When I arrived at Bellevue College last Saturday, I felt something amiss. The staff, usually calm and friendly, seemed just a tad frazzled as we exchanged greetings.  I went to set up my room for the five-week self-defense course I’d be teaching that afternoon, then returned to the front for my roster.  As  passed the front desk manager, he said, “We really could’ve used you this morning! We had one woman stab another in class.  It was an anger management class.”

That’s generally not what I’d expect in a continuing education facility known more for high tech than high crime. Goes to show you never can tell for sure what can happen even in safe spaces.  And why the first rule of self defense is to be aware and open to possibilities.

Read the story here.

You may get a broken nose.

That’s what happened to this wanna-be assailant when he tackled a woman on a jogging trail.  She fought back, and he fled. Read all about it here:  http://www.10news.com/news/22074629/detail.html

A common question in my classes is what to do if you’re attacked in a relatively isolated area. Many people believe that these potential assailants are a special breed of super-being who have the strength and tenacity of Wolverine with the diabolical malevolence of Freddie Kruger.

Fortunately, most assailants occupy mere mortal human bodies.  They have vulnerable points.  They are often focused on their attacks and (particularly if their target is female) not expecting you to fight back. In most cases, fighting back will succeed in driving him off. As they did here.

Know a girl off to college this year? Show her you care – send her this Campus Safety flyer (will download a PDF file). One of my students remarked, “I wish I’d had something like this when I went to Highline Community College. I might not have been assaulted with a gun to my head.” She was referring to the “pay attention to unusual behavior” directive. Download the PDF for this and more.