Self-Defense Awareness Levels

Self-defense has always been a concern, especially for women due to their physical stature. Everyone wants to believe that we live in a peaceful and perfect world, but the truth sadly remains that a particular segment of society exists solely to prey on others. These perpetrators look for people that they perceive to be weak or otherwise easy targets, but women can easily change an attacker’s view of them by simply remaining aware of her surroundings and all that is going on around her at all times. Security experts call this “360 Degree Awareness.”

Just as the U.S. Department of Homeland Security uses a color-coded threat level warning system, as individuals we might enjoy greater safety by also relying on awareness color codes:

Awareness Level Green

The only time that we should relax our guard is when we are in our own homes. When you have reached a relaxed state of mind and are confident that you are in a safe area, you can go into Awareness Level Green.

Awareness Level Yellow

Whenever business or leisure activities take us outside our homes, we should operate in a slightly raised state of awareness. We call this Awareness Level Yellow. We know what is going on around us, and are aware of who is approaching our personal space and where their location is in relation to our space.

Awareness Level Red

No matter where we are at the time –home or away, we should immediately elevate our response to Awareness Level Red if we suddenly identify a real or perceived threat. In Awareness Level Red, we have seen something unusual, noticed something that didn’t belong, or a person by their very actions has led us to believe that they have ill intentions.