1. First--info on this month's RAW volume, Inside Bottom Scissors: Guard Busting Vol. 1.
2. In the spirit of client gratitude and Black Friday & Cyber-Monday Capitalism we've expanded our deals throughout the entire month of December. See the site for details.
3. This week's article introduces a few free self-protection devices along with my "consumer" rankings.

And last, but not least, check out the ESP RAW Subscription service info to your left. You can save yourself some money on this volume of RAW ($5.50 to be exact) and pick up 3 more volumes of RAW absolutely free.

More often than not when discussions of self-protection arise our thoughts tend to lean towards hand-to-hand tactics; if we are asked to ponder self-protection gearr we might make the mental leap to firearms, knives, Maglites, and the like--these are all good leaps and choices, by the way. The point of today's discussion is not to say that any of these are wrong, but to perhaps prioritize a bit.

Here's a scenario where prioritization is a bit easier to see. Often combatives folks who start to lean or expand their skills towards the wilderness survival end of things come with a skewed point of view. They tend to see survival in terms of conflict and what conflict/combat skills/tools/weaponry that can be brought to bear upon the imagined scenario. Again, it is always good to be prepared, but in wilderness survival the primary skills will be food and/or shelter with those competing for the top of the preparedness pyramid. With those priorities it makes far more sense to have competent skills in finding and preparing food and locating or building shelter than it does to building and using a weapon first. After all, what do we do more of each and every day: Engage in hand-to-hand combat, or eat a meal in a safe environment? 

See my point? Survival priorities are a bit easier to see in wilderness survival than they are in street conditions.

In street conditions we are a bit biased towards "If my attacker does this, then I would do this?" than we are disposed towards longitudinal avoidance. This is an easy bias to have because combat training is far more fun, and dramatic, and intellectually and physically engaging than showing up at the gym for yet another lecture on how to select and install a good deadbolt, or memorizing vehicle maintenance schedules, or drilling elementary navigation skills should your GPS fail you. All useful skills that you probably need more than a good thigh kick, but let's face it, these practical skills are simply not that sexy.

Before I talk myself out of a job, I'm not saying that we don't need combat responses, I'm just suggesting we keep our priorities in realistic alignment. 

With that in mind, I offer the following self-protection apps, that will not club an attacker into submission or allow you to rappel down a building but...well, you'll see.

Bsafe is a free app available on Android or iOS devices. The apps function is genius in its simplicity. 

• You program in specified contacts.
• Your location can be tracked and or alerted to these specified contacts.
• You can also program it to automatically alert your contacts if you do not check-in by a certain time.
• There is a large SOS button for easy access if you feel the need for assistance from your contacts.
• It is also allows for a fake ring if you desire a polite exit to an ambiguous contact.