Hiya! Welcome to a new post by me! As a break from our usually joking and goofy stories, I have a piece of somber and important advice for you that may indeed save your life. And I am 100% serious. 

Going on a date is going out with a stranger. There is no way to avoid this singular fact of dating whether you meet the person online or in person. Intrinsically strangers are an x-factor. Their existence in your life is essentially a gigantic question mark until you know them better. 

And so, protecting yourself, especially if you are a girl is insanely important. And why do I say, girls? Well, as a guy our biggest fear is "Is she going to split the bill?" and as a girl, the biggest fear is you know...the small thing of "Is he going to rape and kill me?" Obvious this is extreme...except that it isn't. There are countless stories I've heard about girls entering into dangerous situations. Though it is rarer for guys, it is still essential for me to impart these pieces of safety advice for everyone. 

Firstly, make sure people know where you are going. It isn't always possible to say who you are going with definitively, but provide a friend with as much information as possible and then inform you're soon to be date who knows even if you do so subtly like, "My friends are excited to hear about how our date goes. I told my friend about how wonderful you are and where we are going, she/he has been curious about it as well. I can't wait to text them the moment I leave to tell them all about it!" This is subtle but effective. If the person has reasons outside of the norm for meeting with you that people know where you are going and who that person is. 

If you are going in someone's car to another location, take a picture of the license plate and text it to a friend. This is pretty straight forward, but it is a way of tracking where you are going and who you are with. 

Update someone during the date. Even if texting is a faux-pas during a date, a quick text to a friend isn't. "My roommate is waiting on a package, and I'm watching the tracking number for her. Give me a sec." You can easily let a friend know everything is a-okay. Make sure people know. 

Protect yourself: Bring mace. I'm not kidding. Just have it. I realize it's one of those things where you seem like you are overreacting, but if someone does want to harm you if they can't see you, they are going to have an incredibly hard time chasing you and holding on. 

The next area is good for general assault and defense techniques, but are easy to put into practice because they require very little combat expertise or training. 

If someone manages to get you into a car and tells you to drive, drive...straight into a wall. Hit the gas as hard as you can and drive into something hard. If they are telling you to drive somewhere, they likely will just kill you at that point. It's better to get injured and have an insurance claim.

Meet in a public place on a first date, don't go over to a person's home. I mean, if you are looking for a one night stand that is indeed your prerogative, but still be aware of the risks. When you go to a person's home, you are going to a location they control. 

If you are a trained martial artist or a person who has never fought ever in your life, I'll tell you the #1 self-defense move in the book, run. Someone can physically not put their hands on you if you are not there. If they have a gun, run in a zig-zag. Unless someone has exceptional shooting experience, it's incredibly hard to hit someone that is moving in any deadly place. The human body releases some hormones during this type of event, and so even if they catch you, you are still going to keep going and won't feel it for a while. Run toward a public place of some sort, preferably large public places like stores or gatherings. If you absolutely must, and you are in a residential area, and there is no one in sight. Break windows of someone's house. People wake up with a start at that and even then, it'll scare your pursuer away when lights turn on. It's easier to explain the broken window and offer to pay it and deal with court issues than it is to deal with being hurt or worse. Vandalism isn't breaking and entering, so it carries a minimal penalty in comparison. Plus, most people aren't going to be thinking about a sobbing woman or man on a porch step.

However, if someone has you physically attack with whatever you can think of the soft spots, eyes, groin, and throat. 

If someone is trying to choke you, which most inexperienced assailants think is how you do it, clamp your chin as tight to your chest as possible and turn your head to the right or left. It is next to impossible to choke someone if you do this, even with them pressing their full body weight on your throat. 

If things go bad, cry for help, but yell fire. It's a pretty well-known one, but people are more prone to help with fire than an assault. But, a person seeing witnesses coming at them, even if they aren't going to physically intercede are a powerful deterrent, even to a gun-wielding individual. 

After any such occurrence, find a place to sit down and call the authorities. When you do, you will begin shaking uncontrollably. The shaking is NOT caused by fear. Fight-or-flight is the cause. Your body is flooded with adrenaline and when it is flooded with adrenaline, you can do a heck of a lot of stuff, like run for miles with no real conditioning for example or how mothers lift cars to save their infants. The after effects though are that your parasympathetic nervous system shuts down the adrenaline when you are no long in fight or flight mode because adrenaline is toxic in large and long-term amounts to you body. The heart and muscles still need time to adjust, plus you tend to be using them beyond standard maximum capacity. So, you shake uncontrollably for a while. Be prepared for this and get yourself in a place where you can safely "Relax" for a bit until the authorities arrive. 

If you did have to defend yourself and the cops arrive, say you want a blanket, and ask to speak with your lawyer before giving them a statement. Explain the situation to the lawyer, and your lawyer will explain the situation to them. It doesn't make you guilty; it makes you smart. 

Finally, use your own judgment. You are how you are for a good reason and don't doubt yourself. Even if you think the person is fantastic or presents as strange, respecting the animal instincts that specifically tell you if something is dangerous are instincts ingrained into the human species for survival reasons. Ignoring them is a risk. Just leave. Don't wait to find out if you are right or wrong. There are tons of people in the world, but only one you.

That's about it. I realize this is a lot of information and you may ask "How did you acquire this?" I read a lot, have 9 years of self-defense training, and my step-father is a lawyer, so there you go. 

Hopefully, this will never be necessary for you, but if it is, I hope it helps. Love and peace. 

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