Child safety education should be mandatory in the Scottsdale Unified School District for every grade

When visiting Lake Hodges in Escondido, CA where 17-year-old Chelsea King was murdered in February 2010, the heart in one’s chest just aches while the body shows physical manifestation of horror as a person contemplates just how something so tragic occurred at such a beautiful, serene place.  Shock then turns to rage when realizing that nobody’s safe, nobody’s privileged and everyone’s vulnerable regardless of age, where they reside or their economic classification.  After a quick perusal of Scottsdale Unified School District’s website, there is no evidence of child safety anywhere, which prompts one to ask, “Why is there not education for our children in school on how to stay safe and alive?”

In an effort to prevent something similar from happening to the youth in the Scottsdale community, the Scottsdale Unified School District (SUSD) should make child safety education mandatory for every grade level.  In an unofficial survey of some parents in Scottsdale, safety education is nearly non-existent in schools other than the dreadful, flawed “Stranger Danger” instruction.  Parents are not experts in safety education and most don’t know or practice good safety behavior themselves further clouding the issue; they rely on the schools to educate their children on all pertinent subject matter, including safety.

On the home page of the SUSD’s website, there are quick links for “Students Helping Haiti” and the “Census” but where is the link to child self defense classes in Scottsdale or the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s educational resources for child safety?  The time is NOW for schools to adopt child safety education and to teach the youth of Scottsdale on how to be safe!

Here are 5 key safety tips for parents to reinforce with children (provided by the NCMEC):

1. Always TAKE A FRIEND with you when running, walking, biking, or standing at the bus stop. Make sure you know your bus number and which bus to ride.
2. Say NO if anyone you don’t know or a person who makes you feel scared, uncomfortable, or confused offers a ride unless I have told you it is OKAY to do so in each instance.
3. Quickly get away and yell, “THIS PERSON IS NOT MY MOTHER/FATHER/GUARDIAN” if anyone tries to take you somewhere or is following you. If anyone tries to grab you, make a scene and every effort to get away by kicking, screaming, and resisting.
4. NEVER LEAVE SCHOOL GROUNDS before the regular school day ends. Always check with the office and me before leaving school early.
5. NEVER take shortcuts or walk through alleys to get to or from school. Remember to call me once you have arrived home.

Click here for more safety information from the NCMEC or contact Shieldher.  Be safe!

How to attack the most vulnerable body part of an attacker, the eye

Whether you live in Scottsdale, Jacksonville or Philadelphia, the odds of a female getting sexually assaulted are still 1 in 6; in fact, a girl within the age range of 18-24 has a 1 in 4 chance of being a victim of sexual assault.  Therefore, it is not only imperative to have mental self defense tools in your hypothetical self defense tool bag, a woman must also know how to attack the most vulnerable body parts of a attacker.  After all, awareness will not help a sleeping woman against the middle of the night home invasion threat.  Remember that self defense does not warrant a single solution, it is about having an arsenal of tools and options to utilize.

Many self defense instructors become obsessed with the technique in which to perform self defense maneuvers but in actuality, the key is to remember that it’s the targets on the body that are most important and not which technique you use.  The eye is the most vulnerable area on a person’s body and there is a plethora of ways to attack it.  The eye can be jabbed, pushed, blinded, dusted and sprayed to name a few.  Let’s explore the eye jab.

The most common manner in which to attack an eye is to jab or poke it.  To maximize the benefits of jabbing an eye, one should use the 3 middle fingers together.  The fingers should be slightly bent to avoid them breaking if the target is missed and the aim should be for either a single eye or the bridge of the nose (you’re likely to hit one eye or the other by aiming for the bridge of the nose).  The motion should be swift and undetectable like that of a Gaboon Viper Snake strike.  When the eye is jabbed, the optical nerve hits the skull and causes immediate pain, temporarily blinding the attacker.

It is possible that, by utilizing this technique, a person could have permanent damage but it is more likely that the cornea of the attacker’s eye would be scratched without permanent injury.  All civilians have the right to engage in violence for the sake of defending one's own life or the lives of others, including the use of deadly force.  By understanding basic human anatomy, it is fairly easy to identify vulnerable targets on a body in order to safely escape most any situation.

Click on this link to learn more about unarmed self defense tactics or contact Shieldher.  Be safe!

Do you know which sex offenders are living in your Scottsdale neighborhood?

This morning, the parents of Chelsea King announced that they are backing a proposed California state law to toughen restrictions on sexual predators after their 17-year-old daughter allegedly was kidnapped and killed by a convicted sex offender, John Albert Gardner III. The suspect in the case, John Albert Gardner III, 30, was arrested on suspicion of murder and rape after investigators found several pieces of unspecified evidence. The Kings said if the laws had been smarter and bolder, Chelsea might still be alive.

Although this horrific incident occurred in California, it absolutely pertains to Scottsdale residents in a multitude of ways. First, many Scottsdale residents are not aware of the convicted sex offenders living in Scottsdale; therefore, one could be living next to a resident with a small child and the parents are oblivious. Additionally, many Scottsdale teens attend college and vacation in San Diego where over 2,700 sex offenders reside and most do not know how to protect themselves nor have they taken a self defense class to learn. Lastly, many Scottsdale residents do not know the laws that pertain to sexual offenders until someone inflicts harm on one of their own children or community members.

The time is now to get educated about who is living in our Scottsdale communities and how to protect our children from becoming a victim or worse, a statistic. Scottsdale parents need to teach their children, or find someone qualified to do so, about the dangers lurking in our communities and beyond. Furthermore, all children should have a basic understanding of who to avoid and how to avoid potential dangers. Parents need to stop using the “Stranger Danger” lexicon without delay as it is no longer an appropriate manner in which to safeguard a child. In fact, parents need to immediately adopt a CODE WORD so that their children can identify safe people in their lives given that roughly 73% of assaults were perpetrated by non-strangers. Don’t let Chelsea King be just another statistic, learn from her and educate your children now.

Click on these links to learn more about Scottsdale sex offenders, to get statistics, to find resources for parents to teach their child about personal safety, or contact Shieldher. Be Safe!

Why women in Scottsdale should purchase a Taser C2 for personal protection

Scottsdale-based Taser International has been under fire for years due to the alleged excessive force use by law enforcement of Taser International’s electronic control devices like the Taser X26.  Even though many civilians are aware of the negative exposure as a result of the alleged abuse, they are unaware that Taser has a product geared towards the female civilian market and legal to carry in Scottsdale, the Taser C2.

Yes, the Taser C2 is an expensive self defense weapon at around $350, but the ability to protect oneself with the touch of a button, a laser sight and without having to practice is certainly worth more than $350 to many female Scottsdale residents, especially if she can defend from a safe distance of 15 feet.  For some, there is a fear of not being able to defend oneself if faced with an attacker, especially at night in the event of a home invasion, which lead to the question, “Why is this happening to me?”  The Taser C2 is extremely easy to use and there is no question as to the effectiveness of the device, just ask Amnesty International.

Many women may question the need to purchase anything if they possess a basic knowledge of self defense, which is a fair argument; however, if a woman is not 100% confident in her ability to protect herself physically against a man twice her size then it is imperative that she look into self defense tools.  After all, self defense does not warrant a single solution and one cannot rely on anyone else coming to their aid like law enforcement or a spouse.  Consider the situation that a Scottsdale couple found themselves in back in November 2008 when 3 men broke into their North Scottsdale home without warning…they still haven’t been caught!

The bottom line is that most females are conditioned to believe that “it won’t happen to me” and unfortunately if it does, they find themselves unprepared both mentally and physically.  In fact, Shieldher has an entire website dedicated to victim stories for that reason.  Although Scottsdale is normally a safe place to live, chances are that most Scottsdale residents leave the confines of “safe Scottsdale” routinely and one can never be too safe.  By simply carrying a Taser C2, a Scottsdale woman actually decreases the likelihood of being attacked due to increased confidence, even if she never has to use it.

Click on the links here more information on the Taser C2 or contact Shieldher.  Be safe!

Self defense must be practiced every day, start with awareness

On any given day in Scottsdale, there is no shortage of residents exhibiting poor self defense behavior like running with headphones or walking through a parking garage, distracted on a cell phone. Given that 1 in 6 women and 1 in 33 men will be sexually assaulted in their lifetime, self defense should be as routine as wearing a seat belt in a car and MUST BE practiced every day.

The most common misconception about self defense is that it is predominantly physical in nature. The truth is that self defense is predominantly mental, but it must become second nature to a person to practice it effectively. The number one self defense mental technique is awareness and if a person is aware of their surroundings then they will likely spot danger approaching prior to becoming a victim.

Running with headphones is the single most dangerous behavior that a walker or runner can exhibit because it diminishes the most important of the five senses, hearing. Without the full ability to hear, awareness of a person's surrounding is severely crippled. Not only can headphones prevent a person from detecting a car following closely behind, but it also prevents a prospective victim from hearing noises associated with danger from a distance thus reducing escape time.

By removing distractions while in public places like headphones and cell phones, it forces a person to look around and take in a deep breath of life...call it a self defense benefit. If Scottsdale residents want to practice safe behavior in an effort to reduce the chance of becoming a victim, then awareness is the first self defense criterion that must be adopted immediately and daily. Not only will awareness of one's surroundings help keep the entire community safe, but it will also help to remind everyone to "stop and smell the roses" because all other distractions are removed.

To learn more on how to avoid dangerous situations, please visit the RAINN (Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network) website or contact Shieldher. Be safe!