ARTICLES

Safety Not On Everyone’s Top Priority List
By: Katie Neve (Certified Personal Safety Instructor)

The common mentality of “it won’t happen to me” needs to be broken and fast! 97% of aggression-type situations involve someone the victim already knows (a friend, a co-worker, a relative or an acquaintance)! As a certified personal safety instructor in Canada and as a woman I realize the need for everyone to have some type of personal safety training. 1 in 4 women in Canada today will be the victim of violence. Shockingly, Canada ranks 4th in the world in the number of workplace aggression claims! What is more, 11% of women in Canada in 2004 were stalked in a way that made them fear for their lives. Everyone needs to take a moment, stand-up for themselves and do something to protect their own lives and the lives of their loved ones.

I am the first one to admit that not everyone has the time or desire to learn a complex martial arts or self defence system of training. Taking a single class or a couple of classes of self defence and then believing you have the necessary tools to properly kick, punch or otherwise “handle” a dangerous situation is simply not feasible. Complex martial arts systems take years to master so that the techniques come easily to a person when faced with adversity. The average person does not have years to dedicate to training. Individuals who are taught to kick and punch in a few classes and then sent off into the world are more likely to hurt themselves by improperly applying a technique then to escape unharmed from the situation. Furthermore, there is so much to remember in a martial arts system that people are often so boggled down with details of how to properly apply a technique that their time for escape passes by. Statistics say that if you can create a 20-25 foot window between you and your aggressor than that person is likely to give up the pursuit. With that in mind, it is not necessary to know how to kick, punch and otherwise leave another person immobile. Rather, you need to create a split second (a window of opportunity) to escape and make your 20 foot window to get to safety.

Tom Patire’s personal safety courses are designed for the average person, looking to live a safer and more confident life, but without the time, desire or money to invest in a self defence system. The techniques are simply, easy to learn and based on body-mechanics you have been doing your whole life such as clapping hands, turning keys and knocking on doors. There is no concern about not knowing how to apply a technique because it comes natural to everyone. The courses last less than 2 hours, proving that you can develop the tools needed to protect yourself in hours not years. What is more, with the liability concerns present in today’s society, kicking and punching another person is not a practical solution. If the statistic is true and 97% of situations involve someone you already know – then chances are you don’t want to kick, punch or otherwise seriously injure that individual.

Chances are that things just got a little out of hand and you need to deescalate the situation quickly and effectively without ruining any lives in the process. Tom Patire’s personal safety courses address all of these concerns. Over 90% of incidents that the average person will face are low-level type threats’, meaning it isn’t being in a bank when it gets robbed, it isn’t being held at gun point and it isn’t being on a plane that gets hijacked. Instead, the dangerous situations the majority of people have to deal with involve anger, aggression, annoyance, irritation, and resentment between yourself and someone you already know or between two other people that you know. The main focus should be deescalating the situation and getting yourself and your loved ones to safety and nothing else.

I have never witnessed a personal safety course that is more effective, time and budget friendly and tailored to the everyday person. Tom has designed programs for kids as young as age 5, through to teenagers, and into adults. Each course is specifically tailored to the group it is addressing and needs of that specific collection of people. Everyone owes it to themselves to invest in a personal safety course. It is only two hours out of your life and it will lead you down a healthy, more confident road for years to come. I hope that you will never be faced with a situation where you have to get yourself, your friends or your family to safety, but if you ever do don’t regret not taking two hours out of your life to learn the tools needed to properly protect yourself. Invest in yourself!