Flashlight For Self Defense With Chad Lyman

What do you think of when you hear the term self defense?  Do you think of martial arts, a concealed carry weapon, throwing punches, or maybe something completely different?  Do you think of your eyes and mouth as self defense tools? Most people probably don’t. I would argue that most people think of violence when they think self defense, when in reality self defense starts first with simple situational awareness.  Simply paying attention to what is going on around you and being away of any potential threats goes a really, really long way. Often times people have heightened situational awareness when they are in areas they don’t know, or that they feel are “scary” but the reality of the situation is that attacks can, and typically do happen in the areas you are most familiar with.  To be clear this by no means means that you should start walking down unknown streets at night time not paying attention, that obviously isn’t a great plan. This does mean that you should make it a point to be equally aware when you are in your normal routine and things seem “normal”.  

Beyond having the ability to utilize situational awareness to see if a threat is truly a threat or not you also have the ability to attempt to deescalate a threat by using your words and body language to calm the person down.  While this may seem ridiculous, it’s absolutely possible for you to do, and in some states it is actually your legal obligation to. Deescalating a bad situation doesn’t make you less savage, alpha, or any other term, it simply makes you a good person who is doing the right thing.  I remember Tom DeBlass posting a video a while back of a guy that got aggressive outside of Walmart and Tom was able to deescalate that situation by talking to the person and using non threatening body language.

The next thing in the line up when it comes to self defense is something many people rarely would ever think of as a self defense tool is a flashlight.  A flashlight can be a very effective tool if used properly. The fact is criminals are looking for easy targets, and typically do not want to be seen. When you use a flashlight along with your situational awareness you create a criminal’s worst nightmare, a situation in which not only do they no longer have the element of surprise, but they you also have the ability to shine, quite literally a spot light on them so that everyone around can also see who the potential threat is.  A flashlight can be used both as a tool to deter an attacker, but also as a tool to strike with if it ever comes to that. Like anything though, the flashlight is only helpful if we know how to use it effectively and have trained with it, and also, have the ability to get to it in a self defense situation.  

Chad Lyman shows us in one of his video clips how to access a flashlight for self defense.  Let’s take a look at his recommendations.  

First and foremost, Chad points out that one of the biggest problems, especially with people who don’t train, is thinking that a tool like a flashlight or weapon is going to magically protect them.  The reality is, especially in a close quarter attack, anything that is on your waist or in your pocket is a secondary tool. In order to get to your flashlight or other weapon during a fight or as a fight first starts you must create either space or a hard angle by moving sharply to one side or the other.  Space can be created multiple different ways during the fight, as Chad shows in this video clip.

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The key take away is that you need to create either space or an angle in order to access your weapon or flashlight so that you are not eating punches or kicks while trying to get your weapon and you’re also not being pressured backward running the risk of running into something and potentially getting hurt worse, or putting yourself in an even worse position.  

At the end of the day we must change our outlook on self defense.  The vast majority of people want to live life believing that if they ever need to fight they will somehow magically just have that skill set.  That is not the case. You are going to do what you are trained to do, and if you aren’t trained then you are likely going to not do anything at all.  Remember that the first goal should be to try to deescalate the situation using body language and talking, however if this does not work, we want to be as prepared for this as possible.  It may be a good idea to carry your flashlight in your hand as you are walking at nighttime as this reduces the amount of time it takes for you to be “battle ready” and essentially gives you immediate access to a tool that can be used for self defense.  

Chad does a great job of showing the reality of what can and likely would happen in a street fight situation.  Chad has the experience of being a Law Enforcement Officer as well as a self defense trainer and Jiu Jitsu black belt.  There is no question he is extremely knowledgeable and has a lot of real world experience to back up his thoughts and recommendations in regards to overall self defense.

 If you are interested in learning more about what it truly takes to be safer in society you must check out Chad’s video instructional titled “Street Fighting Secrets”.  This 4 part series breaks down every aspect of real life self defense scenarios including a deeper dive into weapon systems and when and how to use them.   There is no doubt that this video instructional coupled with your work ethic and commitment to training that you can be much safer out in the world.

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