Self-Defense: Discover Why Your Actions in the First 30 Seconds Will Save Your Life

Self-Defense: Discover Why Your Actions in the First 30 Seconds Will Save Your Life

During times of crisis, it’s inevitable to see crimes increase. These could range from thefts to assaults to looting and much worse. History will show us that whenever there are riots or other dire situations, criminals will grab the chance to create chaos and grab whatever they can.

It’s just common sense to assume that when there’s a natural disaster or other emergency, the criminal elements in society will rear their ugly heads because law enforcement can’t be everywhere.

It’s during times like these that you must be on high alert and ready for anything. In this article, you’ll learn why the first thirty seconds are the most important when it comes to self-defense.

Awareness

There are usually only two ways most attacks occur. Either your assailant takes you completely by surprise and tries to knock you out or they approach you threateningly and demand that you hand them your belongings. The same applies to situations such as house break in's and rapes. It’s always either by surprise or intimidation.

Awareness is extremely important even when you’re not in a crisis situation. If it’s late at night and you’re walking to your car from the mall, you want to be aware of your surroundings.

If you’re a woman, you might even want to have a taser in your jacket pocket with one hand gripping it. This is your 30-second window. It’s not paranoia, but preparation. There’s a saying that when you’re in the woods, it’s better to treat a stick as a snake instead of assuming a snake is a stick.

Being unaware of your surroundings is the biggest mistake you can make. These days, just about everyone’s faces are buried in their smart phones as they walk around oblivious to their environment. You do not have the luxury to do that during tough times.

People who have less than you will want what you’ve got and many of them will have no qualms hurting you to get what they want. Being alert to any possible attack will give you that extra edge.

Readiness

This is the second step. When you’re aware, you must also be mentally ready to react. If you’re a female, you must be instinctively aware of any stranger’s intentions. Trust your gut instinct. The moment you feel uncomfortable, ask them to back off.

If they don’t listen and slowly try to get closer, you MUST hit them with a preemptive strike. This could either be a knee to the groin or using a taser on them. Run off the moment they’re down.

This is your first thirty seconds. Do not try to plead with them or act like a victim. The same applies to men. In the event of an impending assault, you always want to be the first one to strike and run off the first chance you get.

Most people wait too long before taking action. They shout, scream and try talking their way out of the problem failing to realize that they’re giving their attacker time to plan his moves. You want to be fast, determined and unrelenting till you can escape.

Mentality

Developing a survival mentality is crucial to surviving. If someone breaks into your house and you have a firearm, you must be ready to use it… and you must use it fast. Violent situations are highly unpredictable.

During the first thirty seconds, most criminals are disorganized. Even if two people try breaking into your house, they’ll be in a panicky state. If you hesitate to use your firearm, you’ll be giving them time to assess the situation and react.

However, if you immediately fire at one of them, you’ll either take him down and send the other one fleeing or the explosive sound of the gun shot will scare the daylights out of both of them and send them running for the hills.

There is no time to talk during the first thirty seconds. You only have time to react after quickly assessing the threat. If you have children, you must first protect yourself first so that you can protect them better.

Many parents have this false belief that they should sacrifice themselves to protect their kids. This is wrong. Even on an airline, you’re always given instructions to wear the oxygen mask first in an emergency. Now you are in a position to help your children.

Your goal is to ALWAYS survive at all costs. If all you have is a knife, you must be ready to use it. Hesitation can lead to your own death… and this too can happen within the first thirty seconds.

So, be aware of your surroundings, be ready to react instantaneously and have a mindset to survive at all costs. Never give up and never give in.

Eric Dempsey,

MSG, US Army Retired,

MS, Muay Thai Fitness Instructor

Dempseys Resolution Fitness

for

The Chaplain Paul Voorhees Ministry

Are Shrimp, Prawns and Shellfish High in Cholesterol?

Are Shrimp, Prawns and Shellfish High in Cholesterol?
Prawn and shrimp are technically different species. In common usage, the terms are often used interchangeably, although they can also be used to categorize size – shrimp smaller, prawns bigger.

Shrimp makes up a full 25% of the entire seafood consumption in the United States. Prawns and shrimp are also considered delicious seafood items in other countries. Worldwide, shrimp is the most frequently traded seafood, and along with prawns and other types of seafood, delivers a healthy form of protein that is also low in calories.

From a culinary and dietary perspective, and for the purposes of this article, any differences are small enough to be irrelevant. From here on, shrimp also means prawns.

Shellfish are High in Dietary Cholesterol

Shellfish is linked in many people's minds to high cholesterol, so a lot of people avoid it if their cholesterol level is elevated. Is this action justified?

Simply stated, shrimp are high in cholesterol. 100 grams of shrimp yields about 190 mg of cholesterol, more than half the recommended daily allowance. However, blaming shrimp for high cholesterol counts is a very simplistic response, based on a misunderstanding of how we get high cholesterol levels.

Dietary Cholesterol is Not the Same as Blood Cholesterol
Dietary cholesterol is not the same as the cholesterol that is measured in your blood. Most of the cholesterol in your blood in manufactured by the body, and dietary cholesterol is not the biggest factor.

This incorrect cause and effect conclusion is similar to the fat fallacy – for decades we have been led to believe that dietary fat and bodyfat were the same, so to lose weight we had to cut fat from our diet. How’s that working out?

Real science is now showing us that dietary fat is a safe form of energy supply, and simple carbs are most easily converted to bodyfat.

Similarly, if you have problems with high measured cholesterol, a couple of servings of shrimp per week are not the cause of your problem. If any seafood is implicated in raising cholesterol levels, it is far more likely that the true cause lies with the appended sauces and condiments, or the cooking method, rather than the animal itself.

Other Nutritional Benefits

Also, shrimp and other shellfish have other health benefits. While they contain many nutrients and are a good source of protein, they are often unrecognized for their omega 3 fatty acid content. All have a high component, and some species have similar amounts as highly acclaimed oily fish such as tuna and salmon.

Diets high in dietary cholesterol will contribute to high measured cholesterol, but are not the only factor. Gram for gram, shrimp will provide much more nutritional value than the highly-processed ‘foods’ that provide the bulk of many diets, and will contribute much less undesirable LDL cholesterol while doing so.

Part of a Healthy Diet

The key to overall health and well-being is eating a wide variety of healthy foods, and as few processed, fast and fried foods as possible. This means you can enjoy shrimp and other types of seafood, which have notoriously been vilified as cholesterol-boosters, as long as you eat them in moderation and in conjunction with other healthy foods.

Shrimp can be a delicious and nutritious part of your regular diet, especially if you choose broiled or boiled instead of fried. Eat shrimp, as well as other seafood, and you will be unlikely to affect your cholesterol level negatively.

Eric Dempsey

MS, NASM Fitness Nutrition Specialist

Dempseys Resolution Fitness

for

The Chaplain Paul Voorhees Ministry

How to Safeguard Your Valuables in Times of Crisis

How to Safeguard Your Valuables in Times of Crisis

During a time of crisis, more often than not, law enforcement will be extremely busy and unable to uphold the law efficiently. There is just too much happening and not enough officers to handle the chaos.

When the cat is away, the mice will play. Crime will start to skyrocket with more looting, vandalism, thefts, assaults, rapes and worse. This is not a possibility. Itís the norm and you must be ready for it.

During an emergency, such as a hurricane alert where you absolutely must evacuate, chances are youíll leave your home earlier to go somewhere safe. During this time, most other people will be fleeing too and this is an opportunity for criminals to do some brazen last-minute housebreaking and flee with some loot.

In order to prevent your valuables from being stolen, you need to adopt a few measures to safeguard them. It would be a good idea to be prepared well ahead of time instead of scrambling to think of hiding spots at the last minute.

* Safes

If you thought of safes, youíd be absolutely right. These are without a doubt one of the best ways to protect your valuables. During an emergency, fleeing with all your jewelry, cash and other expensive belongings is not a good idea. You may lose them or they may get stolen.

Itís best to leave them in your safe at home. Itís important to note that not all safes are made equal. Do NOT get a small safe that can be easily carried away by 2 or more people. Ideally, your safe should be large, extremely heavy and too cumbersome to move. It would be better if you could anchor it to the ground.

The best kind of safes are expensive, large and placed in a discreet place where the ground can support their weight. Do not use wall safes because the walls can be broken and the safes carted away by thieves.

It is also a good idea to make sure that your safe is fire resistant. There is no point in having a safe that keeps everything intact as it burns to the ground. Pick a safe that has a thick layer of steel.

* Hiding spots

While safes are excellent, the hard truth is that they can be costly. The good safes cost thousands of dollars and if you just don't have the budget to purchase a safe, don't panic. There are several ingenious ways to hide your valuables.

The first thing you should avoid doing is hiding your valuables in the master bedroom. People are creatures of habit and thieves know exactly where to look. Sealing your valuables in an airtight plastic bag and hiding them in the toilet tank is not as uncommon as you think. Thieves know where to look.

Cereal boxes, under the bed, between mattresses, laundry baskets, etc. are all NOT good hiding places. Generally, when someone breaks into your home to rob it, they want to be in and out of there as fast as they can. They will toss just about everything upside down as they quickly grab whatever they think is of value.

To hide your valuables, you need to be creative. If you have an attic or store room where you store all your old stuff, those are some of the best places to hide your valuables. Since there is already so much junk there from old shoes to old clothes, most thieves will assume that there is nothing of value going to be hidden there.

Another good place to hide your valuables are in PVC pipes. You could place all your valuables inside an empty PVC pipe and run it in a place that looks suitable. To the casual observer, it will look like just another water pipe and they will not even notice it.

Another way to hide your valuables is to add them in an empty flower pot and cover it halfway with soil and add a plant in it. Make it all look normal and place it somewhere inside the house that is relatively discreet.

Follow the tips in this article and your belongings will probably be safe even if there is a break-in. Plan in advance and be ready to hide your valuables at a moments notice. Do remember where you hide your precious belongings so that you know where to look when you return.

Eric Dempsey
Master Sergeant, US Army Retired
Dempseys Resolution Fitness

For

The Chaplain Paul Voorhees Ministry


     Get Willy Good Pizza Delivered to Your Home or Workplace

How Pets Can Help With Stress

We all know that pets are awesome. They are much more than animals. They become a part of the family. But we don't really pay attention to just how good pets are for you. Having pets provides you with a lot of emotional benefits beyond just enjoying having a cat or dog. They can also help you to relieve your stress levels and make you feel better and more positive on a daily basis. Consider these different ways having pets will help reduce your stress.

You Get Regular Exercise

This is more of a benefit to dogs, but other pets can also help you get exercise. When you have dogs, you need to take them outside to go potty and should preferably take them on at least one longer walk every day. This is really going to help with your overall amount of fitness, which can help reduce stress. Exercise gets your blood pumping and also happens to release endorphins, which are the happy chemicals in your brain. This is why you suddenly feel so much better after a good run. Even if you have cats or rabbits, you can play with them indoors and still get more exercise than you would have otherwise gotten.

They Provide Companionship

Pets will also provide the companionship you might be craving. If you live alone, it can be really hard on the psyche. Even people who don’t like to be in relationships or who tend to keep to themselves still get lonely when they are by themselves all the time. With a pet, you have constant companionship from a pet that is always there willing to offer you cuddles and play time. Different pets will offer different types of companionship, but it doesn’t matter what type of pet you have; having them is a great way to better their lives by giving them a stable home, while they help relieve your stress.

You Practice Responsibility

Having pets will also help you to practice responsibility, which believe it or not, can help with your stress levels. Perhaps you find that you focus so much of your time and energy on work and chores, that you are in need of something else to occupy your time. When there isn’t something that is keeping your mind off your relationship or work stress, it tends to overwhelm you. If you were to have pets, they would take up more of your time in order to take good care of them, so you in turn have more distractions.

Pets Offer Unconditional Love and Acceptance

Some people have emotional stress due to not being in a relationship or not having a lot of family around. If you recently moved across country for a new job, you may really be feeling that loneliness. Perhaps you just broke up with your girlfriend and you find that you are missing someone to love you unconditionally. A pet will always provide acceptance and unconditional love.

If you want to learn more about managing stress, go visit the new ministry page on Managing Stress.

Eric Dempsey

MS, NASM Fitness Nutrition Specialist

Dempseys Resolution Fitness

for

The Chaplain Paul Voorhees Ministry