This is why I’ve decided to start posting a few of the stories sent to me from girls all over the country about how being “aware” and ‘Living in the Yellow” has kept them safe, or at least ahead of the competition! Hahaha.

Please, please, please keep sending me instances where you’ve pinged (noticed) something out of the norm and used your instincts to steer clear of the danger – I want your exposure to become a learning platform for all women everywhere.

Examples might be: seeing some guy loitering somewhere he shouldn’t be and paying undue attention to you or other women, a road rage instance involving a man threatening you, out on the town with friends and some guy was harrassing you, something that might have happened to you during college/high school, an ex-boyfriend who didn’t know how to accept it’s over, someone you noticed the last time you were out at the local park with your kids….and on and on the list probably goes!

I’d also like to hear about the things you didn’t ping, whether anything bad happened or not, so we can all learn from your experience. I will NOT post anything more about you than your story, first name and general city/state location (if you would prefer, you can remain anonymous). This platform for Situational Awareness is going to be a way to highlight different strategies employed by women everywhere to stay safe, and empowered – and your voice is important!

Ask your friends, your family members, your neighbors and your female co-workers about things that may have happened to them, and let’s get them down in electronic script for all to read!

The first posting in this series will be next Monday morning – in the meantime, if it was weird, strange, scary, funny, exciting, or anything you think other women can benefit from hearing, send it to me and we’ll get it up here, ASAP!!

Cheers, Terry.

Not that this weekend will be much of a rest period for me – I have the launch of my Women’s Self-Defense & Situational Awareness Seminars next week and there are SO many things to do!

Here’s something funny I came across during the week:

But they still had to pay through the nose for their carry on.

“Vegetarian” is a very old English slang term used to describe the village idiot; someone that could not hunt, fish or ride a horse.

The kind of person that ends up being labeled the “vegetarian”, because they don’t want to learn the skills necessary to feed themselves, is the same sort of person who waits to be victimized by an assailant before learning about self-defense…. :-0

Fortunately for me, I haven’t run into this problem launching the self defense seminars – the response has been fantastic! The following are a couple of the reasons women have already signed up

1   It’s been years since I did anything like this. I know there must be more updated and relevant information available than what I was taught 10, 15, or 20 years ago – Many women have taken some sort of self-defense or situational awareness class before, but understand that these skills are perishable: Without regular revision and attention to your skills, what you think you will do in a crisis and what actually transpires will be worlds apart.

2     I have a friend who is clueless about situational awareness, let alone self-defense; she thinks everyone she knows is her friend. I’m bringing her! As sad as this statistic is, more women will be hurt from an attack by someone they know, than from anyone else. Once you are clued into what tactics he may use to get you alone, then you have a much better idea about how to avoid this predicament.

With all that being said, I did hear something funny from one girl:

But this move looked great when Jean-Claude Van Damme did it....

1 “Oh, I do a kick-boxing exercise class once a week so if someone gets too close to me – I know exactly what to do….”

 

Really?????? You cannot be serious????? (this is best exclaimed using a John McEnroe accent)

I can see the training program being delivered to SWAT members all over the country: No more continued hand-to-hand combat training lads (& girls) – we’ve got an exercise class that’s going to take the place of all that. Step on the eight count…and we’re off, to the left, to the left, and kick, and grapevine…to the right.

Bad guys all over the country are turning themselves into Law Enforcement facilities as fast as possible trying to avoid the wrath…

I do believe she has had a disconnect somewhere in regards to what reality-based self-defense could really mean.

A fight for your life is going to differ slightly from what you probably envision.

Firstly it will be the scariest thing you can imagine, (duh) but if you don’t understand the physiology behind your own body’s reaction to the event, you are already in trouble. Anticipating what your body can, and can’t do, in this situation will greatly enhance your ability to choose your moves wisely.

Secondly it’s going to be dynamic, not static. Your attacker isn’t going to give you the luxury of gathering your thoughts first before he gets really mean. Flying back kicks and intricate wrist locks and manipulation is best left to the experts.

The experts being those girls and guys who are fighting two or three times a week for a career in the Octagon. (And even then, many times, it’s not the fancy crap that works; it’s having an incredibly strong grasp of the basics and then being able to implement them perfectly that will win you the fight).

If you aren’t prepare to spend three or four sessions a week practicing fancy moves, don’t expect to be shown a few things once and walk away the new, “praying mantis kung fu master” ‘cause it ain’t going to happen.

Ignoring the danger doesn't make the it any less real. It just makes you a statistic.

Reality, in an extremely high stress situation, (I presume you know that fighting for your life is going to be a tad high in that department) means keep it simple stupid (KISS).

And yes I’m being somewhat scathing. But there are many a true word spoken in jest.

Regardless of what skills you learn, when the reptilian part of your brain takes over and all sense of reasoning has left you, then you know the merde has hit the fan.

You will pretty much resort back to the problem solving abilities of a 1980’s home computer: In other words, not much. Let’s work with what you have available shall we?

Fine motor skills will be all but gone. You’ll probably have trouble dialing 911 on your phone, if you are lucky enough to break away from your attacker long to reach one.

I’m hoping that the one girl that told me this is starting to re-consider her stance on the effectiveness of aerobic kickboxing class as a self-defense tool. If she isn’t, then apparently Darwin’s selection process is obviously hard at work again….

The most important aspect to any self-defense & situational awareness program is not what some instructor can teach you about fighting:

It’s what they can teach you about yourself!

Your mind is the weapon – your hands, teeth, finger nails, knees, elbows, feet, are nothing but tools. Without the ability to think quickly and rationally they will just sit there, useless, while your whole world comes unraveled.

That’s why it’s so important to keep your head in working order, and hopefully not suffer from the medenial symptoms….

Constant revision and practice of tactics are not just for SWAT teams or Commando Units. They are also for the person most likely to be called upon to protect their children. Not just from an actual direct physical threat – although this should rank pretty highly.

But also because when you go somewhere without your kids, or your husband, or boyfriend or your parents, those people are expecting you to come home again…you must fight so they don’t lose a loved one unnecessarily.  

Women's Self-Defense & Situational Awareness Seminars

We fight only if we have to – Only if everything else we have actively done to protect ourselves has somehow fallen short. But if you do have to fight, you better know enough to finish it quickly and efficiently so it’s the bad guy that doesn’t make it home that night.

Cheers, Terry.

Hellooo team-mates! The end is nigh…may as well have a giggle then.

Jk: In a Doctors waiting room Phil sits casually flicking through a standard issue well worn magazine. Suddenly a Nun bursts from the Doctors office and sprints through the waiting room and out into the hall, crying.

Phil takes his seat with the Doctor and asks what was wrong with the Nun.

“Oh, I told her she was pregnant.” Replies the Doc.

“A Nun! Pregnant? No wonder she was upset!”

“Oh, she wasn’t really pregnant. But it sure as hell cured her of hiccups.”

http://www.uphaa.com/blog/index.php/wtf-pics/ follow the link to more weird photos from across the web…Here’s a few to wet your whistle:

Forget the kid...this one made my skin crawl. This thing could be in a horror film.

The morning after can be rough...forget coyote ugly. This would be worth chewing off your entire leg to get out from under...

I can’t decide if he’s trying to cover it up, or spank it into submission…

Some random observations pulled from across the web:

Why do they put pictures of criminals up in the Post Office? What are we supposed to do, write to them? Why don’t they just put their pictures on the postage stamps so the mailmen can look for them while they deliver the mail?

As income tax time approaches, did you ever notice: When you put the two words ‘The’ and ‘IRS’ together, it spells – ‘THEIRS’?

If 4 out of 5 people SUFFER from diarrhea….does that mean that one out of five enjoys it?

Why do croutons come in airtight packages? Aren’t they just stale bread to begin with?

This should help put your ride into work on Monday morning back into perspective...

http://visboo.com/funny-signs-and-labels.html Signs that make ya titter!

http://all4yourfun.com/bizarreodd/world-tallest-model-from-germany.html      ….just like it says, the worlds tallest female model…..with size 15 US shoes…..

Yeah. I'm rushing to the store as we speak....yummy.

Little Known Laws Exposed

Life in the Fast Lane. In Finland, traffic fines are calculated as a percentage of the offender’s most-recently-reported income. In January 2002, Anssi Vanjoki, 44, (above) a director of the Finnish telecommunications giant, Nokia, received what is believed to be the most expensive speeding ticket ever— $12.5 million — for driving his Harley at 75 km/h (47 mph) in a 50km/h (31 mph) zone. Mr Vanjoki appealed the fine because his reported income dropped significantly about five days after the incident; because of the new data, the fine was dropped to $103,600, still the most expensive speeding fine in history

 http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/photogallery/little-known-laws-exposed.html

I've always been a HUGE soccer fan...as of yesterday at least, when I found this shot.

http://oddee.com/item_96986.aspx - tightrope walker… I just want to know what the hell is on the otherside to make this worth the “walk”…

You'll figure it out.

http://collegetimes.us/top-10-wtf-us-sex-laws/ – weird that these are laws, too!?

 http://humor.collegetimes.us/pictures/just-the-right-moment/ – camel attitude adjustment 

No animals were injured during the making of this shot. Although, the camel did request a cigarette after the shoot...

Jk: I have always loved “Gas Guzzling Cars” for their comfort & safety.  I took out a Cadillac Escalade for a test drive the other day just to drive that sucker before they become extinct.
 The salesman sat in the front seat describing the car and all its wonderful options.  The seats were of particular interest.  He explained that the seats directed warm air to your butt in the winter and directed cool air to your butt in the summer heat.
 I stated the car must be a Republican car.  He asked why I thought it was a Republican car and I explained that if it were a Democratic car, the seats would blow smoke up your ass year-round.

 Cheers, and have a lovely weekend! Terry.

Mentally tough isn’t necessarily about developing the inner Special Forces soldier in you – although that kind of mentality is certainly tough: It’s about finding a way to make the most of everyday no matter what misfortune transpires!

One sure fire way to get you mental game off on the right foot, is visualization: In other words, your future becomes your focus. But, if you think that alone will ward off the evil spirits, Murphy’s law, or whatever other “bad” luck you’ve got heading your way, think again!

Mentally tough really boils down to these three practical things and not necessarily in this order either:

Be prepared – expect the unexpected.

Don’t start feeling sorry for yourself – no matter what.

Cracking a joke at your own expense, first – then consider how you’re going to deal with the problem at hand.

The toughest one of these is usually the, “expect the unexpected” – followed by, “not feeling sorry for yourself,” and then finding the humor in your situation.

We are going to look at, “Not feeling sorry for yourself” – first.

Steven Callahan wrote a book aptly titled, Adrift about his 76 days at sea, after his home made boat was destroyed during a solo voyage around the world. Half his survival equipment didn’t make it onto the emergency rubber raft after the accident, and he was only half dressed!

He talked in detail about the emotions that threatened to destroy his mindset during his adventure. More importantly he revealed that the choices he had made, like walking away from the security of society in order to pursue his dreams of sailing, were at the root of why refused to feel too sorry for himself.

He knew he had made choices that had led him up to this point in his life. The things that seemed to conspire against him as the days in his tenuous rubber raft gave way to weeks, he did his best to remind himself that giving up and dying wasn’t an option.

Believe me, after reading his account of things, it would be hard not to seriously think about throwing in the towel…

Most of us in our lifetime don’t get 76 days alone – let alone consecutively, and although there are times when 76 days alone anywhere, including the ocean, might appeal to us, the reality is we’d be scared silly.

How would you cope?

At the heart of every survival story is the million dollar question we ask about ourselves, would I survive that?

The truth is, if you struggle to get through a regular working day, constantly letting the problems of the day get the better of you, then the chances are you’d become just another statistic if something transpired out of the ordinary.

Our focus goes askew when things drift outside the “vision” we had for the day. It’s not that we are mentally weak, although in some cases that also applies, it’s more that we tend to focus on who’s to blame rather than whether we can fix it.

Our energy is quickly converted into anger or frustration about what has happened, instead of focusing on how to best deal with it. We let loose the voice in our heads that screams this wasn’t your fault; once again it’s just bad luck piling up.

It has nothing to do with luck, good or bad. Things just happen. You are lost in the wilderness and it begins to pour with rain. It was going to rain any way, Mother Nature hasn’t decided to play some cruel joke on you just for grins.

Mother Nature is coldly indifferent to whether you live, or die. She doesn’t care. She certainly doesn’t feel sorry for you – and neither should you!

Wasting your energy feeling sorry for “poor little old you” doesn’t help anything. Instead, you should immediately look around to see what you have at hand that can be used to improve your situation. Nearly everything in life can be used for more than just its original purpose, it just takes imagination in order to fathom how.

That’s where your energy should be directed. Self pity is a wasteful occupation; as is sitting and waiting for someone else to come and rescue you.

Which brings us to, “expect the unexpected”  …Or at least it will tomorrow!

I’m off to attend a Toastmasters meeting now and will pick up with this again tomorrow.

Cheers, Terry

www.highintensityteambuilding.com

And life isn’t supposed to suck: At least not all the time. It’s supposed to suck from time to time, but you should always manage to bounce back, better and stronger than ever – and that’s why being mentally tough is so important!

Developing mental toughness sets you up to bounce back quicker than the competition after you both hit the proverbial wall!

Of course, not everything is a competition, right?

It’s not as if we:

Have to fight for everything we get in life…

Struggle to keep ourselves running successful business’…

Battle to keep our kids safe and on the straight and narrow…

Juggle the sort of schedules heads of state would have marveled at 20 years ago…

All while eating healthily, exercising, volunteering our time to worthy causes and trying to get enough sleep so we don’t burn out before our next birthday..

Or is this just me?? LOL

Unfortunately, when we imagine someone mentally tough, we always seem to end up with some sort of Drill Sergeant Caricature, who doesn’t actually resemble anyone we’d ever want to emulate – or is it? Drill sargeants aren’t always grumpy you know, and tough love is still love after all….

So what’s the happy balance?

For me, it starts with exercise.

I stumbled across a neat and short Blog posting in reference to the whims of exercise and what the current training trends reflect right now –  http://www.malepatternfitness.com/2010/2/9/1303157/fitness-circa-2010 

Don’t worry about it saying male pattern anything, it’s more a segment about why training is going the way it currently is, and I must say I agree, but with an additional reason tacked on.

If trouble is ever going to find you, it’s going to require a relatively short, incredibly intense burst of activity on your part in order to facilitate, “fleeing” the scene, so-to-speak!

In very few instances will there be a need for you to lift a car engine sized weight above your head while admiring “witnesses” applaud your strength. But if you visit just about any Gold’s Gym, or equivalent, in the country, you’ll be sure to find a huge segment of the visiting clients training as if this were the case.

Steroids are rampant, heavier is always better, and wife beaters which allow full view of the male nipples are the fashion du jour.  It would seem that very little emphasis is being placed on over-all maximum fitness. Ask one of these meat heads to run a few laps around the parking lot and their tanks will be empty before they get through the double doors exiting the building.

And yes, I know, running isn’t everyone’s cup of tea: Which is why exercise programs like Cross-fit are so popular. It is a great alternative to running in order to improve cardio vascular fitness.

This “new” training regime harkens back to a time when most exercise programs were practiced for combat only.

Fond memories litter my aging brain of training many of my clients using strategies like full body ranges of motion, and maximum effort, because it seemed to me that if the body moves that way in everyday life, we should train it that way.

I’ve always believed that maximum effort was important because when you are in a pickle and flight isn’t an option, fighting is brutal, exhausting and messy. The combatant with the most resiliency was most likely to walk away – or more likely stagger away, but either way you’re leaving the scene.

But you aren’t going to walk, or stagger, any where if you haven’t put your body through its paces on a regular basis. This for me is where the mental toughness begins to come into play.

Conditioning yourself to get to the gym more than once in a blue moon is a great start. This alone takes discipline: which is the other part of the equation.

These days when most people get an ache or a pain, it’s off to the doc’s and get it looked at – stat!

I once had a kickboxing client who kicked me so hard he bruised his ankle. In contact sports, as in life, bruises are to be expected.

What’s not expected is the E.R. visit that followed because he was convinced he’d broken his leg…

 He used the correct medical terminology for his injury upon seeing me next time, defending his visit to the E.R. with the colorful explanation that he’d sustained a contusion; which, by any other name, is a bruise. 

Not particularly tough…

I know he wasn’t used to getting those types of bruises, or feeling that kind of pain, but when did you ever hear that life was supposed to be pain free???

It’s not. We have pain receptors for a reason. Sometimes, shit hurts. The good news is, if you’re feeling pain it means you aren’t dead yet, so suck it up and keep on trucking….

Regular training, especially intense challenge your whole body until it shakes, can’t catch your breath or feel your fingers kind of training, develops your pain threshold. It pushes the body to the limits.

Some days that might be ten minutes. And some days it might be 50. Either way, going to the gym or participating in a class environment that challenges your entire physiological make-up, begins the process of developing mental toughness.

Self-Discipline adds another facet to the equation. We’ll continue covering more on this subject over the next few days as this is so close to my heart. Plus I can’t wait to see what emails arrive from today’s post

We’ll have a look at few folks who are shining examples of discipline personified and why it was so important for them be remain disciplined in order to save lives; their own and others.

Cheers, Terry.

www.highintensityteambuilding.com