I am very familiar with the questions that go along with being a black belt. Is it real? Can you take down a guy who outweighs you by 100 pounds? What about a knife attack? What about a gun? What if there are two guys and one of them has an Uzi and one of them has an atomic bomb and you took a Vicodin for your bulging disc two hours ago and you are unconscious when they attack you?

"What if" scenarios are not real life. Yes, your odds of being able to defend yourself effectively go up if you are properly trained. No, there are no guarantees. However, there are many aspects of self defense that have nothing to do with your ability to kick an attacker in the head and which you are much more likely to need at some point in your life.

In all my years of training I have never laid a hand on another person in a conflict but I have used all of the self protection strategies listed below.

BREAK FALLS: If your school teaches you how to do a technique it should also teach you how to feed the technique to a partner as if you were the attacker. Techniques that require you to be thrown to the ground offer the opportunity to learn how to do a break-fall safely. Everyone falls down at some point in their lives. Falling correctly can save you from broken bones and other serious injuries.

AWARENESS: Lists of "safety tips for women" make the rounds of the Internet every few weeks. Many of them are pointless scare tactics but the realistic tips boil down to one concept. You need to be aware of your surroundings. Know how long it will take for someone to move from twenty feet away to touching you. Have an exit strategy when you are in a confined space with other people. I recommend reading "The Gift of Fear" by Gavin de Becker to help you realize that natural intuition is your greatest ally. As we say at my school, "If it feels wrong, you're probably right." Trust yourself and you will be able to take care of yourself.

DE-ESCALATION: Role playing confrontations in class gives you the opportunity to practice keeping your cool. In most cases someone who gets in your face wants an apology or acknowledgment of their pain rather than a fist fight. Whatever kind of bad day has influenced their attitude is probably not about you, so stopping an altercation from getting out of hand can be easier than you think. Practice saying things like "I am sorry, this is my fault." and "What can I do to make this right?" Try your best to sound sincere. This applies even if you

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