Real World Facts

The Real Facts of Life

It would be a lot easier to enjoy your life if there weren't so many things trying to kill you every day.
The problems start even before you're fully awake. There's the fall out of bed that kills 600 Americans each year. There's the early-morning heart attack, which is 40 percent more common than those that strike later in the day.

There's the fatal plunge down the stairs, the bite of sausage that gets lodged in your throat, the tumble on the slippery sidewalk as you leave the house, the high-speed automotive pinball game that is your daily commute.
Shadowed by peril as we are, you would think we'd get pretty good at distinguishing the risks likeliest to do us in from the ones that are statistical long shots. But you would be wrong.

We agonize over avian flu, which to date has killed precisely no one in the United States, but have to be cajoled into getting vaccinated for the common flu, which contributes to the deaths of 36,000 Americans each year.

We wring our hands over the mad cow pathogen that might be (but almost certainly isn't) in our hamburger and worry far less about the cholesterol that contributes to the heart disease that kills 700,000 of us annually.

We pride ourselves on being the only species that understands the concept of risk, yet we have a confounding habit of worrying about mere possibilities while ignoring probabilities, building barricades against perceived dangers while leaving ourselves exposed to real ones.

Shoppers still look askance at a bag of spinach for fear of E. coli bacteria while filling their carts with fat-sodden French fries and salt-crusted nachos. We put filters on faucets, install air ionizers in our homes and lather ourselves with antibacterial soap.

But there is one statistic many people overlook. You read everyday about it in the paper, see on the news, it destroys lives and causes horrible deaths. And if you leave your home, go shopping, work, drive or basically live....You are at risk. A 83% chance risk of being a victim of crime at some level. Yet most people do nothing about it or think they are but really are deceived. I know many are thinking, that won't happen to me or I go to the gym or I studied self defense .... Most self-defense programs do not work! Most martial arts classes are outdated, too technical, too staged, too controlled, teach high kicks, complicated wrist maneuvers, hard to reach pressure points, basically a sport or exercise program and a very dangerous illusion of self defense in the real world.

Please read on

For Critics of being Armed or Not Diligently Studying a Basic Defense Skill -
PLEASE READ BELOW

One in every 133 Americans, on average, will become a murder victim, and one in every 12 women will be the victim of rape or attempted rape, a Justice Department study concluded recently. Using figures compiled by the Government's National Crime Survey.
( Some information from News Week Magazine).

PERCENT OF PEOPLE WHO WILL BE VICTIMIZED BY CRIME ONE OR MORE TIMES DURING THEIR LIFETIME STARTING AT AGE 12

VIOLENT CRIMES, INCLUDING ATTEMPTS: RAPE, ROBBERY with ASSAULT

Total population - 83% chance it will happen to YOU!

Male 89%
Female 73%
White 82%
Male 88%
Female 71%
Black 87%
Male 92%
Female 81%

RAPE AND ATTEMPTED RAPE

Total female 8%
White 8 %
Black 11 %

ROBBERY AND ATTEMPTED ROBBERY

Total population 30%
Male 37%
Female 22%

ASSAULT AND ATTEMPTED ASSAULT

Total population 74%
Male 82%
Female 62%

ROBBERY OR ASSAULT, RESULTING IN INJURY

Total population 40%

PERSONAL THEFT, INCLUDING ATTEMPTS

Total population 99%
Male 99%
Female 99%
White 99%
Male 99%
Female 99%
Black 99%
Male 99%
Female 98%

CHANCES OF BEING A CRIME VICTIM DURING REMAINDER OF LIFETIME, BY AGE.

VIOLENT CRIMES, INCLUDING ATTEMPTS: RAPE, ROBBERY AND ASSAULT

CURRENT AGE / %

12 years old 83%
20 years old 72%
30 years old 53%
40 years old 36%
50 years old 22%
60 years old 14%
70 years old 8%

ROBBERY OR ASSAULT, RESULTING IN INJURY

CURRENT AGE / %

12 years old 40%
20 years old 30%
30 years old 19%
40 years old 11%
50 years old 7%
60 years old 4%
70 years old 2%

PERSONAL THEFT, INCLUDING ATTEMPTS

CURRENT AGE

12 years old 99%
20 years old 98%
30 years old 93%
40 years old 82%
50 years old 64%
60 years old 43%
70 years old 24%
(Source: U.S. Department of Justice)

Even if only a 1% ( 1 out of a hundred, most people encounter a 100 people or more a day, whether shopping, at work or on the road) So even a 1% chance you should learn basic safety and take a reality-based seminar. BUT 83%! What do you think? I am a 35 year veteran and master teacher of reality based martial arts after being a former assault victim ( after years of studying the local Karate), as well seen the aftermaths of murder, rapes and assaults as an E.M.T. during the violent 1980's.
I Have since found a system that is very practical, physically and mentally that has accompanied me in violent street encounters, in which me, the intended victim turned the aggressor into the victim.

The moral of this story is to find a reality-based school of defense with a experienced, good teacher. Many functional soft styles exist for elderly or less healthy people. At a minimum, take a intensive, smart safety awareness course that offers practical escapes.

BEFORE YOU DEVOTE YOUR TIME, MONEY and ENERGY TO A MARTIAL ART, PLEASE READ THIS FIRST! >> Buyer Beware http://selfdefensetips.info/buyer-beware

Contact me about any self-defense program and I will be happy to assist you free of charge.

Good luck and have a healthy, safe and victimized-free life!

Matt Plewes
C.A.I. International Director and Founder

Poodwaddle.com