If a violent criminal has broken in to your home…who’s his first target?

There are a handful of common reasons why women do not proactively learn how to defend themselves either physically or with a firearm.  But I have found that most of these reasons can be resolved with education.  In today’s article I wanted to give my fellow women some useful food for thought.

Suppose you have a competent husband.  He works out. He’s fit. He’s conscious of his surroundings, and perhaps he even is familiar with the proper use of a handgun for self-defense purposes.  Let’s even add to the mix that you also have a few children as well who have been taught how to safely live in an environment aware of self-defense.  Thus you may have a sense that all is well.

Now, let’s suppose that the unthinkable occurs and a violent criminal has broken into your home.  And we’ll even assume that you “got lucky” and your husband is home when the invasion occurs.  Who do you think a strategic criminal would target first in order to get his demands met?  Your husband, because he’s the strongest threat?  No. That would be an incorrect assumption.  The criminal would go after you, the wife and mother, first because you are perceived as being the weakest yet the greatest asset. Think about it. What would your husband do in exchange for your life? What would your children do if “Mommy” was being threatened with unspeakable violence?  In this instance, your lack of skill and knowledge is actually a dangerous liability to the rest of your family. 

This situation could be significantly different if you merely appeared to be the weakest and yet were able to fully protect and defend yourself and your family. 

Let’s play this out in a single mom situation.  The criminal may go after you as you are perceived to be the only viable threat.  Or the criminal could go after your children in order to manipulate your actions. Either way, your unquestionable will to protect your children is simply not enough to save them. You must back up that will with knowledge and skill.  Otherwise you will still be a liability to your children or anyone else you love and care for. 

So how do you defend yourself?  While there are many defensive alternatives that can be considered, consider this.  A firearm operated safely and with expertise is the ultimate equalizer between a woman and her would-be attacker.  If an attacker is under the influence of drugs, alcohol, or rage the proverbial karate chop is not likely to save your life and to end the altercation.  You need real stopping powers against such mind and body numbing substances in order to truly bring the altercation to stop and ensure you and your family’s safety. 

In today’s society where criminal activity seems to know no bounds, it’s naïve of us women to think that someone else will save us. The police can’t stop every attack from ever happening.  Our husbands or significant others won’t always be there to protect us.  We will not be able to ward off an intruder solely by our motherly lioness instincts.  These instincts may provide us with adrenaline and determination, but unless they are backed up with applicable and practical skill such instincts may only bring us more harm. 

Here’s the good news.  No, you do not need to train countless hours to have this kind of expertise.  And no, you do not need to shrink from your femininity in order to be capable of protecting yourself.  There is a proprietary technique available that will ensure that you hit only what you’re aiming at, and to do so expeditiously before the encounter escalates to an impossible situation.

For more information, go to www.WomenofCaliber.com

Here’s to your safety and peace.

 

Copyright 2009 Kellene Bishop. All rights reserved.

You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Kellene Bishop.

Today’s Woman and Firearms

Are you part of the startling 49% INCREASE of gun sales that occurred in November 2008? (over the previous year of the same month) Chances are, if you’re female, you actually represent the majority of those purchases. That’s right. The majority.

If I were to state that this is an important time in history, many of you may think that I’m referring to the political shift in power. However, I’m actually referring to the undeniable shift in interest of the expert use of firearms.  Over the last 12 months, women have been coming out of the woodwork in record droves and declaring their independence by taking part in firearm safety and use. Women are starting to feel like they can no longer stay in the dark when it comes to firearm safety and usage. After all, the best safety measure anyone can have when it comes to firearms is knowledge.

In Caitlin Kelly’s 2004 book, Blown Away: American Women and Guns, she points out that today’s women realize that they simply aren’t as well protected as they need to be. Their levels of knowledge and self-defense protection simply aren’t keeping up with the rate of violent crimes against women. Thus they are searching for more effective means of providing that necessary protection.  Women today understand that the power of a competent marksman is a great equalizer against violent crime, and they are refusing to become the next victim statistic.

Lest we forget, shooting is also fun.  It’s not unusual to see women joining in dirt bike racing, camping and hiking, fishing, hunting, and other activities that have been predominantly occupied by men.  A feminine touch on a rifle or handgun is just one more expression of women’s exploration for new, fun, and exciting.  And it gives women a great outlet for their inherent hand-eye coordination talents.  Skeet and target shooting make for a great stress reliever worthy of today’s challenges.

And lastly, it’s no secret that women are nurturers by nature.  With the growing number of single mothers in our nation, women are beginning to take sole responsibility for soundly protecting their families as well.  It’s simply not enough in today’s society to remind the children not to talk to strangers.  This has led a dramatic increase in the number of single moms clamoring for firearm training classes.  Unfortunately, these classes are lacking in one critical component. 

With as many women who are seeking training, the number of females who are sufficiently trained and willing to offer such training has a long ways to go to merit the equal amounts of support that women gun owners are now in search of.  More of these capable women need to come out of their proverbial closets and show a sister how to make strides in competently ensuring safety and use without regrets of her firearm.

Experienced females need to help our society shed the warped image of women and firearms as well.  We need to demand more fashionable and female minded options for firearm carrying and sports. We need to counter the notion that a firearm somehow strips a woman of her femininity and show that it does not negate her instinct to nurture and care.  A firearm does not make a woman a brash warrior.  In fact, a firearm in the properly trained hands brings an abundance of confidence and peace. (And yes, I do mean “peace” in more than one way.)

Given all of the images that are flashed on television and in magazines which attempt to make us feel like we’re not doing enough, not skinny enough, or just plain not enough, it seems to me that we could use a lot more women gun owners in this nation.  So if you’ve got the talent for competent firearm usage, share it.  If you have an interest burgeoning for more knowledge in this regard, act on it.  There’s plenty of “sistas” willing to join you.

Bring on the Confidence and the Peace.

Kellene

 

Copyright 2009 Kellene Bishop. All rights reserved.

You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Kellene Bishop.