Jogging is probably one of the easiest sports to take up for exercise, but it can also be one that sees many opportunistic criminals targeting those on their own. Taking safety measures will ensure that you stay safe during your workout.

It goes without saying that jogging during daylight hours is much safer compared to jogging at night; however, with our increasingly busy schedules and family commitments there are many runners who find they only have time to jog during the evening or early morning. If you find yourself falling into this category it is important that you don’t take your safety for granted.

A recent assault on a female jogger shows how opportunistic running can be, but by taking measures to avoid such an assault means you can run in safety. Here are some tips to staying safe while jogging:

Know Your Route – Before heading out make sure you know exactly where you’ll be running. This way you can determine if there will be any obstacles in your path, if you’ll be cut off from the main road or if there is poor lighting in certain areas. Knowing where you are going will mean you can remedy the route to avoid bad spots.

Stay in Well-Lit Areas – By doing so you can avoid any unnecessary surprises as you stumble upon individuals you wouldn’t want to meet. It also means that you’ll be able to see where you are going and avoid unwanted injuries that are more likely to happen in dark areas.

Avoid Listening with Headphones – In most cases joggers will tend to listen to their music while jogging, after all, it’s a good way to stay motivated when a fast, up-beat song comes on to keep the legging going. It is, however, dangerous. Not only are you unlikely to hear car horns, trucks or bicycles, but you are unlikely to hear if someone is running up behind you.

Carry Pepper Spray – In order to ensure your safety it is always a good idea to carry pepper spray on your person when out jogging, regardless of where you are going. Make sure that you have this device close to hand so that you can utilize it when needed. Nowadays, most runners will carry a self defense device because they know it’s non-lethal, but extremely effective in stopping an assault.

Get a Jogging Partner – The easiest way you can avoid becoming an easy target is to get a jogging partner. People jogging together are less likely to be targeted than someone who is jogging alone. Not only will you be staying safe, but you’ll enjoy your running workouts now that you have someone with you.

As promised, here is the Part 2 of “Through a Rapist’s Eyes”.
10. Several defense mechanisms he taught us are: If someone
is following behind you on a street or in a garage or with you
in an elevator or stairwell, look them in the face and ask them
a question, like what time is it, or make general small talk: “I
can’t believe it is so cold out here”, “we’re in for a bad winter.”
Now you’ve seen their face and could identify them in a line-up;
you lose appeal as a target.

11. If someone is coming toward you, hold out your hands
in front of you and yell STOP or STAY BACK ! Most of
the rapists this man talked to said they’d leave a woman alone
if she yelled or showed that she would not be afraid to fight
back. Again, they are looking for an EASY target.

12. If you carry pepper spray (this instructor was a huge
advocate of it and carries it with him wherever he goes,)
yell I HAVE PEPPER SPRAY and holding it out will be a
deterrent.

13. If someone grabs you, you can’t beat them with strength
but you can by outsmarting them. If you are grabbed around
the waist from behind, pinch the attacker either under the arm
(between the elbow and armpit) OR in the upper inner thigh
VERY VERY HARD. One woman in a class this guy taught
told him she used the underarm pinch on a guy who was trying
to date rape her and was so upset she broke through the skin
and tore out muscle strands – the guy needed stitches. Try
pinching yourself in those places as hard as you can stand it;
it hurts.

14. After the initial hit, always GO for the GROIN. I know
from a particularly unfortunate experience that if you slap a
guy’s parts it is extremely painful. You might think that you’ll
anger the guy and make him want to hurt you more, but the
thing these rapists told our instructor is that they want a woman
who will not cause a lot of trouble. Start causing trouble and
he’s out of there.

15. When the guy puts his hands up to you, grab his first two
fingers and bend them back as far as possible with as much
pressure pushing down on them as possible! The instructor
did it to me without using much pressure, and I ended up on
my knees and both knuckles cracked audibly.

16. Of course the things we always hear still apply. Always
be aware of your surroundings, take someone with you if you
can and if you see any odd behavior, don’t dismiss it, go with
your instincts!!! You may feel a little silly at the time, but
you’d feel much worse if the guy really was trouble.

I’d like you to share this to all the women you
know. It may save a life. A candle is not dimmed
by lighting another candle. I was going to send this
to the ladies only, but guys, if you love your mothers,
wives, sisters, daughters, etc., you may want to pass
it onto them, as well.

After the release of the last video about TASERs, people are
very excited about the product and have asked some great
questions. We decided to put together a video to answer those
questions for you.

By being aware that crimes DO happen ALL the
time, your chance of being a victim has already
decreased by 50%. Now that you are aware, the
rest is up to you. Whether you take a self defense
course (ideally) or equip yourself with a stun gun or
TASER is up to you. Crime happens whether you are
ready or not. So when it happens, you better be ready.
Do not wait; your safety is priceless! Protect yourself
with a stun gun now!

A group of rapists and date rapists in prison were
interviewed on what they look for in a potential
victim and here are some interesting facts:

1. The first thing men look for in a potential victim
   is hairstyle. They are most likely to go after a
   woman with a ponytail, bun, braid or other hairstyle
   that can easily be grabbed. They are also likely to go
   after a woman with long hair. Women with short
   hair are not common targets.
2. The second thing men look for is clothing.
   They will look for women who’s clothing is
   easy to remove quickly. Many of them carry
   scissors around specifically to cut clothing.
3. They also look for women on their cell phone,
   searching through their purse, or doing other
   activities while walking because they are off guard
   and can be easily overpowered.
4. Men are most likely to attack & rape in the
   early morning, between 5:00 a.m. and 8:30a.m.
5. The number one place women are abducted
   from/attacked is grocery store parking lots.
   Number two is office parking lots/garages.
   Number three is public restrooms.
6. The thing about these men is that they are
   looking to grab a woman and quickly move her
   to another location where they don’t have to
   worry about getting caught.
7. Only 2% said they carried weapons because
   rape carries a 3-5 year sentence but rape with
   a weapon is 15-20 years.
8. If you put up any kind of a fight at all, they
   get discouraged because it only takes a minute
   or two for them to realize that going after you
   isn’t worth it because it will be time-consuming.
9. These men said they would not pick on women
   who have umbrellas, or other similar objects that
   can be used from a distance, in their hands.Keys are not a deterrent because you have to
   get really close to the attacker to use them as
   a weapon. So, the idea is to convince these
   guys you’re not worth it.

I’d like you to share this to all the women you
know. It may save a life. A candle is not dimmed
by lighting another candle. I was going to send this
to the ladies only, but guys, if you love your mothers,
wives, sisters, daughters, etc., you may want to pass
it onto them, as well.
Many people choose to use TASERs for personal protection.
Watch the following video and hear what people
have to say about their experience.

By being aware that crimes DO happen ALL the
time, your chance of being a victim has already
decreased by 50%. Now that you are aware, the
rest is up to you. Whether you take a self defense
course (ideally) or equip yourself with a stun gun or
TASER is up to you. Crime happens whether you are
ready or not. So when it happens, you better be ready.
Do not wait; your safety is priceless! Protect yourself
with a stun gun now.

Pepper spray, a small canister also known as OC spray from Oleoresin Capsaicin, is a non-lethal spraying device that has been designed to irritate the eyes of an assailant by causing tears, pain and temporary blindness.

The use of the cayenne chili pepper as we know it today has been used for thousands of years with records showing that it was used in ancient China when the Chinese ground the potent pepper in rice paper before flinging it into the face of their enemies.

Click here to learn more on how pepper spray works

In 1960, a different type of compound was created at the University of Georgia by Professor James H. Jenkins and Dr Frank Hayes. Sold commercially in 1963 it was known as Halt Animal Repellent. Fast-forward to today and modern day use of pepper spray is a popular device often used for self defense.

In 1989, the Firearms Training Unit of the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia, finished three years of intensive research on the use and effects of pepper spray. After that, the FBI authorized the use of the spray canister to its special agents in addition to its SWAT teams. Unsurprisingly, the FBI were attracted to pepper spray simply because it provided the ideal answer to stopping an unruly suspect without the need for excessive force.

However, not only is pepper spray effective against hostile individuals, but it is also effective against domestic and wild animals without presenting any harm to them or the environment they are in. It has proved highly effective in preventing dog attacks in built up areas to bear attacks in bear country.

It was only in the 1990’s that the use of pepper spray began to circulate widely among law enforcement departmentswhen over 3,000 police forces in the United States issued the devices as part of an officer’s standard arsenal.

And today, it is widely distributed for the public to purchase as a way of protecting themselves from unwanted harm. Small and discreet, pepper spray has become the ideal self defense device for a person to use for their safety.

Every now and then we’ll get approached by a stranger and in more cases than not it’s probably nothing serious, but what do you do when you get a feeling that something is not quite right?

In the United States, the U.S. Department of Justicereports that 797,500 children younger than 18 were reported missing in a one-year period of time studied, which resulted in an average of 2,185 children being reported missing every day; 203,900 children were the victims of family abductions; 58,200 children were the victims of nonfamily abductions; and 115 children were the victims of “stereotypical” kidnapping.

However, while it is important to educate your children on the importance of stranger danger, the understanding of those two words to young children can often be quite confusing. After all, what does a dangerous stranger look like? For a child when they hear the words stranger danger they will evoke images of scary looking individuals, but strangers who want to kidnap a child will know that a child is more trusting when a person appears friendly and is persuasive enough.

Of course, there will come a time when you need to give your child more freedom as they grow older, which may see them walking to and from school by themselves. Until they can carry a self defense weapon teaching your child on the basics of being aware of strangers can help immensely though. For instance, let them know that they have the power to say no whenever they want. Even if the person has lost their dog and needs your childs help finding it, say to them that saying no is important as this could be a ruse to get them into a car.

Here are some more handy tips to consider:

• Never accept sweets from a stranger.

• Never go somewhere without telling an adult where you are going and how long you’ll be.

• Never go up to a car to give directions – always maintain a safe distance so the individual inside the car can’t grab you.

• Never play in quite places alone.

• Always stay with a group of friends – safety in numbers.