Joel A Levy » Family Safety

The Difference Between Self-Escape and Self-Defense

Joel Levy — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 16:00:45 +0000

This article by Joel Levy was published in the February 8, 2009 issue of The Highland Park Mirror.

On the SAFE Side

Most martial arts schools, my own included, teach some form of self defense. Some teach more practical methods than others, but what always struck me as interesting is how rarely the schools teach what to do to avoid needing self-defense in the first place.

Don’t get me wrong. Responsible instructors will always tell their students something along the lines of, “Common sense before self defense.” But few really use a systematic method based on true research and statistics, to teach kids, teens, and adults how to live a safer and more aware lifestyle on a daily basis.

In my own search for answers to these questions years ago, I came across some hard-core bodyguard training. Like many others, I thought bodyguards were just big scary guys that beat people up. And I did meet some that were ‘monsters’ — at least on the outside — but I also met others that were maybe 5’3” and 120 pounds.

I also discovered that a good number of them were women, and for good reason. Imagine a female celebrity such as Beyonce wanting to go into Victoria’s Secret . . . . or even just needing the ladies’ room. She certainly doesn’t want a male bodyguard shadowing her during her more personal moments.

What I learned is that Executive Protection Agents (what true bodyguards are called), far from being punch-drunk goons, are highly intelligent, well-trained, and methodical professionals.

The biggest part of this job is what is called Advance Work: gathering as much advance information about everything from potential threats, to the client’s food preferences, to medical needs or conditions. The better the ‘advance’ is, the better the job goes, and the more potentially bad situations are avoided in the first place.

As a professional and lifelong martial artist, I took it upon myself to study and train with these agents. That included learning advance work, handling a motorcade, receiving lines, third party protection, and many other skills. Fighting skills per se were not as much of a focus.

At our Family Martial Arts Academy, in addition to the regular Martial Arts curriculum, we also teach a variety of self-escape and personal safety courses as well. As I see it, knowing you can take it to a higher level if necessary gives you the confidence to use the lower level skills first. You won’t panic in a situation if you know you can handle it if it goes bad.

At the same time, a calm confidence will help you to think clearly in order to spot potential danger, and use your self-escape tools to avoid it. Without true training in the lower level skills, there is a danger that you go straight to the higher level skills first, which may not be the appropriate response.

Self escape training is fun, and gives people the confidence of knowing what to do in the majority of circumstances that require some action. This is especially true if it is based on honest Bodyguard or Executive Protection skills, tactics, and training, because getting to safety and avoiding trouble is paramount.

You may ask, “What about the small percentage of the time when something more than self-escape is required?” That is where the confidence in your martial arts skills is essential.

Holiday Safety

Joel Levy — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 16:00:51 +0000

This article by Joel Levy was published in the December 18, 2007 issue of The Highland Park Mirror.

On the SAFE Side

Expert advice for your personal safety

With the holiday season fully upon us, personal safety is of great importance. Statistically, this time of year hosts a higher crime rate than usual. The reason for this should be obvious: people are carrying a lot of money, and are distracted by the pressures of holiday shopping, while still trying to do everything else that they barely had time for to begin with. Sound familiar?

The bad guys know this too. They are bad, but often not dumb, and crime is what they do for a living. So with self-preservation high on their list of priorities, they do study people. While you are oblivious to the world, in too much of a hurry to notice, you don’t know who notices you. And bad guys, not being dumb guys, typically look for someone who presents an easy target.

We all know this. But how many times do we get completely absorbed in whatever we are doing, forget we are in a public place, and that other people are around? Here is a simple, yet often forgotten, tip to keep in mind; it will help to “victim proof” your behavior.

Make it a habit to pick your eyes up periodically, and in a left to right scanning motion, scan the area where you are standing or walking. This does two things. One, by looking around, you will notice if anything or anyone seems out of place or is behaving suspiciously. By noticing this, you immediately demonstrate to anyone looking for an unsuspecting victim that you are not the person they are looking for. The other thing is that bad guys want to fly below the radar, and do not want to be put in spotlight. Their goals are to do their crime and stay out of jail. When they see you scanning the area it puts a spotlight on their behavior, disrupting their ability to go unnoticed.

You might think that this will only anger a bad guy and make him or her come after you. This is completely not the case. In a public place a person most likely wants your property, and doesn’t want to cause a big commotion (because that puts them in spotlight). If it is you they want, and not your property, they will need to get you in an isolation zone, and that is the subject of another article.

In the meantime, remember your scanning pattern: left to right. Why? Because that is the way you have been reading all your life, and that is the way your brain has learned to processes information. You will pick up and evaluate your surroundings much more quickly and efficiently. (Of course, if you typically read in a different direction, scan in the direction you read.)

So make it a habit to scan your surroundings and make the bad guys know you are watching. Until the next time, be safe!

Child Safety: A conversation with Sensei Yvonne Levy

Keep Your Child Safe While Shopping

Joel Levy — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 16:00:34 +0000

This article by Joel Levy was published in the November 13, 2007 issue of The Highland Park Mirror.

On the SAFE Side

Expert advice to maintain your personal and family security

Watching the news or reading the paper, one gets a good idea of how often children are targeted by predators. More often than not, these predators appear at first glance to be ordinary members of society. In many cases abductions can be prevented by little more than direct supervision by a responsible adult.

In other cases, proper safety training for the child can make all the difference between recognizing, avoiding, or escaping danger, and becoming another victim. A child’s welfare is the responsibility of the parent, guardian or entrusted adult, and that is a full time responsibility.

It is a known fact that predators are more likely to target kids who are unsupervised directly by adults, and who therefore, innocently wander into the wrong place at the wrong time. This is particularly true in busier locations such as supermarkets or large department stores, where an adult can easily get distracted, and a child can easily get lost.

With that in mind, here are some simple and proven tips that can help you keep your child safe in and around a shopping area.

When you are in the store, take note of any individual who may try to interact with your child. Remember, not all strangers are bad guys — but not all bad guys look scary. Let them know you are watching!

Never let your child out of your direct line of sight. How close to keep him or her will depend on the child’s age, and level of physical and mental development. The point is to always know where they are.

When walking to your car, always hold your child’s hand with your stronger hand and carry your shipping bag in your weaker hand. Should you have an encounter with a possible assailant or if a vehicle pulls out blindly, you’ll be able to protect your child as you maintain your grip on him or her, and keep them safe.

Consider enrolling a short safety course geared to younger and older children, teens, adults, and seniors. Many of these courses are held locally at the Family Martial Arts Academy, as well as other schools and organizations around the state.

Child Safety: A conversation with Sensei Yvonne Levy

Yvonne Levy — Thu, 01 Apr 2004 16:00:45 +0000

WorkingMom.com interviewed Yvonne on Child Safety for their April 2004 issue.

SENSEI LEVY, TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOURSELF:

I’m probably one of the most unique martial arts instructors you’ll ever meet. I’m 4’11”, weigh 100 pounds soaking wet, have three kids ages ten, five, and one, I own a martial arts school with my husband Sensei Joel Levy, and I’m a black belt. I have a B.S. degree in Early Childhood Education and am also a certified teacher.

I began learning martial arts shortly after meeting Joel because he was concerned about the saftey of me and my daughter when we were alone or out at night without him. (I was a single mother living in an apartment that had already been robbed) He decided it was time for me to learn how to protect myself and the baby.

We eventually got married, had two more children and left our teaching careers to establish Family Martial Arts Academy in my hometown of Highland Park, New Jersey. As a black belt, now I’m the head instructor of our Kinder-Karate® program. My background as an early childhood teacher, the fact that I’m a mother of three, and my experience in martial arts have all served to prepare me for becoming a Sensei, (or teacher of martial arts) particularly when teaching women and small children.

WITH THE HOLIDAYS COMING UP, CAN YOU GIVE US TIPS ON HOW TO SAFELY GO SHOPPING WITH KIDS?

Definitely! I can tell you first hand how important it is to be prepared and safety conscious when you are shopping. I have a pre-teen, a school-aged child, and a toddler myself. When I am shopping with all of them I know how easy it is to be momentarily distracted, and take my focus off of my surroundings, my children, or even myself. That is just enough time for the ‘bad guy’ to make his move, if he has been watching you.

Keep in mind that the bad guy is always looking for an easy target because he is basically a coward in the business of crime. He doesn’t usually have an alternative plan if things go wrong for him…what he has is an alternative victim. That’s why training is so important. At Family Martial Arts Academy we teach a course called Shopping Sense® as part of a larger course called Family Protection.

This is the first and most important rule:

NEVER LET YOUR CHILD OUT OF YOUR DIRECT LINE OF SIGHT.
While most interaction is friendly and harmless, always be aware, and be vigilant about any stranger who gets too close to you or your child.
When walking to your car, always hold your child, or child’s hand with your STRONGER hand, so if you have to move the child out of the line of a stranger, or a car that suddenly pulls out, you will not lose your grip. If you drop what is in the weaker hand, it can be replaced, the child can not.
Always put your packages in the car AFTER you have put your child safely in the car. Never leave the child standing unattended while you put your groceries in the vehicle.Finally, NEVER leave the child alone in the vehicle while you run into the store for a ‘quick errand’. At the least, children can get hurt while playing alone in the car, and at the worst, this is a prime opportunity for a random abduction.

While many of these things may seem obvious, but they are all easy to overlook when you are in a hurry. And what working mom isn’t in a hurry? None of these tips involve any physical training, so anyone can apply them immediately.

The physical training component can be easily learned by anyone of any age using the Training For Life™ techniques which we teach in Shopping Sense®. For excellent personal protection information and techniques, I recommend Tom Patire’s Personal Protection Handbook or video tapes. Both are available at my website http://www.FamilyMartialArtsAcademy.com

For anyone traveling near the New York metropolitan area, I recommend scheduling a one on one customized saftey lesson with us. For working moms in Central New Jersey, it’s even easier; just attend one of our regularly scheduled courses. And for the working moms in other parts of the country, I can recommend a good training center in nearly every state in the nation. (Just email me through our website or call our office at (732) 296-1677).

IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE WE SHOULD KNOW WHEN WE’RE SHOPPING ALONE?

As a matter of fact, I can think of at least ten:

For example, when I’m leaving the mall by myself I keep a HOT cup of coffee in one hand with the lid completely loose. If anyone gets too close to me with bad intentions they are getting a hot cup of coffee right in their face! (I like this better than the keys between the fingers because it gives me a little more distance.)
Here are a few other suggestions that have come my way, and I recommend them to other women who ask.
If a robber asks for your wallet/purse, DO NOT hand it to him. Toss it away from you. Chances are that he is more interested in your wallet/purse than you and he will go for the wallet/purse. Run like mad in the other direction! And scream to call attention to your situation.
If you are ever thrown into the trunk of a car: kick out the back tail lights and stick your arm out the hole and start waving like crazy. The driver won’t see you but everybody else will. This has saved lives.
Women have a tendency to just sit in their cars after shopping, eating, working, putting on make-up, etc., DON’T DO THIS! The predator will be watching you and this is the perfect opportunity for him to get in on the passenger side, put a gun to your head, and tell you where to go. As soon as you get into your car, lock the doors and leave.
If you are parked next to a van, enter your car from the passenger door. Most serial killers attack their victims by pulling them into their vans while the women are attempting to get into their cars.
Be aware and look around you. Look at the car parked on the driver’s side of your vehicle, and the passenger side. If a male is sitting alone in the seat nearest your car, walk back into the mall, or work, and get a guard/policeman to walk you back out. It is always better to be safe than sorry. (And better paranoid than dead.)
Always take the elevator instead of the stairs. Stairwells are horrible places to be alone and are the perfect crime spot. Don’t get on the elevator if someone suspicious is there. Get off the elevator if you are going to be alone with someone. Wait for the next one or until someone else gets on with you.
If the predator has a gun and you are not under his control, ALWAYS RUN! The predator will only hit a running target 4 in 100 times; and even then, it most likely will not be a vital organ. Run!
As women, we are always trying to be sympathetic: Stop it! It may get you raped, or killed. Ted Bundy, the serial killer, was a good-looking, well educated man, who always played on the sympathies of unsuspecting women. He walked with a cane, or a limp, and often asked “for help” into his vehicle or with his vehicle, which is when he abducted his next victim.
Another safety point: If you are home alone at night and hear a crying baby do not open the door. This was recently mentioned on America’s Most Wanted when they profiled a serial killer in Louisiana. The killer has a baby’s cry recorded and uses it to coax women out of their homes thinking that someone dropped off a baby.

WOW! THIS IS GREAT INFORMATION FOR ANY WOMAN. WHAT SORTS OF THINGS DO YOU THINK KIDS NEED TO KNOW?

Aside from our regular kids classes in which kids learn respect, responsibility, and discipline along with fitness, confidence, and self-defense we actually teach a separate course that deals directly with physical saftey when children become separated from their parents.

I teach a series of classes called Know and Go®. Some of the things they learn in our Know and Go® course are what to do when:

They hear glass breaking.
They hear car tires screeching.
They find themselves in the middle of a panic stricken crowd.
They encounter a vicious dog barking.
Police, Fire, and Emergency vehicles are in motion.
The smoke detector alarm goes off.
There is a train in motion.
A stranger asks them for help.

I also teach a second level of Know and Go which teaches them how to escape
an attempted abduction. This involves things like what to remember about the
bad guy and how to use your body and obstacles to get away.

We also teach a course on bully prevention.

LASTLY, IS THERE ANY OTHER SAFTEY OR SELF DEFENSE QUESTION YOU WISH WE HAD ASKED YOU ABOUT IN THIS CONVERSATION?

Yes, there is. I wish you had asked “What can martial arts training in general and training at Family Martial Arts Academy do for me or my child?”

For overall personal safety and well-being nothing replaces regular training during regular class times. To begin with, being more physically fit, having stronger muscles, joints and bones, and being more limber, will make you much less prone to injury while doing other things. Secondly, being in better physical shape will boost your immune system and keep you safer from ordinary things like colds and flu.

Furthermore, in our system of American Freestyle Karate under the head instruction of my husband, Sensei Joel Levy, the self-defense techniques and applications are very direct and to the point with no unnecessarily fancy or wasted movements. In the cases where our students did have to physically defend themselves they have been consistently able to do so quickly and easily.

Finally, the most important benefit of being physically more adept and able to defend yourself is the level of self-confidence that permeates your whole being. The bottom line of safety, as we alluded to before, is that the bad guy wants an easy victim. A person who is filled with self-confidence projects that confidence automatically, and therefore prevents themselves from being a victim by simply not looking like a target. At our school we focus on the whole person not just martial arts techniques. I think one of the things that characterizes Family Martial Arts Academy is that we aim to serve the student whereas traditionally the student was expected to serve the master or the style. Moms constantly tell us that they had no idea of how much training with us would help their child beyond the walls of our school. They report everything from better grades, to better self-esteem, to not being bullied anymore. Many of the parents of the children end up enrolling in the school because they see the positive impact it has had on their children.

Parents tell us that they most enjoy the stress reduction, renewed levels of energy, the disappearance of aches and pains, and unwanted fat, not to mention the ability to defend themselves and their loved ones. What I can tell you is that we are on a mission, “To leave the world a little bit better than the way we found it through martial arts”®. In other words, we want to help as many people as possible through the physical and psychological benefits of martial arts training.

Thank you, Workingmom.com for giving me the opportunity to share this valuable information with other working moms. I encourage anyone with any questions to feel free to contact me at Family Martial Arts Academy in Highland Park, New Jersey at (732) 296-1677 or contact me through my website: www.FamilyMartialArtsAcademy.com.

Sensei Yvonne Levy