Practice In A Safe Area Until You Build Up Your Skills: Fill & Download for Free

Guess what? I had the same question a few months ago and now I am the VPE (Vice-President of Education) of a Toastmasters Club in my area!I'm a shy introvert person, too. I didn't "get better" because shyness is not a condition from which one can recover, but Toastmasters made me figured out a few ways to challenge myself to overcome my fear of public speaking.First of all, everyone wants to see you do well at Toastmasters. No one laughs. No one points at you. They want you to grow and succeed.Each meeting, everyone welcomes you with a friendly face. It's a safe, positive and encouraging environment.Another great thing about Toastmasters is that you can move at your own pace. You don't have to make speeches or participate in discussions until you are ready.Practice makes better. Public speaking is a skill that takes time, effort and repetition. The Toastmasters programme works to build up your confidence through repetition and positive feedback.There are a lot of shy people in Toastmasters. So, there is a mutual understanding of what you are going through. Did you know that some of the best speakers in the world are shy and introvert? Check The power of introverts by Susan Cain, for example.Finally, I urge anyone who believes that a little more confidence would do them good to visit a Toastmasters club.Why don't you click the red "find a club near you" button at Toastmasters.org and give it a try? You have all to gain and very little to lose.Speak up & good luck!

How do I stop panic braking on a Royal Enfield Classic?Ah, yes - the dangers of ABS and other three-letter abbreviations…ABS and co are brilliant features and have saved more lives than I care to count, but they work best if the driver of the car or the rider of the bike learns how to brake and swerve without these features. Then these features offer additional value on top of the driver/rider’s skill.I’ve never owned a bike with ABS. I’m more into 1980–1990s bikes - all with shaft drives, but they are all pre-ABS. I commute about 50 KM each way to work, usually on one of these bikes, and I regularly have to slam the brakes on on the motorway due to careless drivers, trucks losing parts of their load, etc.Here are a few tips:We don’t “panic brake”. We brake really really hard to stop a quickly as possible. But if you are “panic braking”, then you’ll have trouble controlling the process. Panic is by its very nature out of control.Practice braking hard in a place where it is safe to do so (like a company parking area on the weekend, when no-one is using it). And repeat this from time to time. When practicing, make sure you have plenty of space (and protective gear on, in case you drop the bike and yourself). Accelerate to about 50 Km/h, and then try to stop as hard as you can. Try this with the rear brake only - you’ll find that you skid and slither quite a long way until you stop. S’okay. Just stay upright. Now try the same with just the front brake. You’ll wobble, but get a feel for each brake. And then combine the two. You should be aiming for about 2/3 braking power on the front brake and 1/3 on the rear brake - because if the rear wheel locks, it won’t really help you slow down much. If you’re worried, start by doing the above from 30 Km/h, then 40 Km/h, before going to 50 Km/h.Try this a few times, building up your braking confidence. It’s a fun thing to do with friends who also have bikes. You’ll be surprised how fast and hard you can brake if you have the confidence to do so.Ride safely!

The first and foremost thing I tell everyone I love and everyone of my friends, AVOID THE SITUATION, if at all possible. The best self defense whether you are carrying a firearm, taser, OC spray (Pepper spray) or even bare hand combatives. Avoiding a situation even if you are armed, trained and equipped to handle most situations. All it takes is one split second of bad luck and a blade can end up in your stomach, a bullet in your chest or a bad fall that could cripple or kill you. The best defense is carrying yourself with awareness, confidence and the ability to defend yourself if you are attacked. Number 1 is always to avoid a confrontation. Top tier Special Operations Forces guys can handle most any situation stateside or overseas with training and practicing until they can't get it wrong. They still avoid a conflict with a criminal by awareness of the situation.To avoid a situation if at all possibly, you need to have SITUATIONAL AWARENESS. This is a skill that takes refining and can be done every single day in every aspect of your life. This becomes 2nd nature and becomes part of your life without it becoming a hindrance. This is an awareness of everything around you. Good example of this is if you notice something dangerous like a down wire along the path you're walking, a person who stands out from the environment like wearing a heavier jacket in warmer weather, or even just something that “feels off" I'll get into that and what “Pre-attack Indicators” are. The biggest things that allow you to avoid a sudden attack or worse is to be aware of your surroundings. Once you are in a situation then your options of fight, flight or freeze are extremely limited. Stay off your phone! If you're walking, on public transit or outside of a relatively secure location then being on your phone is a liability. Same with wearing earbuds when you can't hear someone walking up behind you. Or even not paying attention at a traffic light, you looking down sending a text sets you up for someone to get the drop on you, the distraction can buy time for your attacker to get close enough to draw a gun and steal your car, wallet/purse or sadly even your life. Even most people, if you're not doing this now you absolutely should be. Never take a drink from someone you don't know, never leave your drink unattended and if you're drinking be very very aware that you're with a sober person for your group to stop a predator from taking advantage of your vulnerability which is exactly what all predators do. They look for the unaware. Vulnerable, or weaker physically. .Situational Awareness 101: The First Line of Self DefenseSituational Awareness Training: 14 Ways to Improve Your SABiggest areas you should be aware is areas where you are typically feeling safe. Walking to or from your vehicle. To and from your job, or home and in your vehicle on your way home, to work or in an area you're comfortable with.Also another method of being aware and acting in a situation is called OODA-loop. Observe, orient, decide, act, and repeat. (Loop back to observe your actions and see what effect and repeat until unneeded)This is a good explanation of where training and your bodies physiological responses come in to the environment or attackThis all happens in a matter of seconds to minutes. It is using knowledge you already have, information from the environment, level of training to respond and the lack of force or needed force to slow or change an encounter.One of the things that drives me absolutely crazy is people who don't realize those seemingly innocuous bumper stickers and custom vinyls decals are giving a predator more information about you and your family, home, and other things like are you armed, do you own guns and are you weathly and have toys like dirt bikes, or boats. Criminals look at this and most people don't realize this.This could be used to gain information about you that seem benign but is valuable to a criminal element.Now last but the most important thing related to self defense is if you cannot avoid a confrontation be aware that you may need to meet force of an attack with your own force to repel the attack or deter an attack. You should be proficient with whatever tool you use to defend yourself from pepper spray to a firearm. Practice and practice regularly. Your fine motor skills go to hell under stress and you're working with basic gross motor function. Your hands will be sweaty, your adrenaline will be pumping and you need to think clearly, act rationally and be safe and effective in repelling an attack.If you carry a firearm, or any other tool be able to use these tools while sitting in your car, in your home, or on your back. I would highly recommend scenario based training that puts your body and mind under stress under safe circumstances where your life is not actually in danger but your response is similar to a real situation. This is stress inoculation, it allows you to have more control over your fight, flight or freeze response while under stress. Now most people have heard of fight or flight response but the freeze response is not talked about regularly. This is when your startle response is activated in a violent encounter and you basically put your hands up at chest level, and bend you knees slight and stay where you are. Heart rate spikes, limbs are numb or close, sweating increases, and fine motor function goes to next to zero when you freeze. This is where training and stress inoculation comes into play. It allows you to work through the stress and process the violent encounter and react.Be aware of your surroundings, train with your tools or hands. I would highly recommend that you are training in hand to hand, hand to weapon, weapon to weapon combatives (Krav Maga, BJJ, Systema, and many other combatives) Train regularly with a variety of skills, carry these same tools if legal in your area. Having a less lethal option from OC spray, to taser, as a way to end a dangerous encounter but not a situation that you would want to introduce a firearm to the situation. This would commonly be in a mental health condition of someone in your bubble, but not an immediate life threat. OC spray can also be used for area denial, if you break contact with a group of people who are trying to attack you and run, OC spray can be sprayed behind you denying the area to the attackers if they give chase or at least helping slow them down. Next is training wot a firearm, using your firearm regularly in training, using snap caps to train in draw practice with your firearm (NO LIVE AMMO IN THE AREA OF PRACTICE, TRIPLE CHECK THIS) This is where you can practice your draw in a vehicle, in less than ideal conditions or body positions like on your back or side. Practice loading. Clearing a malfunction, or even clearing clothing. ALL of these skills gives you a tiered approach to self defense and your options are wider than only one tool or skill. If possible take classes in low light, no light. Pistol, rifle and shotgun depending on if you're interested in a different tool for self defense at home or on body. Depending on the level you want to take your skills to you can look into courses that use Simunition or paint marking rounds fired from an actual firearm. So feel and function is correct. Or even an evasive driving class that allows you to handle your vehicle in a dangerous encounter while safely escaping an escalating situation. This is by far last level training, refine your basics first and if you're still looking to expand your skills this is an option.Last thing that so many miss in self defense from a Violent encounter is that you may be injured or seriously wounded in a struggle. Knowing how to use a tourniquet, stop a bleed, sucking chest wound or maintaining an airway and preventing hypothermia/shock. Stop The Bleed is the bare basics. TCCC courses are scenario based trainings that allow you to get hands on experience treating a wounded person under stress. Some companies use live fire allowing you to practice engaging a threat, bolstering your firearm and then rendering aid to an injured person. I would recommend carrying a Tourniquet (CoTCCC recommended) on body EDC, as well as a a basic pocket trauma kit that includes gauze, chest seals, pressure dressing, and Gloves. I personally never leave the house without a basic pocket trauma kit. This is 50 state legal and legal to carry in schools, federal buildings, and other places where weapons are highly restricted. Medical basics allow you to stay alive until more advanced medical care can arrive. This is extremely important because an arterial bleed can cause severe blood loss that could be fatal in 90 seconds for a femoral artery wound, and under 5 mins from a brachial artery bleed. A hole in you or someone you loves chest cavity can cause severe stress on the heart and veins in your neck leading to death. Using a vented chest seal can stop these effects and slow the process of filling the chest with air. Vented allows air to escape while you are sealing the vent on the inhale. Please carry medical and get trained. This could save the lives of you or the people around you. This isn't a perfect fix but buys you time to stay alive until EMS arrives and gets you to a surgeon. Odds of needing medical supplies may be even higher than a firearm since household and car accidents can cause serious injuries. These basics can help you until the next level of care is on site.Same as self defense, medical and awareness, you are your own first responder.