When you face a life-threatening event, will you be prepared?

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pulpbat - croppedOne night, just after midnight, I was walking from Clovelly corner to Kalk Bay on my own. No cars were on the main road. No one else was walking at that time in the darkness. I had walked this walk many times before and never felt afraid.

I sensed someone was behind me. I glanced over my shoulder and saw a young man with blonde hair coming towards me with a baseball bat. As he struck with his baseball bat, I turned around and raised my arm in defence. This move prevented the blow from smashing into my skull. I told the young man to leave me alone and go home. Something seemed to change in him and he ran away back towards Clovelly.

It’s interesting because I recognised this young man from many years back. He had been the youngest son of a family who had lived in Clovelly. It was difficult for me to do anything about it because it was only him and me. There were no witnesses. That was my reasoning. I was only too happy to be alive. But if this sort of thing had happened to me today I would have reported it to the police, no matter there being no witnesses.

In that moment when I turned around, realised what was happening and moved my body and arms into a defensive position I had done it instinctively. But had I? It had been part of the training I had received from Peter Brandon in the disused and re-converted Olympia bioscope building, which Peter and his brother, Trevor, used for training us youngsters in Kalk Bay. Even though I had one of the lower karate belts, the self-defence training that Peter and Trevor had given us stayed with me and saved my life that night.

Behind the need to protect oneself and stand up against criminals and thugs was an old karate master living up in the flats behind Kalk Bay. He is name was Dougie and when I was young he got me interested in karate, showing us youngsters Bruce Lee movies and demonstrating some unusual animal and insect karate moves. Dougie was a fisherman on the Kalk Bay boats and despite his humble place in life taught us teenagers respect, honesty and self belief.

That was a long time ago but it’s a lesson about being prepared, even though you have a small amount of training, it is important in life, especially when you are threatened. In these economic times you might find that your life is threatened financially. You’ll probably know enough to pull yourself out of immediate danger, drawing on your instinctual creative mechanism. To increase your creative capability and capacity, you might need further support in the form of “Breakthrough Ideas”, a resource that will help you better respond to life’s challenges and open possibilities that you seek.basebbas

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