Summer Safety as Self-Defense!

Summer is here, and with it a host of fun activities that, if we are not careful, can injure us or even cost us our lives. It's not always the mugger in a dark alley that we have to worry about, so in this brief blog entry, I challenge you to look at self-defense and safety from a totally different point of view – one that has nothing to do with punching and kicking!

On April 12, New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine was nearly killed in a traffic accident when his official SUV crashed into a guard rail. Corzine suffered a broken leg, a broken sternum, 12 broken ribs, a head cut, and a fracture of one of his vertebrae.

If you live in or travel through Boston's Allston neighborhood — as I do — then you've probably heard about the recent tragic death of Kelly Wallace. Kelly was killed on May 6 while riding her bike at the intersection of Harvard and Cambridge Streets. I drive past Kelly's makeshift memorial every day, and it breaks my heart.

If you're a New England Patriots fan, no doubt you've heard of the tragic jet-ski accident that resulted in the May 29 drowning death of defensive lineman Marquise Hill.

The self-defense lessons are clear:

• If you drive, please wear your seatbelt.
• If you ride a bike, please wear your helmet.
• If you enjoy water sports, please wear a life jacket.

Beyond the examples above, here's a short list of things to help keep you safe this summer:

• Use caution around grills and barbecue pits
• Wear sunscreen
• Use insect repellant to protect yourself from disease-carrying mosquitoes
• Wear appropriate protective gloves, eyewear, and footwear while working in your yard and garden
• Know and heed the signs of dehydration, heat exhaustion, and heat stroke
• Attend professional fireworks displays instead of putting on your own backyard show

Want some more tips? Check out these safety pages from the American Red Cross and the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Stay safe and have fun!

Sensei J.

Running Smart and Safe

Spring is here, and many of you have dusted off your running shoes and taken to the city's roads and trails to get back in shape, and even train for the Boston Marathon. I thought I'd take this opportunity to provide some general information on RUNNING SAFETY.

Here are some simple tips from the Road Runners Club of America:

1. Write down or leave word of the direction of your run.
2. Tell friends and family of your favorite running routes
3. Don't wear a headset while running.
4. Always run with a partner.
5. Run in familiar areas, and avoid areas that are unpopulated.
6. Cary identification with you (name, telephone number, blood type) on the inside sole of your running shoe.
7. Run against traffic.
8. Wear reflective material if you run at dusk or at night.
9. Carry a whistle or other noisemaker.
10. Consider carrying a cell phone. Do not hesitate to call 911 if you feel unsafe.

In doing research for this posting, I found a wonderful website called Run The Planet. In addition to being a great resource for runners of all levels of experience, they have entire sections of their site that are dedicated to running safety and self-defense for runners. Please be sure to check it out!

Please contact me with any questions you may have about this information.

Stay safe!
Sensei Gould

Reducing the Risk of Substance-Related Rape

In light of the spotlight on date-rape awareness in the Allston-Brighton Tab, I have added information on “Reducing the Risk of Substance-Related Rape” to this blog. I hope that many will find it informative and useful. The information below can be found on many rape crisis support sites on the Internet. I first came across it in the form of a handout that was provided to the participants of a R.A.D. (Rape Aggression Defense) training session I was helping to run. I provide this and other materials as handouts during the self-defense classes that I conduct in Boston.

Stay safe,
Sensei Jason Gould

Reducing the Risk of Substance-Related Rape

Substance-related rape has been occurring more frequently in recent years. Although the often-tasteless drugs are hard to detect, there are precautionary steps one can take to reduce the risk of becoming prey to this criminal conduct.

• Do not leave beverages unattended.
• Do not take any beverages, including alcohol, from someone you do not trust or know well.
• At a party or social gathering, accept drinks only from the server.
• At parties, do not accept open-container drinks from anyone.
• Be alert to the behavior of friends. Anyone appearing disproportionately inebriated in relation to the amount of alcohol they have consumed may be in danger.
• Share this information with friends and talk about ways to look out for each other at parties and social events.
• Anyone who believes they have consumed a sedative-like substance should be driven to a hospital emergency room or should call 911 for an ambulance. Try to keep a sample of the beverage for analysis.

Actions to Take if You Think You Have Been Drugged and Sexually Assaulted

If you feel dizzy, confused or have other sudden, unexplained symptoms after drinking a beverage, call a friend, a Student Affairs Staff member, your RA, Public Safety, or the police, or 911 for help in getting to a hospital. Here are the steps you should take:

• Get to a safe place and call a rape crisis center for information or support.
• Determine whether or not to report the incident to the police. If there is any chance you do want to report the assault, you should not shower, bathe, douche, change clothes or straighten up the area until medical and legal evidence is collected because these actions will destroy evidence.
• If you want to report the incident, first call the police and then go to the hospital and have the medical evidence collected.
• Go to a hospital, clinic or private doctor for treatment of external and/or internal injuries, tests for pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, and support services.
• Request a urine test to detect the presence of sedating substances as quickly as possible. Every hour matters. Chances of getting proof are best when the sample is obtained soon after the substance has been ingested, but the test can be reliable even on a sample obtained 72 hours later. The test is free, and can be requested by law enforcement officers, rape crisis centers and hospital emergency departments.