Part of our martial arts training is situational awareness; the need to be aware of your surroundings, always alert for potential danger. This mental preparation helps us avoid being mugged on the street while we're out minding our own business.
Here are some freezing weather scenarios that could make you an easier target for a street attack, and some self-defense tips you can apply, from head to toe, to overcome them.
Head
In freezing weather, you're probably trying to preserve body heat by wearing a heavy knit hat or ear muffs that cover your ears. Combine that cover with the sound of the whipping wind, recognize that you can't hear as well. A stalker or would-be attacker will be able to get closer to you before you hear him.
DEFENSE: Since you can't hear as well as usual, keep your head up and make sure you're looking around and over your shoulder.
Neck
Wearing a scarf? I bet you are. That's a Christmas gift for a mugger. An exposed handful of scarf can become a choke collar in an instant.
DEFENSE: Wear the scarf, but make sure it's tucked inside your coat. Don't give anyone anything to grab.
Shoulders
You know that thing we do when we walk in freezing weather? The hunchback thing? That's our body's natural instinct to keep the heat from escaping from our neck. Our shoulders stay in a near-constant shrug, as if trying to reach up to our ears in order to crawl inside them.
That behavior also forces our head and eyes down, and tucks our chin into our chest. That's not a bad posture when in the midst of a fight. But it's a horrible posture when you're about to get in a fight with one or more people -- and you're the only one who doesn't know it yet.
DEFENSE: Same tactic as the ear muff defense. Keep your head on swivel mode. Eyes up. Keep looking around. Swivel left. Swivel right. Like a person using a metal detector on the beach.
Hands
Wearing gloves or mittens is fine, necessary even, in freezing weather. With your hands buried in your pockets you set yourself up as an easy target for an attacker savvy enough to pin your hands in place. And before you can say "groin strike" you'll be face down on the ground sucking pavement without benefit of a straw.
DEFENSE: Say it with me: "I will k-k-keep m-m-my hands out of my p-p-pockets." Instead, clap your hands together and clench and unclench your fists. That will increase the blood circulation in your hands, which will warm them up. And your hands will be out and ready to block a punch, break a choke, throw a hand spear into an eye gouge, or an open palm strike to the bad guy's nose.
Feet
Along with freezing weather comes snow and ice. And slush. And frozen slush. And snow banks. It's not easy to navigate this tundra in dressy, delicate shoes. It's sometimes hard to even stand up straight, so what if a few would-be attackers chase you? All of these obstacles keep you from sprinting away from danger like the track star that you are.
DEFENSE: Wear the shoes you need to wear. Don't be the weak gazelle in the pack. If the weather is harsh, dress to deal with it. If that means boots of some type, then so be it. Wear something sturdy enough to ground yourself, kick, or run.
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