[Self-Defense Survival] On a Dark Night... When a Stranger Follows Me

Remember the Order: Alertness - Preparing Self-Defense Tools - Escape

Editor's NoteWhen you cannot escape from an assailant wielding a weapon, you should defend your vital organs with your belongings and then flee. If you have a self-defense tool, you can effectively use it to protect yourself and escape. Every Sunday, we will share a series demonstrating how to properly use self-defense tools and how to protect yourself by striking and quickly fleeing, with demonstrations by Jeon Seong-yong, head instructor of the Korea Arnis Association Self-Defense Center (association president, male in the photo), and instructor Go Kyung-ah (female in the photo).

The self-defense survival education program aims to temporarily incapacitate the opponent and escape from dangerous situations. It assumes various real-life crisis scenarios and focuses on simple and swift techniques to overcome extreme situations, buying a golden time of 10 seconds to increase survival rates by 10%.

This edition covers how to stay alert to your surroundings while walking and how to prevent crimes targeting your back. It also explains behavioral guidelines to respond to attacks and movements to defend against and evade an opponent’s assault.

Crimes that involve attacks from behind occur within a critical time frame of 30 seconds to 1 minute, making them very difficult to handle in self-defense. If a stranger is stalking or following you, you must remain vigilant without exposing your back, preemptively blocking and resisting sudden attacks.

1. When walking at night, avoid behaviors like focusing on your cellphone or wearing earphones as shown in the photo. Be alert to surrounding noises and sounds. Most crimes occurring from behind happen when you are alone without others nearby. Always be cautious of sounds like footsteps. If you cannot escape this situation, prepare your cellphone or self-defense items discreetly to respond to an attack (refer to cellphone grip method).

2. Before the distance between you and the opponent becomes too close, keep your eyes on them. This behavior can psychologically burden the opponent by signaling, "I am watching you." Perform this observation every 3 to 4 steps while walking.

3. It takes about 5 seconds on average to enter the lock code and open the door of a villa or officetel. If an attacker is 3 to 4 meters behind you during this time, you are highly vulnerable to a rear attack. If the space is confined or a dead end where you cannot escape and the distance to the opponent is close, it is better to face the door or wall and watch the opponent to prepare for sudden attacks. This behavior can psychologically pressure the attacker and may cause them to abandon the crime midway, as they realize their attempt to attack from behind has been detected.

4. When the opponent turns to attack from behind, strike them with your cellphone and quickly escape while calling for help. Shout loudly so that residents of the officetel or villa can hear you. Loud noise is very effective in reducing the attacker’s criminal intent. Always remember the sequence and method: 'Stay alert' - 'Prepare self-defense tools or items that can be used as such like bags, cellphones, umbrellas' - 'Escape or defend/resist and then escape.'

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.