The most important facet of defending yourself is being aware of the immediate risks, your surroundings, and who is in them. This is the number one way to defend yourself.
I have my Concealed Carry Permit and more often then not I do carry. I do not want to shoot anyone. But if someone directly threatens my life or the life of those I care about I want to immediately be able to turn the tables and remove the threat.
I think everyone can benefit from some of the ideas of Jeff Cooper(developer of The Modern Technique of the Pistol) He had a readiness code that pretty well describes some levels of awareness, these quotes are from wikipedia(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_...7s_Color_Code).
Quote:
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White - No readiness. The individual's readiness would be white if he were asleep, engrossed in a book, or otherwise without any perception of his surroundings or the movements within them.
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I'm never in this state if I am out and about, only when sleeping and sometimes at home.
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Yellow - General readiness. The individual is aware of his surroundings and monitoring what is happening in those surroundings.
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This means you are aware the world can be a dangerous place and you are aware of your surroundings and the potential risks in them. This would be the state I normally am in, and most people are hopefully in. although I do know people that are just totally oblivious to their surroundings and seem perpetually in white (and no I dont mean gg).
Quote:
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Orange - Specific readiness. The individual is aware of an activity or a person within his surroundings that presents a threat.
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I've noticed a specific potential threat, I'm walking back to my car after visiting the ATM at night and I see someone else in the parking lot approaching me quickly.
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Red - Imminent danger. The individual is aware of an immediate threat which will likely result in the use of deadly force.
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I see the knife in the guys hand, he is a definite threat I pull my gun and if that doesn't immediately cause the guy to no longer be a threat, I eliminate the threat.
I would only ever pull my gun if there was a direct threat to my or my loved ones lives. If I walked outside and saw someone driving away in my car I wouldnt pull my gun and fire down the street. If I opened my front door and saw someone in a ski mask stuffing my dreamcast into a pillowcase I'd close the door, run around the corner of the house and call the cops. I'd even let them leave. Its just stuff thats why I have insurance. The only time I would pull my gun is if the person is a threat to me.
That is what works for me.
I cant tell how anyone else should defend themselves. Its a personal decision having a lot to do with your personal beliefs and comfort zones