It’s all in my head I tell myself. If I don’t believe I can do it, then it’s a done deal — I can’t do it. This was one of the takeaways from this weekend’s Tony Blauer Be Your Own Bodyguard self defense training seminar and it can be applied to so many other aspects of life.  The goal of the seminar was to have us all leave saying “I didn’t know that was in me”.

Tony Blauer trains those that protect the rest of us — training special forces, military, FBI, and many government agencies all over the world and has been training for over 30 years. So just hearing his stories is an experience. He can talk – that’s for sure. The first part of the seminar was Tony talking about defending yourself, using the SPEAR method  –

The S.P.E.A.R. SYSTEM™ (Spontaneous Protection Enabling Accelerated Response) is a scientifically researched & medically reviewed personal defense measure that exploits the body’s natural responses to violence and danger.

And what was so interesting was that the point was you don’t need to be in the special forces to use it. You have built in response mechanisms that can react when you are in danger. Your arms, hands, mouth, legs and feet all can be put into action if you are PRESENT in the moment and prepared.  That’s the key — you have to realize that yes, you CAN fight back. The attacker doesn’t think you will fight back and that’s one of your best assets. You have to be ready to react when they make a mistake or misstep and they will. It’s guaranteed.

You have to be prepared to mentally pull from where you have passion. You fight back with passion and make it personal. The 3 P’s are Personal, Passion, and Present. You will survive because you have your kids to live for — you have your dog who needs you — whatever it is. Pull from that personal place that gives you passion and use that as the motivation to get the heck out of the situation.  So if that means you scratch his eyes out, bite his arm, elbow him, kick him in the balls, knee his head – whatever it is – you do it with all the force that your passion gives you.

Usually, the bad guys want only three things: Property, Body or Life. They also don’t want to get caught, to get hurt or for the crime to take too long – so anything you can do to interfere with those 3 things – ups your chances for survival and getting away. And realize that everyone has what Blauer calls the FEAR loop of paralysis in the face of danger, but you need to act.

FEAR loop – Failure Expected; Action Required — Get out of the Fear loop with your mind. Draw from the 3 Ps to motivate you and make getting to safety your goal and take action to get there without over-thinking.

Now, a lot of people say what Blauer talks about is common sense. He doesn’t disagree but what he says is it’s uncommon sense — that many people don’t prepare for it and if there comes a time when they need to react, they don’t react like they should.  Being prepared can mean not putting yourself in a sketchy situation, listening to that inner voice that says — whoa, this doesn’t feel right, or counter-attacking. Now I know what you are thinking — Counter Attack? Would you want to know danger is imminent 20ft from you or 2ft from you?

His example of when you think someone is following you, turn around and ‘counter attack’ – Hey are you FOLLOWING ME? You are already starting to break into the realm of what the criminal does not want to be –caught, hurt or for the crime to take too long. Now, there is no guarantee that that will hold him off but it’s one of the first tactics you can use and just may save your life.

There was so much more information to learn at the seminar and I think it would have been so much better if it were more than 1 day long. We were just getting into the real scenarios and it was over. I think you could get some of the info just by watching Tony’s videos but he definitely is a dynamic, funny speaker who knows his stuff. You should check out his site for more info: Tony Blauer.

Tony Blauer The Cycle of Behavior: F E A R Management Skills

I will be writing more soon about the mental aspect — getting out of the Fear Loop in other aspects of your life – so watch for that.