Sunday, October 19, 2008 

Watch Out For Women With Purses! :: Freebies For You

Watch Out For Women With Purses! Many of us have seen the emails that warn women not to park near a van; that your elbow is the strongest part of your body; be aware of your surroundings, etc. These are all valid points. However, when faced with real danger will you remember that email you skimmed last year? Not likely. You need to practice self defense techniques. Why do you think schools have fire drills? Hopefully by walking the children through an actual emergency, they will remember what to do.
Your best defense is to avoid situations of vulnerability. I am always amazed at the number of females walking or jogging alone, both early morning or late at night, when it is dark outside. Or the mother with her baby in her arms, toddler in tow, carrying shopping bags. Her position is screaming, �I am helpless against defending myself at this moment.� Ladies, use a shopping cart or stroller to keep your hands free.
Your Purse Doubles As a Weapon
You have a whole arsenal of items in your purse that can be used to defend yourself, should the occasion arise. Your purse itself can be used as a deterrent. Loop the handle around your wrist so that you have a good grip on it. Not only will this avert any would-be purse snatchers, but you can swing your hand bag around and swat your attacker. We know how heavy our purses can be. This is a perfect impromptu weapon.
Next carry your vehicle door key between your first and second finger. Make a fist around the rest of your keys so that the long skinny part of the key is pointing outward as you walk. You can still open your door holding the key this way. Should someone come up from behind you, you are in a perfect position to jab his eyes with that key.
Get Some Popcorn and Watch Movies
Did you know an ink pen can save your life? If you do not believe me, rent The Borne Identity, with Matt Damon. It is startling how much damage a small thin writing implement can cause. Hold it in your hand as you walk. If need be, jab it into the eyes, the temple, or up the nose. I am telling you, that kind of pain will cause your attacker to back down and will give you a chance to run.
Another good movie to glean some self defense moves is Enough, with Jennifer Lopez. The movie is about a woman with an abusive spouse. She had enough of his abuse, so she learned to defend herself. One key element in her technique is that when her estranged husband took her on, she always, always, had her hands up in front of her midsection, palms facing out. That way she could protect her vital organs but also had her hands in the perfect position to throw jabs. Again, your first instinct should always be to get away. If you are unable to do that, you need to be prepared to defend yourself.
Knowledge Isn�t Enough
Use your purse, watch movies, and then what? You definitely need a little more advice than that, right? Call your local YMCA. Most have self defense classes, martial arts classes or both. Enroll and practice, practice, practice. You cannot learn everything about defending yourself by reading. You need to DO IT. I have been practicing martial arts for years. I often get asked if I have ever had to use my training, �for real.� I am fortunate in that I have not been placed into a situation where I have needed this training. But I now have the confidence that I will not panic. I know that I first must try to get away, and if that does not work, I have a few tricks up my sleeve and am not afraid to use them!

About The Author

Laurie Ayers is a mother, martial artist and ghostwriter from West Michigan. When she�s not parenting or writing, she enjoys practicing Tae Kwon Do and teaching self defense to women. You can learn more about her by visiting www.LaurieAyers.com.
Copyright 2005 All rights reserved.
info@LaurieAyers.com
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No Quick Fix for Oxford Street :: Daily Deal News

No Quick Fix for Oxford Street The latest figures from SPSL's Retail Traffic IndexT (RTIT) show that the historic event designed to revive the fortunes of shops in London's West End last weekend delivered mixed results. Saturday's "Celebrate Oxford Street - Dress to Impress" event did help lift shopper numbers in the Congestion Zone by 10.0% compared to the previous week. And in Oxford Street itself, stores' footfall levels were up by just over 30% against the previous Saturday. However, the year-on-year figures were less flattering and more revealing; in the Congestion Zone shopper numbers were down 12.1% and in Oxford Street itself numbers were down by over 5%.



According to Dr Tim Denison, Director of Knowledge Management at SPSL; "These latest figures demonstrate the size of the challenge facing Oxford Street in 2005. Not even the glitz and glamour of celebrities nor roads closed to traffic could encourage as many shoppers into the West End as there were on a normal Saturday in October just last year.



"Welcome to retailers as they are, promotions and marketing campaigns alone are not going to be sufficient to attract shoppers back permanently to the West End. The issues are more deep-rooted than that. Some of the blame can be attributed to the fallout from 7th July and the general retail slowdown, but certainly not all of it. The downward trend in shopper numbers there was present long before this summer, the terrorist attacks and the Congestion Charge Zone.



Oxford Street and Regent Street used to be a magnet for shoppers worldwide, offering a combination of destination stores, high quality retail environments and exclusive products that couldn't be equalled elsewhere. Today this simply isn't the case and no amount of cosmetic treatment will make it so, as revealed by these figures. The numbers simply vindicate this year's establishment of the West End Company and the urgency of its aim: 'to make the West End a world retail destination'.



Retailers, journalists or analysts wishing to find out more about SPSL's award-winning customer services should contact Dr Denison at SPSL on 01908 265007.



ENDS



ABOUT SPSL



Established in 1989, SPSL is the largest European provider of proprietary tools for high accuracy customer traffic and behavioural analysis deployed by retailers. The company monitors more than 375 million visits to over 1,750 retail premises per annum in the UK alone. Its customers include many of the retail industry's most successful companies across all retail sectors except grocery, convenience and minor retail service sectors. SPSL is trusted by retailers to provide mission-critical Key Performance Indicators to measure customer volume, sales opportunities, conversion rates, staff stretch, promotional activity and in-store lay-outs. Its data features regularly in serious trade and consumer media and it exclusively provides the UK Retail Traffic Weather Map as seen in Retail Week and on the Retail Bulletin website. Director of SPSL, retail psychologist Dr. Tim Denison is a frequent and popular commentator on issues relating to shopping for national and regional broadcast, print and online media.



Using SPSL systems, retailers are able to reliably measure customer traffic flow on an ongoing hour-by-hour basis as well as determine in-store 'weather', assess the impact of marketing initiatives, and tailor staff levels according to customer demand rather than service supply. The company owes its unrivalled reputation and success on the accuracy, dependability and specialist nature of both its data and its support services. It runs its UK and European operations from its head office in Milton Keynes, England and invests heavily in developing advanced behavioural analysis and tracking tools to create ever more beneficial trading results for its customers and ever more enriched shopping experiences for theirs.



ABOUT THE RETAIL TRAFFIC INDEX (RTI)



The RTI from SPSL is regarded as the national benchmark of retail shopper traffic flow. It is constructed using a nationally representative sample of over 375 million visits to over 1,750 retail premises per annum across the UK, excluding the grocery, convenience and minor retail service sectors. For further details and a full explanation see www.customercounting.com.

About the author:

Theo has a vast repertoire of experience from the fast-moving music industry. His love of language, considerable humour and lateral thinking combine to create those crucial elements which add impact to your campaign. He particularly enjoys challenging preconceptions and making complex or technical ideas easy to comprehend.
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