When it comes to self defense, more and more people are turning to self defense tools such as stun guns and pepper spray. Owning one of these self defense products can give you a sense of security. What people don’t realize is that carrying one of these tools won’t help you if you don’t know how to use it.
If you find yourself facing an attacker, your body is likely to go into a “fight or flight” panic mode. This can make it extremely difficult to perform seemingly simple tasks. These tasks may include calling 911 or pulling out pepper spray. If you are facing an attacker and you are unable to pull out your self defense tool, due to the extreme adrenaline rush, you are in big trouble. This is exactly why the police regularly train with their weapons.
Let’s take a look at police officers to understand why it’s important to practice using your self defense tools. Police officers go through intense weapons training to imprint into their brains what to do. The bodies fight or flight response narrows your focus and makes it nearly impossible to complete unfamiliar tasks. When a police officer is confronted by a dangerous criminal, this response is activated. Without their extensive training, they would fumble for their weapons and potentially make bad decisions that could end their lives or someone else’s.
Before they are faced with a life and death situation, they spend countless hours training for them. This training allows your responses to become second nature. This allows them to perform these tasks without thinking about them. So when faced with a real life or death situation, their split second reactions are second nature.
Now let’s look at this as someone with a self defense tool. If you are walking down a dark street at night and suddenly find yourself facing an attacker, your flight or fight reaction will kick in. If you have never practiced with your self defense product, you will end up struggling to get it out let alone using it on an attacker. That is why it is extremely important to practice with your self defense tools.
After purchasing your personal protection tools, be sure to set aside time to practice with them. If you purchased a stun gun, take the time to take it out of your pocket/purse and activate it until it’s ready. Do this over and over until you barely have to think about it. If you purchased pepper spray, you should purchase an additional can or two. That way you can use one of the extras to practice taking it out and quickly aiming and spraying it at a target. Again, do this until you can do it without thinking about it.
If you make sure you get plenty of practice with your self defense products, you will greatly improve your chances when confronted by an attacker. If you already own a personal protection tool or are considering purchasing one, be sure to take into account what you have read.