I was walking my dog recently on one of the many wooded trails near my house. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and the sky was an intense Colorado blue. In short, it was a beautiful morning. As I crossed over the bridge from the public area of the park to the more densely wooded part of the trail, I passed a man walking alone. He greeted me, and we walked on in our separate directions. I didn’t think much of him, but out of habit I glanced back. He had turned around about thirty feet away and was walking back towards me.

 I was sure he was a nice, normal man just out for his morning walk, but an unpleasant tingle started at the base of my spine nonetheless. The trail was deserted for as far as I could see, and I was alone but for this man and my large, but mild-mannered dog who was chewing on a flower. I turned my dog around and hotfooted it back to the public area, passing him again on the way. He commented on my dog as we passed.

 Was I being paranoid? Was I being rude? Perhaps, but I decided as I dragged my dog home that being slightly paranoid or appearing slightly rude was worth it if it kept me from being a tagline on the nightly news someday. As a woman in twenty-first century America, my life is abundantly blessed. I enjoy freedoms that women in other countries only dream about. Unfortunately, although my freedom at the moment is guaranteed, my safety as a woman isn’t. One in three women in America will be sexually assaulted in her lifetime. Think of yourself and two female relatives or friends. Statistically, one of you is going down.

 Frightening? It doesn’t have to be. By learning some of the basic principles of self-defense you can take control of your life and your safety whether you’re at home, in the parking lot of the mall, or in the clutches of an attacker.

 There are some very common sense ways to keep yourself safe, things your mom may have drilled into your brain while you were growing up: don’t walk in dark alleys alone, check the backseat of your car before you get in, etc. However, even the best of intentions may not keep you from a dangerous situation, and when you find yourself in that situation your only hope is to be prepared.