Unfortunately, no matter how much we practice personal awareness, voice control, and violence avoidance techniques, we may find ourselves in a physical confrontation. Whether or not you have self defence training and no matter what your age or physical condition, it is important to understand that you can and should defend yourself physically. You certainly have a legal right to do so.

Many women worry that they will anger the attacker and get hurt even worse if they defend themselves but statistics and reports clearly show that your odds of survival are far greater if you do fight back.*

But where would you strike your attacker to get maximum effect? The answer is the T-Zone.

Imagine there is capital letter “T” drawn on your attacker, horizontally from one ear to the other, and vertically down from the bridge of the nose to the groin. Hit your attacker anywhere in the ‘T’ with as much force as you can muster and he is more than likely going down.

Remember, you may only get one chance to stop an attack, so if there is no other means of escape, and you have tried your non-violent means, think about using a pre-emptive strike to the T-zone.

A good self defence instructor should also be able to teach you the Law concerning your right to defend yourself and, more importantly, the use of ‘Reasonable Force’; explain what a pre-emptive strike is; and explain where and how to hit the T-Zone.

At the first opportunity – escape. Run away, scream for help or better still shout “Fire”. Research has shown that more people will come to your aid or to see what is going on if you shout “Fire”, than if you shout “Help”.

Do whatever you can to attract attention to yourself and your situation. Attackers do not want to be identified or disturbed, so let’s not make it easy for them.