an occupied, private dwelling with intent to commit a violent crime against the occupants, such as robbery, assault, rape, murder, or kidnapping
Home Invasion Do’s and Don’ts
If you THINK or KNOW someone has entered your home and they haven’t spotted you, there are things to do IMMEDIATELY.
If your dog sounds the alarm, don’t ignore but check it out! Often they can hear or spot an intruder before you do!
Listen to your gut and take action.
- Get your kids and spouse and go!
- Leave the home by a backdoor if possible or lock yourself in a room, bathroom or closet and call 911 immediately. Stay on the phone with them until police arrive.
We asked the police what we can we do as homeowners to prevent a home invasion from happening.
Here is what they told us.
1. Lights, Lights, LIGHTS! (Burglars and intruders love dark areas)
2. Alarms (Make sure to set yours if you have a system!)
3. Neighborhood watches are great deterrents.
4. Put your holiday packages away as soon as they are delivered.
5. Install cameras to check in to your home even if you aren’t home.
Be Safe. Be Secure. Be Alert!
We hope your holidays are happy and bright, merry and fun and that a home invasion is not something you have to deal with.
We recommend going over a family emergency plan with your kids and spouse yearly and discuss fires, home invasions, burglaries, floods and other disasters with your family.
A prepared family has a much greater chance of survival!
From our family to yours this holiday season…
3 Self Defense Moves You Need To Know
Don’t Putt Off Until Tomorrow What You Can Do Today!
How often have you told yourself ‘I’ll do it later’ only to realize that later is here, and you didn’t take care of the matter at hand.
If you are lucky, this has happened to you with minor things.
- Maybe you forgot to replace a burnt out light bulb in the bathroom and now you are in the dark.
- Maybe you forgot to buy new garbage bags and as you empty your trash can you realize you don’t have a bag to replace the one you have just taken out.
- Maybe your forgot to pay the water bill and you received an overdue notice in the mail just in time before your water was turned off.
These mishaps, so to speak, are annoying but not life changing or life threatening.
Is Personal Safety Of Any Concern to You?
How often have you thought about taking a self-defense class?
How often have you taken a self-defense class?
What is stopping you from signing up for a self-defense class today?
Well…?
Let us be clear – we get it! We are busy ourselves. We have a business to run, kids to raise and animals that need our attention, BUT personal safety is a huge concern to us at Strand Security, even more so after the attack on Heather!
We want everyone to be safe and it’s become our mission to get as many people in our classes as we can!
We’ve Teamed Up With Another Myrtle Beach Area Business, Homewatch CareGivers, To Bring You Self-Defense Classes
Make today the day you DO something about your desire to be and feel safe!
Call Heather at 843-318-1192 to sign up today, or email her at heather@strandsecurity.com
So What 3 Self-Defense Moves Should You Know To Protect Yourself?
From our Martial Art Expert and Self-Defense Class Instructor, we’ve learned these three self-defense moves we think you should know as well!
ONE – When someone approaches you and you feel unsafe, put your hands up in front of you, spread your legs to take a solid stance and say in a very loud voice. “Stop. Get back. I don’t want any trouble”.
TWO – You can grab almost anything near you to use as a weapon when you need it. In our self-defense class we each were tasked with finding something in the building and bringing it back to the mat. Then we had to attack the instructor with our ‘weapon’. We were amazed at what we could do with common household items. When an attack happens, look for anything to use as a weapon.
THREE – Your elbow is the strongest bone in your body, so use it during an attack! Hit your attacker in the chin, stomach, head or anywhere on their body! Remember, the elbow can do a lot of damage!
Do Want To Practice These Self-Defense Moves and Learn More?
It’s time to sign up for our next self-defense class!
Call Heather at 843-318-1192 and reserve your spot. If you’d prefer to use email, send Heather a message via heather@strandsecurity.com
We hope to see you on Dec. 3, or in January at our next event!
13 Simple Self-Defense Tips That Could Save Your Life!
Have You Ever Been Attacked?
Hopefully, you have not, and we hope no one who reads this will ever need these tips!
However, when it comes to self defense, we’d much rather have you be prepared than not! Self-defense is something that everyone (male or female) should know. It’s easy to walk around and think nothing will ever happen to you, but the sad reality is that things do happen. You can easily be caught off-guard anywhere you go, so knowing a few moves to fight off an attacker is really important.
With these simple self-defense strategies in the back of your mind, you’ll be more prepared to react quickly with control and power. BONUS – You’re much less likely to be targeted with all that confidence!
13 Simple Self-Defense Tips You Need To Know!
- Be aware of your surroundings. Don’t walk through dark parking lots focused on your cell phone. Be aware of what’s going on around you to respond more quickly.
- If you suspect that you’re being followed, head to a public place. Once you’re inside a store or restaurant, tell the manager what’s happening so that you have someone who understands the situation.
- Use apps to keep you safe! ‘StaySafe’ allows you to enter your route and expected arrival time, and alerts emergency contacts when you don’t arrive in time. ‘My Panic Alarm’ makes your phone flash and emit a loud sound at the touch of a button!
- Carrying around pepper spray can be extremely helpful, but it doesn’t do any good if it’s in your purse! Keep it readily available.
- Instead of using a whistle, scream words like STOP, GET BACK, ATTACKER and 911. These are more likely to create a sense of urgency.
- Have your keys ready as soon as you approach your car or house. Right when you walk inside your home, lock the doors. Don’t hold your keys between your fingers like a weapon. The keys will just jam back into your hand upon impact.
- If you happen to be in an elevator, press the button for the next floor. Don’t press the emergency button – it will stop the elevator!
- If you’re with your kids, explain to them that at your command, they need to get behind you quickly and stay put. Having this conversation doesn’t have to be scary! If the kids are pretty small, you can even make a game out of preparation.
- Be willing to give up your wallet, but be smart. Toss it a few feet away from the attacker and take advantage of the opportunity to run!
- Put your cell phones down! You should never walk and text, put your phone in your hand or your purse and be aware of your surroundings. Use your phone while sitting at a bench, in a restaurant or in your car. Nothing is that important for you to sacrifice your safety.
- If it comes down to it, you may have to make a move. Try to stay on your feet for the best opportunity. Strike quickly and get away. Use your elbows, kick and knees and strike hard! Go for a vulnerable location, like eyes, nose, groin, or knees.
- Don’t go it alone. When going to unfamiliar places, ask someone to go along with you. Night time and being alone are a bad combination.
- Take as many self-defense classes as you can and practice those techniques often!
Want to know how knowing self defense saved a local Myrtle Beach woman’s life?
Here is her story as told to WPDE News 15.
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