Welcome to the 3%. 96% of most human groups live life as sheep, quietly oblivious of any danger in the world until it jumps up and bites them. When it happens they react and panic and run or fight and usually fail. 1% of most large groups of humans are predators of one kind or another and are a threat to those nearby. 3% are aware that evil exists and while face to face encounters with it may be relatively rare, they can and do occur. Now that you are aware of this the next steps are what do I do?
1. Situational awareness is the big every day task and the #1 way to make yourself safer. Don't blindly walk thru the parking lot texting your girlfriend. Get off the phone and look around. Don't sit at a traffic light with the window down while you fu#k with the radio. Constantly scan your surroundings. Don't be surprised when you spot shady characters. Stay out of bad neighborhoods. If you are not sure, get out. As soon as you get to your car, get in and lock the doors 1st, then mess with your purse, lipstick, phone, seatbelt, etc. Do a 360 scan every few seconds as you walk thru open spaces.
2. Avoidance. If you spot a threat - avoid it. Take another path, go the other way. Walk away if you can. Run if you must. Any fight that is avoided is a win.
3. Assess your surroundings in advance. At home, at work, the grocery, other places you frequent. What are the threats? How can you prepare, avoid, mitigate them? Where can you limit them? i.e. Do the grocery shopping on Saturday morning when the gobblins are sleeping and it is daylight instead of after work in the dark. If walking the dog after dark is dangerous... Get a bigger dog or a cat. Eliminate as many threats as makes sense for your situation.
4. Have a plan. For each likely threat, ask, "What would I do if "X" happens to me? Train for as many situations as you can. Martial arts training or MMA style fighting techniques are a useful tool that you will Always have with you. The use of a blade or gun is another tool that may or may not fit your needs. I used to jog and ride bicycles for exercise and most holsters did not work with bike shorts. Home gym or fitness club might be a better option? It depends on your threat assessment. You cannot go thru life and eliminate all risk. So, you choose the right tools and techniques to manage them as best you can.
4. If a gun is necessary? I am not a fan of the Glock unless and only if you plan to carry it in a holster which covers the trigger guard. Loose in a pocket or glovebox or purse and its lack of a safety is a liability (IMO). A small single stack 9mm such as Ruger LC9 or S&W is one better choice. The striker fire model with the safety is best (IMO). If you do not need the safety (i.e. in holster carry) click it off. But with training it can be clicked off with no delay. I prefer the 1911 cocked n locked but only if it is in open holster carry. The rest of the time it is NOT the best choice. I ride MC's and found that I was not carrying my big full size H&K on the bike because it was too heavy and tugged at my jeans. So, I bought a LC9 just for that purpose. Small and light enough that at least I had it with me. Plus a knife and a blackbelt.
I am lucky that I live in a low crime community and really do not have many threats. That was a choice. I used to live in LA. Not anymore. Even so, I always am aware of what and who is around me and if I am not comfortable, the alarm bells in my head go off. I have not been attacked often. But you will be shocked how fast it can come from nowhere. Example: Wife and I parked in a larger city to go into a bookstore. Not a bad neighborhood. We were relaxed. Too relaxed. Just as I locked the car door with my pistol inside, I was cornered by a wirey man with a large brown paper bag (carrying what??) demanding money. I was pinned between two cars with a 10ft high wall to my rear. I stepped into a fighting stance and asked him to go away. My wife, (also a black belt) stepped from the other side in behind him. Not knowing if he had a knife or gun, we did not engage him but made it known that if he wanted trouble he came to the right place. When he realized that he was surrounded, his demeanor changed from threatening to conciliatory and he backed away which my wife allowed him to do. I unlocked the car and instructed her to retreat to the passenger side and retrieve the pistol. At that point the man retreated. He was long gone by the time she was close to the door. We decided to shop elsewhere. Moral: We were semi-prepared but tactically unaware. That was a BIG mistake and could have led to a bad day for us. We got lucky and escaped due to our training and confidence more than our good tactics.
