First priority, always choose life over property!   If someone wants your car, your wallet, your jewelry, give it to them! Your life is much more precious than any material items.

Protecting yourself around your car can be a very tricky situation. There is a lot going on when you are in and around your car. What is your mindset when you are: getting in, getting out, looking for your car in a parking lot, looking for your keys, you are late, what's for dinner; have to pick up the kids..... The list goes on and on.

Situational awareness is always your best tool to avoid confrontation. As you walk to your car be aware of your surroundings, be aware of escape routes, and be aware of barriers that can protect you.   Be aware of people around you, do they belong there?

If you are approached on your way to your vehicle always set clear boundaries using your verbal and nonverbal skills. Look for a window of opportunity to improve your situation and take it.

As you approach your vehicle always have your keys in hand ready to enter the vehicle swiftly. You should get in the habit of locking the doors as soon as you get in the vehicle.   Once you're in the vehicle start it up and be on your way. Don't sit in your vehicle reading your texts and checking your emails because this makes you a prime target for someone to attack.

Remember our number one self-defense tool is situational awareness and avoidance of any confrontation. If there is a confrontation we set clear boundaries, and we get away as soon as the window of opportunity presents itself. If we do have to use physical techniques, think stun and run.

Once you're in the vehicle, the doors are locked, and the vehicle is started. If someone approaches the vehicle as a threat, all you have to do is simply drive away.

If they have a weapon the answer is still drive away, please referred to Mark Hatmaker's book No Second Chance. The chapter I am referring to is Run from the gun.

If for some reason you are caught by surprise and cannot drive away, such as somebody jumped in the car as you were entering, or someone holds the door open as you enter and you are unable to close the door. The next best choice is to run away from the vehicle whether it's running or not. Life over property!

Escape, escape, escape!

There also may be situations where you cannot run away, you're trapped in the car, or there's another family member in the car.

In the next article I will discuss the basic strikes for self-protection in the vehicle.

Protecting yourself around your car 2:

Situational awareness is your best tool to keep you safe; even while in the car. The information in this article is to help you if you are attacked around or in your car.

I have found some of the best strikes in such a close quarter situations are palm strikes, finger stabs to the eyes, hammer strikes and elbows. For the extreme close quarters we also incorporate biting, eye gouging and pinches with skin ripping.

Once your car door is open you are vulnerable to attack from behind or from the side. Many attacks that will occur at this time will force your upper body or head inside the vehicle. This can be a very dangerous situation because when forced in the car this way you can lose footing, hit your head on the car, or end up lying on the seat of the car, or on the ground.

However if you don't panic, and practice a few simple moves you may be able to get out of the situation fairly quickly.

First, as you're being pushed into the car brace your upper body against the steering wheel, the seat, or the dashboard.   Once you are braced with your upper body you can throw kicks with the bottoms of your feet into the knees and shins of the attacker.

As the pressure is released on your upper body you can turn into them continuing to kick into their legs, and strike to the eyes. This will make a window of opportunity for an escape, so as soon as you can, run away.

If you are forced into the car and you find yourself lying on the seat or on the ground, use the same technique of kicking and pushing the attacker away with your feet. Whenever possible attack the eyes with finger stabs. Please be aware to keep your kicks below the waist level if possible. You not want them to be able to grab your legs and drag you out of the car causing you to hit your head on the way out. However no matter where you kick, if you're kicking violently and aggressively that should create that window of opportunity for Escape.

If you are seated in the driver seat with your door is open and someone is trying to enter the vehicle, or reach in and grab you, you can use either hand to strike straight up into their face.   Staying seated you can throw the strikes with either hand. Usually a hammer fist or a back elbow with the nearside hand is easy to do. If you use the far side hand, usually a palm strike or eye stabs work the best. Once they give you space enough to run, take that opportunity and escape!

If someone is attacking from the opposite door, whether they are seated in the vehicle or not, the same basic principle applies. With the nearside hand you should use the hammer fist and the back elbow. When using the far side hand, strike with palm strikes and eye stabs.

In either case if you are not seat belted in, plan on giving three quick strikes and exit the vehicle as quickly as possible.

If you are seat belted in, you want to deliver your strikes, and at that window of opportunity, release the seatbelt and exit the vehicle. I have found in live training sessions, you may have to strike, unbuckle then strike some more before escaping.

Another concept is to get higher than the attacker while fighting in a vehicle. You can do this by bracing your feet against the floor, and try to get on your knees on the seat of your car so that you are taller than your opponent. From here the strikes are easier to do and you will have more leverage to perform harder strikes. It can also be easier to escape because you are higher up than your opponent, and you can push off of them and strike them as you're exiting the vehicle.

By using simple techniques that you can perform under stress you can escape a bad situation. These techniques will work in most close quarters confrontations. The best way to practice is with your training partner slowly walking through the attacks, and you seeing which strikes work well for you, from each position. Gradually increase the intensity of the attacks and the resistance. Be careful, vehicles have all kinds of little nuances that can harm us. There are sharp corners, hard spots, places where you can sink in and twist an ankle or shoulder. These are things that we don't even think about until we start moving around in a vehicle.

It is very easy to feel overwhelmed or even claustrophobic with being attacked in a vehicle.

Slow methodical practice will enable you to perform these techniques under this type of stress.

Train safe, train hard!