“The voice consists of sounds made by a human being using the vocal folds for talking, reading, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, etc. The human voice is specifically a part of human sound production system, in which the vocal folds (vocal cords) are the primary sound source.” -Wikipedia.

If you find yourself in a situation where applying self-defense techniques are needed, using a strong tone of voice plays a very important role in addition to using your Defensive Tactics. With your voice, you can enable awareness in others, signaling that you are under a threat and your attacker may think twice about his/her actions against you -or even retrieve.

Let’s picture a situation: you are walking and someone is walking towards you and you don’t know that person and you sense something is going to happen to you; by greeting that person and acknowledging him/her a simple “hello” may save you from being attacked. In another situation where you feel threatened where someone grabs, or holds you against your will, by saying something in a firm, loud and strong tone of voice: “get away from me stranger“, “I don’t know you“, “leave me alone“, can be as effective as a punch or a kick.

Your voice: transforms fear into anger, keeps you breathing, signals bystanders you need help, signals your attackers you’re not a victim, and it indicates who the defender is.

Remember to use your Voice as a Weapon as well.