Someone invading your home is a horrible thing. For most people, their home is their sanctuary. It’s the place where we relax and too often let our guard down, where our children sleep, where our memories (pictures, videos, mementos, valuables) are kept…the place where we are most ourselves. To have a stranger enter, even if it’s just a burglar when no one is home, is a violation of privacy that leaves victims extremely shaken and nervous. Much worse than a burglary is a home invasion, which is generally considered to be unlawful entry into a home while the residents are home, and may involve other crimes such as assault, rape, robbery, and kidnapping. No one likes to think about their home being invaded. No one thinks it will happen to them. The unfortunate truth is that it happens to many people, and having martial arts or self defense training and emergency planning and practice greatly increases a family’s chance of survival. On the news this week is a video of a mother in New Jersey being severely beaten during a home invasion, the whole thing caught on a nanny cam. Although she didn’t resist, she was repeatedly punched, kicked, choked, and thrown down the stairs by the intruder. As a mother, the most heartbreaking thing to me was when she said that she was trying not to scream because if she did her three year old daughter (who was in the room, watching) would also scream and perhaps be beaten or killed as well. The video is difficult to watch, but it is a powerful representation of what can happen during a home invasion. The disturbing reality is that there are people among us who derive perverse satisfaction from physically hurting others and who prey on the weak and the vulnerable. Home invaders are particularly dangerous because in many cases there is no time pressure on the criminal. There’s little likelihood of being interrupted. Theft may be a motivation but violence is often a motivator as well, since a simple burglary when no one is home is less risky. Many of us are vulnerable in our homes because we relax our defenses, believing a locked door will stop a criminal intent on doing harm. Although the Department of Justice and many police departments don’t have specific statistics on violent home invasions, all you have to do is google “recent home invasions in los angeles orange county” to get a sample of what happens very close to us: “Hollywood Hills Home-Invasion Victim Shot,“ “Family Tied up, Beaten in Toluca Lake Home-Invasion Robbery,” “Garden Grove: Man Ties up Resident, Maid, Threatens to Kill,” “Rancho Palos Verdes Family held Captive by Two Men while Home is Ransacked,” and my personal favorite from Anaheim, “72-Year-Old Woman Greets Would-Be Home Invasion Robber with Gunfire.” Home invasions are a personal issue for me, as someone very close to me was violently choked in her bed at 3am during a home invasion a few years ago mere blocks from my house. If you think it won’t happen to you or to someone you love, unfortunately there’s a strong chance that you will be wrong. So what can you do to protect yourself and your family from a home invasion? Getting training in martial arts and/or self defense is always a great place to start. Actual self-defense or Krav Maga training is more specific to home invasion types of attacks, but you can learn very functional techniques in other arts such as kickboxing, Kali, and MMA as long as you understand how they apply (or don’t) in a real-world situation. In addition to martial arts, it’s important to educate yourself about home protection elements such as security systems and other deterrents. Do you have escape plans and evacuation routes, and equally important, have you practiced them with all members of your family? Have you discussed and planned for specific situations or scenarios with everyone in the household? Do you own a gun, and if so, do you know how to use it with regards to your emergency plans? Have you practiced getting to your weapon under different conditions? Once you start to think about all the aspects of protection you will get a better idea of what planning and practice you need. Elite is planning Part 2 of its “Be Your Family’s Bodyguard” seminar series, which will be focused on home invasions. Look for it in the next month or two and please try and attend. You may learn something that will save your life or a loved one’s life. ~Katie Toney
Posted on: Thu, 27 Jun 2013 03:05:48 +0000
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