In recent days, there have been 2 different incidents of madmen attacking innocent civilians with bladed weapons. One was at Buangkok, where a crazed man took to the streets and tried to slash multiple people after damaging vehicles. Another had a man going on a slashing spree with a razor blade after hearing voices. Thank goodness the victims all managed to survive.
Both incidents are suspected to be drug related.
Scary huh?
It’s bad enough you can drop dead at any time from a number of natural causes. Now you need to worry about somebody else killing you too. In Singapore, no less.
Since I don’t want to die (not if I can help it), I decided to take a look online to see what was the best ways to stay alive during an attack. Here’s what I found.
Run.
It’s the most common advise out there.
Put some distance between you and whoever is threatening your life.
It’s not cowardice, it’s not dishonourable.
Put those preconceived macho notions out of your head. Survival doesn’t mean doing heroics. You’re not a superhero and you’re probably not trained in hand to hand combat.
The best thing you can do is to leave the scene as soon as you can, get help and stay safe. You don’t do anybody any good bleeding out on the floor, dying. Survive!
Yell For Help.
You’ll want to scream and make as much noise as possible to let everybody nearby know what’s happening to you.
If it’s a random attack, screaming will alert others of the danger and let them know to get help.
Hell, it might even scare off your attacker if you scream like a banshee. Anything to survive.
Comply.
If you’re cornered with nowhere to run and the attacker makes demands, give in to them. Cash and your valuables can easily be replaced, your life can’t.
If the attacker asks for something within reason, give them what they asked for and hope they leave you alone when they’re satisfied.
Stay Calm.
Keep your wits about you.
Even if you’re cornered and there’s no way out, think!
Do you have something on you that you can use? A bag you can swing at the attacker? Objects you can use for protection? Look around you and make use of your surroundings.
Something as rudimentary as a rock can be useful as a deterrent if you think on how to use it. Anything you can think of to survive? Do it.
Talk.
Yup, talk to the guy.
Ask him why he’s doing thing. Ask him about his family. Whatever you can think off. If he’s talking, he probably won’t be attacking you.
Perhaps you might even be able to reason with him and get him to stop.
Talking with him in a soothing voice can buy you the time you need for help to get there. All you have to do is just stay calm and don’t clam up.
Accept the inevitable.
One of the most terrifying aspects of a fight is the possibility of getting hurt, or worse, killed.
If you’re cornered and have no way of escape, you’re going to have to embrace that fact that you’re probably going to get hurt or even killed.
Embracing that doesn’t mean you just sit meekly and wait to be hurt, it just means that now you’re ready to do the hard part; make your last ditch plan to escape.
Being in the right mindset and accepting that you’re going to get hurt will help because it’ll mute the paralyzing fear of self-preservation and avoiding injury at all costs that’s built into all of us.
That doesn’t mean you throw all caution to the wind, it’s the opposite. Think of every possible escape scenario, even ones that have you getting hurt. Weigh their possible success rates.
If you’re a big man, perhaps a direct tackle to knock the guy off his feet before you run off might be good? A small woman might want to feign running in a direction before doing the exact opposite. Use your clothes to tangle up the arms of the attacker.
If you have to fight, go for the soft squishy bits. The eyes, the nose, the ears, the throat and most importantly, the groin. Get your hit in, disable your attacker and run.
The most important thing is to get out of danger with the least amount of damage received. You do NOT need to put your attacker out of commission, that’s the cops’ job.
These tips might sound weird but they should serve you well and allow you to (hopefully) survive a dangerous attack. Remember, any fight you can walk away from is a fight you’ve won.