You work at night a lot. You know someone who has been assaulted. You took some self defense classes as a teenager but its been years so now you are finding ways to start practicing again. Here are the top five self-defense moves you should consider mixing into your routine. These come from my 30+ years training martial arts, my own experiences and having spoken to numerous women on the subject and taken into account what their experience has been like. 1. Front Kick Simple, easy, and straight forward. Seeing as how your lower body is more powerful than your upper, its a very effective move. Also a great one if your hands are full. Target anywhere below the belt. God forbid you are wearing heels or boots. When practicing this, bring the knee up towards the target then let the foot fly while driving it with your hips. You've done this before. Don't forget about keeping your hands inside your shoulders but not crossed. 2. Palm Strikes Remember these? Why do you want to close your fist up and possibly break it when you can hit really hard with your palm? One of those across the jawline and it's going to rattle the person's brain. Smash the palm into the nose and it will get very hard for the other person to see and breathe. Some of the other ways to use it that you learned back in those courses are going to be really effective, too, but could lead to court and trauma, so I hope you practice them but keep them as a last resort. 3. Using Everyday Objects Learn to use what is on your person or around you! The old key in your knuckles like claws isn't the most effective choice. They get wobbly and you'll do yourself a lot of damage. There are other ways to use keys. A writing pen is is something you might have on you throughout your day and can be stabby. Former Mecklenburg County, NC Sheriff, Irwin Carmichael, recommends carrying a "tactical" pen at all times. And pens can go anywhere! Learning to use your scarf, USB cable, or purse straps are other options. 4. Presence Ok, this isn't a "move" per se but this is really important. It's like you've been told - don't hold yourself like a target. Make yourself BIG. My friend Carol says this is how she was taught to drive back hyenas when in the bush while in Africa, and has worked for her on creepos in parking lots at night. It definitely gets people to reconsider you as an easy target. A part of this is eye contact. Learn to watch peoples eyes. Not only can eye contact intimidate but you can also begin to read a persons mind from it. The other part is carrying your "BIG". It's as much mental as it is physical. 5. Looking Around Last but definitely not least, always notice what is going on around you. You know not to be head down on your phone while walking around or even on the train. You also know that tuning the world out with music makes it hard to hear what's coming, so I want you to keep your head on a swivel. You don't have to be paranoid or scared, but I want you to be aware. Look out for distortions in space and time. In other words, notice when the movements and flow around you aren't right. Notice where your exits are. Motorcyclists and bicyclists use this a lot. They are always looking to have two or more points of escape at any moment and I think you should, too. These are the five essential self defense moves that I think will help you. I know some of this isn't new but I hope that this does help you stay safe and continue to have a happy and wonderful life. I believe that these things ought to be practiced some so there is some muscle memory. It's up to you to mix that into your routine. How to do that may be another blog post in the future. Write to me and tell me what YOU think is something I left off.