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Health & Fitness

EMOTIONAL SELF-DEFENSE - PART 2

Emotional Self-Defense is the training of certain skills, like Prediction, Recognition, Observation and Intuition (PROI).  These are skills that we all possess and are interchangeable.  It is part of our human make-up and falls under the umbrella of ‘Awareness’. It is about listening to and paying attention to your emotions.  Skills that we all possess! Yet we fail to use them and even forget that they exist when it comes to personal safety.

OBSERVATION

The third Emotional Self-Defense skill that needs to be trained, in order to be aware, is that of Observation.  Observation is an activity that helps us find out about the world around us.  It helps us to be aware of our surroundings by using all our senses.  If you are not aware of what is around you, then you are really putting yourself in a vulnerable position. It is very important in personal safety to be able to give a fairly good description of your location, should you need to in an emergency.

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Observation is also linked to memory recall.  This can be tested right now by jotting down any businesses, restaurants or churches close to where you are sitting, or standing, right now. Many, many people travel, whether it is for business or for pleasure.  It is important to remember that when traveling, especially to a new city, you are out of your comfort zone.  It is therefore important to put into high gear your powers of observation.

A great, fun way to train your skills of observation on a regular basis is to do some ‘spot the difference’ puzzles. Another thing you can do is get a photo of a busy town, airport or train station. Take in everything that you see for about a minute.  Then pass the photo over to a friend and get them to ask you some questions about the photo. For example, ‘How many people were carrying a suitcase?’, or ‘Name three of the stores you saw in the town’. For this activity you are relying on your memory to recall what you just observed.

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So we can train our Emotional Self-Defense skills in Prediction, Recognition and Observation.  What about Intuition? Can we train that? What we can do is learn to listen to our intuitive side.

INTUITION

Intuition is an innate ability that we all have.  For whatever reasons of nature, females really do have powerful intuitive skills.

Have you ever had that feeling in the pit of your stomach that something is wrong?  Have you ever felt that someone’s behavior is a little strange? Have you ever walked into a room and felt uncomfortable, but not sure why?  If your answer is ‘Yes’, it is because you are sensing a potentially dangerous situation. Have you ever been witness to an incident, where afterwards you said to yourself ‘I knew that was going to happen?’ This is your intuition at work.

People often feel unsure about allowing their emotions to dictate their decision making abilities, so they tend to ignore it.  They shouldn’t!  Though you may feel that your emotions are irrational, they are not!  They are functional and serve a purpose.

I mentioned earlier that denial, complacency and technology impair our Emotional Self-Defense skills. I hear so many people say ‘It’s fine, I live in a safe neighborhood’, or ‘nothing like that ever happens around here’.  This is denial.  Or what about the people that follow the same routine every single day, whether it is taking the dog for a walk, or leaving the same time each morning to go for a jog, or parking in the same parking space. This is complacency. We don’t have to look too far from where we are sitting to know what I mean about technology. Our phones, our iPads, our laptops, our iPods.   We are so engrossed in these electronics that we do not see what is happening around us.

A great example of this is a recent story I read about on a train in San Francisco. The train was fairly crowded with passengers either talking on their phones, paying games on their phones, or listening to music.  Nobody observed the man that got on the train with a gun.  They did not even see him hold the gun out until it was too late.  He had shot and killed a passenger! These electronic items impeded the natural skills of those onboard the train!

IN CONCLUSION

Learning Emotional Self-Defense skills is extremely important to survival.  Emotional Self-Defense training is a key component and foundation of the Powerhouse Self-Defense Program.  It’s easy to learn.  Why?  It’s easy to learn because it involves Intuition, and we all have the gift of Intuition.  You just need to learn how to listen to it.

Jennifer Riis-Poulsen is the Founder & CEO and also a 2nd degree black belt, who formed Powerhouse Self-Defense as a response to the ever-increasing statistics on emotional and physical attacks on females each year. She made reducing these statistics a mission and personal goal and has set out to develop a comprehensive, HOLISTIC personal safety and empowerment program focused on awareness and powerful techniques to build courage and confidence. For more information visit Powerhouseselfdefense.com.

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