Be aware. The problem comes that at night, especially in these dark months at the end of the year, its not always easy to be aware of what's around you. When your walking to and from your vehicle you should be looking all around, even behind you. It may look strange to the regular passer-by but it lets the thug and rapist know that you are on guard. Your probably saying "I have heard that before - but during the night its hard to see into those dark shadows or between the cars". I agree!
That's why I encourage ladies (and men) to carry a flashlight. Mind you, not just any flashlight. But one that is small enough to fit in your coat pocket or your purse. Also, you want to be familiar with the specification of 80 lumens. The lumen is the basic unit for measuring light output (or perceived output). The beauty of 80 lumens is that at night it is a sufficient light source to blind a person's well adjusted night vision. The original purveyors of this technology have been Surefire, LLC. They are known far and wide in the law enforcement/ military community as having the best tactical flashlights. These types of lights are not cheap they usually start around $60 and can easily go up to $150 depending on make and model. Furthermore, many of them use special batteries that cost more money than AA or AAAs. But for an off the shelf self-defense item - I highly recommend the investment.
Now, don't get me wrong - I am not trying to sell you a Surefire flashlight. I have no interest in the company and do not hold any stock in Surefire. In fact I'll even tell you that I carry a knock-off brand flashlight marketed under the Smith & Wesson logo. The key thing here is to make sure whatever light you get - it has at least 80 lumens output so you know you can light the darkness to check around and in your car, and if need be you can put the beam in someone's eyes to give you time to escape. I've been shined in the eyes when people were goofing around and I can tell you it does disorient you and produces floating lights that leave you somewhat dazed. At a night time training exercise someone shined one of the 120 lumen ones in my eyes and I swear that it felt painful (supposedly the optic nerve does not have pain receptors - but i would beg to differ).
One of the advantages of a tactical flashlight is that the on/off switch is on the tailcap. You hold it in your hand like a roll of quarters and use your thumb to activate the switch. What I like about using this kind of flashlight you usually have it raised to shoulder height since its easier just to bend your arm up. If you have taken any of the Rape Escape courses you'll know that you now have one arm already up to defend against a hit to the face and you can also blind them and/or do your hard challenge escape.
Also, there's a psychological concept at work here too. Your carrying a flashlight at night, that looks like its what a police officer might carry, your checking your surroundings, your holding it like a police officer might. A rapist or mugger might think that you are a police officer or that you have some training or maybe you have a gun. Hey if they think it, and it keeps them from you more power to you. Power perceived, is power achieved.
One word of caution though, Surefire makes a few of their lights with crenelated strike bezels and scalloped strike caps. These are so that a user can turn them into an expedient striking weapon. Unless you train with this and have experience using it - I would caution against it. An untried weapon or technique has no place in a fight for your life - use what you know works.
So I hope this helps shed some light on what you can do to be aware of your surroundings at night and in dark places.
Stay Safe!
No comments:
Post a Comment