For about one year, there was a man who was always standing outside my office building when I’d arrive at work. It looked as if he was waiting for me but I just ignored him, telling myself it was silly to be scared since he never spoke to me or even approached me. Then one morning, he came up to me in the lobby of the building and asked to buy me a cup of coffee. When I declined his invitation he got angry and began to insist, saying things like, “Come with me. You have to talk to me.” Though he was eventually escorted out by the building’s security officers, the incident shook me up.
A week after the verbal attack, I heard that this man had gone to different floors in the building describing my appearance and asking for me by name, leaving only when threatened by security officers. I already had taken the Introductory Workshop and thought that was all I’d ever need. But after ignoring my fear long enough, I decided I really needed to know how to protect myself in case this guy escalated.
He approached me again a few months later as I was getting out of a cab. I saw him step toward me but by this time I had taken the IMPACT Basics 20 hour training and I was ready. I put my hands up in the READY position and tried to step around him to get to the deli, but he grabbed my right arm very tight and tried to pull me with him. Instinctively, I yelled, “NO” in a voice that surprised me with its power. Then I did eye strikes, strikes to his stomach and, when he leaned forward in pain, I repeatedly did knee to the head until he lay still against a car.
I moved back and yelled ASSESS (a technique from Basics designed to refocus and evaluate if the threat is still a concern), my hands still in the protective stance, my eyes on him in case he moved, and then, when I was sure I was safe, I picked up my bags and went into the deli. It all happened so fast. I just responded to the situation and it wasn’t until a woman approached me and asked, “What does this “ASSESS” mean?” that I realized how thoroughly IMPACT Basics had really PREPARE’D me!
P.S. That woman has since taken the Introductory Workshop.
L.Y., Basics Graduate