Diamond Defense Podcast: Ep. 01 – Awareness

In our debut episode, we dive straight into the power of awareness and storytelling with a compelling feature of Aniko’s journey. She shares how real-life experiences with danger shaped her instincts and approach to staying safe, proving that our greatest challenges often teach us the most important lessons.

Co-hosts Lisa and Kellie also explore what makes self-defense so much more than just techniques — it’s about confidence, community, and trusting your gut. Plus, you’ll get a sneak peek at Diamond Defense’s new short film, “Three Things,” on female self-defense, along with actionable tips to stay ready and aware in your own life.

Don’t miss this unforgettable story and the lessons it brings. Listen now!

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Show Notes
Co-Host and Co-Producer: Lisa
Co-Host and Co-Producer: Kellie

Guest Storyteller
Aniko

Special Thanks
Aniko, Ann Cobb, Karen Kilgariff, Georgia Hardstark, Kelley Ogden

Music
Music courtesy of Melodie Music.
Melodie Music Subscription: Pro Plan, Lifetime

Title: Fighter; Composers: Klotz Christina Elyse Panchal
https://melod.ie/browse#download-track/3300

Title: Restless Quarantine; Composers: Kop Jan P Pieter
https://melod.ie/library#download-track/2858

Sound Effects
SoundSnap (pro subscription)

💎Discover more at https://diamonddefense.com/

Transcript

Theme Music

I am a fighter. Checking my armor. I'm marching onward. Hey Hey.

Aniko 

I went out to my car, and all of a sudden behind me was a man with a knife. And I just froze and he said to me, “I don't want to hurt you, give me all your money.” And I had not a penny on me.

Kellie 

Hey there, have you ever had that gut feeling when something just felt off? Maybe you couldn't explain it, but you knew you had to move, you had to act or change course. Welcome to the Diamond Defense Podcast, a show about how women protect themselves, trust their instincts and move through the world with strength.

Lisa 

We're going to talk about real strategies, tactics, and techniques to protect ourselves from being targeted or becoming victimized and defense strategies for what to do if that does happen. These are for those pivotal moments when what we do and how we react to situations can either put us at risk or help keep us safe. We've got to be our own heroes out there. We're going to talk about the basics. We're going to start there. Um, things like awareness, getting really good at paying attention to our surroundings and noticing things so that we stand a better chance at increasing our reaction time to a threat. We're gonna talk about confidence because predators are cowards and they're always looking for an easy target. How do we portray confidence in a way that says, “Fuck off, I'm not going to be the easy target you're looking for.” And we're going to talk about destination, how making the decision to walk or move with a pace and a purpose like you know exactly where you're going, even if you don't, can help keep you safer.

Kellie 

In each episode, we sit down with a woman who's had one of those, this doesn't feel right moments, and she shares her story with us and with you. Then we break it down with expert insight, self-defense strategies, and honest reflection on what it means to stay aware, prepared, and powerful. And who are we anyways? I'm Kellie, co-host and passionate storyteller, and our resident self-defense expert… that would be my friend and co-host Lisa. Lisa, give us the deets on why you're my go-to for self-defense.

Lisa 

Thank you, Kellie. And you know, you're my go-to for all things storytelling, but I'm happy to be here for the self-defense portion. I've been teaching self-defense for over 20 years, and I'm certified in the RAD system, which is Rape Aggression Defense. It's a practical real-world training program built specifically for women. And I'm also a Hapkido martial artist. So, I do have a toolkit of self-defense, physical defense techniques. Um, but what I also have is kind of a front-row seat to hearing women's stories. Uh, I hear survivor stories every single time I teach. The near misses, the close calls, the something didn't feel right moments, the I had to be my own hero moments, the I had to trust my instincts, uh, moments. I've heard it all. And what I've learned through hearing all those stories is that storytelling is a kind of defense. When we say things out loud. When we share what happened and how we responded, we don't just process it ourselves. We get to pass it on. We get to equip the next person. Those stories that get told in my classes sometimes end up being some of the most impactful teaching moments of the class for all of us.

Kellie 

Which brings us right to the heart of the show. You'll hear a story each episode, raw and real, and then we'll talk through what was at play. Instincts, awareness, environment, choices. And together we'll find the takeaways you can carry with you. And listeners, you have to know, our first three episodes are inspired by the short film, I've seen It, it's called “Three Things,” produced by Lisa's company, Diamond Defense. The film explores the three key themes in self-defense that we've mentioned, awareness, confidence, and destination. So, you'll hear us talk a little about how those ideas shaped the film and how they show up in the stories we share. And we'll talk about a whole lot more throughout the series.

Lisa 

We're going to talk about a little bit of everything, whether you're walking through a parking lot, whether you're meeting someone new or you're just trying to figure out how to listen to your gut a little bit more. Our goal is to help you feel more prepared, more confident, and more in control of your own personal safety. And you know, as much as we can on a podcast, we're also going to get into some basic physical defense options that you have at your disposal to help keep you safe. And that voice you heard at the top. That was Aniko, our first storyteller. You're going to hear more from her throughout this episode, just like you will from a new guest in every future show. She's got a powerful story about three moments that shaped how she listens to her instincts and why that matters more now than ever.

Kellie 

Because that's what this podcast is built on. True stories, trusted instincts, and the moments we can all learn from. It's story, strategy, and reflection, and a reminder that staying safe starts with staying connected and rising from the pressure of the world out there.

Lisa 

Right? Because just like diamonds, our strength comes from pressure. We're here to explore all of the things that can make us stronger and help each other be our own heroes out there.

Kellie 

Think about this for just a second… Have you ever had that gut-check moment when you just knew something was off, something was not right? I know I’ve had them. Or… or maybe something happened that completely changed how you handle certain situations. You know, those never-again moments that stick with you, the kind of motivation you'll never forget. We're gonna talk about a lot of those moments on this podcast. And we wanna hear from you, too.

Aniko 

Sometimes, you know, especially as women, we're too kind. And we don't want to hurt people's feelings. And I have actually, like, walked into a store, got that vibe. I don't care what it looks like. I turn around, I walk out, and I leave.

Kellie 

You know that feeling Aniko just described? That little voice that says, “Nope, get out now.” Here's the thing, that kind of instinct isn't magic. It's built experience by experience, one gut check moment at a time. And once you have it, you trust it, you move, you don't apologize for it. Aniko didn't just wake up one day with that awareness. It came from real moments, each one teaching her to listen harder, move smarter, and trust herself without apology. And that's what we're doing here, too. Story by story, lesson by lesson. And throughout the series, Lisa’s here to share the tools and insights that real self-defense is built on. Whether you're building instincts for the first time or sharpening the ones you already trust. Lisa’s here to help you level up. Because nobody's born unbreakable. Strength gets earned the hard way. One moment, one decision, one voice that says, “Not today.” This is how it starts. Here's Aniko’s story.

Aniko 

My name is Aniko and I'm an editorial photographer. I have been doing photography here in Sacramento for about 13 years. So that puts me out there with all kinds of different people and I shoot daily. Um, I lived in L.A. I was in L.A. for very long time, and I had a studio right off of Sunset Boulevard. And I was working late one night, and my husband told me to move my car onto Sunset Boulevard because it was better lit. And you know, I always got the feeling like, you know, I'm cool, I'm okay, you know, pick on me kind of thing and I didn't move my car. And when I left, which was probably after midnight, it was like 12:30 at night, I went out to my car and all of a sudden behind me, was a man with a knife. And I just froze, and he said to me, “I don't want to hurt you, give me all your money.” And I had not a penny on me. And so, I just handed him my purse, and it was a big designer purse. It was a Liz Claiborne, I'll never forget. And, uh, you know, he looked at the purse and thought, oh wow, you know, he really scored. And then I had the keys to my car in my hand. And he said, “Is this your car?” And I couldn't even talk. I just like put my hand out. He took the keys out of my hand. I backed away. 

[car starting sound]

And he drove off with my car. 

[car takes off]

And I was in such shock that when I went back to the studio, I just remember my knees felt like noodles. I collapsed, I fell. And I was literally crawling in the hallway to get to the studio. And I mean, was just like beyond my control. I was in such fear. It was horrible.

Aniko

And that really changed me because all of a sudden, you know, it's sort of like I woke up to the fact that it doesn't matter what I believe in, doesn't matter, you know, my attitude. The thing is, is that there are people out there that do this, you know, that hunt down women and, you know, rob them and hurt them. So anyway, yeah, that was a major wake-up call for me. 

[desert bird screeching]

Aniko

This was out in the high desert, it was out in Lancaster, and it was a Saturday afternoon, and I thought I... And it was very hot, you know, out in the desert, it was like 110. And I decided that I was just gonna walk over to the 7-Eleven and get a Diet Coke. And I am walking down the street, and there's nobody around, and this… this young man is walking towards me, and he's got a sweatshirt and a hoodie on. You know, and I was like thinking, it's 110, who wears a hoodie? You know, who wears a sweatshirt? You know? And when he walked past me, I just thought I'd be really friendly. And I just said, “Hey, how's it going?” And he was surprised that I even said anything to him. But he just kind of like looked at me and then kept walking. The next thing I knew is I was air-bound. And I actually thought that we were having an earthquake.

And what had happened was he had pulled on my purse so hard that it flung me up into the air. And then I fell down. My purse was still hooked onto my shoulder, and he dragged me out into the street. And that's when I realized what was happening. And, you know, and I thought, you know, I got to let this purse go. I'm not going to, you know, put my life in danger, you know, for a purse. And I let it go. He took my purse.

There was a car waiting for him, so this whole thing was planned. They saw me and they chose me and there was nobody around. He got in the car, he took off.

[car taking off]

And my reaction to that was anger. I was really upset. You know, I was just upset about, you know, just being a victim of that kind of crime. And there really wasn't anything I could do. Just pure anger. Pure anger. And you know what? I mean, the other thing that it did was, you know, contributed to me sizing people up. You know, taking a look at people and, you know, maybe, um, you know, going, you know what? I think I'm going to cross the street.

I don't think it would have helped me in that situation, but it kept me more aware and alert and my situation, where I am, how many people there are around me. I mean, you just never know.

It just happened a couple years ago, at the Golden 1. And I have a lot of equipment, so I have two cameras, a lot of lenses. I had a light, I had a stand, I had a tripod. So, I am just packed with all this gear. And I photographed the people, everything turned out really well. And then I was thinking, you know, there's a statue that's a little further down, that… it's by the tunnel that goes into Old Sacramento.

And I thought, okay, I'm gonna go down there and photograph this statue. This was like one o'clock in the afternoon. A lot of people walking around, you know, feeling okay. So, the statue is in front of the tunnel, and I took the photograph and then packed up all my stuff and I'm heading back to my car. And as I'm walking up towards Macy's, I see this young man sitting there making eye contact with me, watching me. And then all of a sudden he got up, and he walked over towards Macy's, but he didn't go into the Macy's regular door that you would enter into the store. He went into this door that was off to the side, and it was like, it surprised me it was even open. But he went in there and then the door closed.

[door slams shut]

And I just thought to myself, that is really weird. I bet he's in there waiting for me to walk by, gonna come up behind me. That's what was going through my mind. And I literally stood there, and I just stood there… and I just waited. And sure enough, the amount of time that it would have taken me to walk up there, he came out. So, when he came out, he kind of like looked startled because he saw that I was still in the exact same spot. That's when I realized he had intentions. And now my dilemma was how am going to get back to my car because I have to go by there. There was no other way for me to get to my car except to pass him. I could go behind me, but I didn't want to go in the tunnel. I just remember going, you know what, I'm just going to stay put. I mean, even if I stand here for five minutes, I'm just gonna stay put. And there was, uh, a guy that was walking by and I just walked up to him, and I started talking to him. And I said, “Hi, you know, I'm a photographer, and I'm new in town, can you tell me about some of the landmarks?” Got into a conversation with a stranger and he walked with me as we walked by this young guy who was staring at me the entire time.

You know, all I can say is that he looked like he had intention. And so, when we walked past him, I turned back, he was still looking at me, and I just knew that I prevented something. I knew that I did. You know, now I just really, really pay attention. And because you never know, you absolutely never know.

The other thing I wanted to, you know, say is that sometimes, you know, especially as women, we're too kind and we don't want to hurt people's feelings. And I have actually like walked into a store, got a bad vibe. I don't care what it looks like. I turn around, I walk out, and I leave. Sometimes you… you just hesitate to do that because, I mean, if I get that vibe, you know what, I don't have to explain myself to anybody. It doesn't feel right. There's a reason why it doesn't feel right. And then it turns into something. Well, I don't assume things. I really, really watch, especially body language. And I just react based on my instinctual, if it's a fear, if it's a vibe. I just react.

You know, even my body language has a lot to do with things, you know, like, just being, you know, not being that timid, but, you know, just like being present. Looking people in the eye, you know, that, you know, that lets somebody know that I'm not just gonna shrink away.

Kellie 

Lisa, we just heard Aniko’s story about her personal safety. And I think that's going to be a favorite segment of every episode is when we invite a guest to come in and share their personal story.

Lisa 

Absolutely. And I think that that is one of the most, uh, important ways that we learn from each other, right? Especially as women, um, because every woman I have taught, every woman I have met ever in my life, they have at least one, two, or more stories about times they felt threatened, um, or had to take action to keep themselves safe in the world. Um, and those are the most important ways that we learn from each other. And I think that it is in terms of having a, um, space here for us to try to figure out how to keep ourselves safer in the world, it's really important to center that on story. And it's really important for us to listen to, to honor our lived experiences and to learn from those. So, I think… I think I'll agree with you. I think that's going to be my favorite segment, too.

Kellie 

From your perspective as a self-defense expert, as somebody who thinks about this professionally, but also just as the person you are, what key factors in the story that Aniko told us stand out as examples of… of effective awareness?

Lisa 

Well, I think, you know, there's a lot in… in… there's little something in all three of her stories, even though the first two resulted in, you know, loss of property for her, they did not result in loss of life or loss of bodily autonomy. So, the first story she told about being on Sunset Strip and having the man come up behind her with the knife and sort of freezing, you know, handing him the purse, handing him the keys, she survived that because her instincts told her to do that, to hand over the purse, to hand over the keys, and he left. That could have ended much worse for her. And so that was important in that she followed those instincts. Even the second story, when she found herself air-bound because he had pulled her purse so hard, and then to just have that presence of mind to say, if I let the purse go, he's gonna let me go. And so, you know, letting him have it, letting him go on his way. She didn't fight him for the purse because as she said, you know, it's not worth it. But then I think the most impactful was the third story, of course, because the lessons that she learned after those first two experiences influenced her as she was dealing with that situation. And I think especially with situations like she's experienced, there are so many different ways that those experiences that that trauma can live with us, can stay with us, can affect us. And she chose to take lessons from that trauma and do better for herself and learn from those lessons. And so, the fact that the third time she had to deal with that, she was so situationally aware. She was so in touch with her own instincts and that she honored those instincts to a degree that many of us aspire to – I think as women to say, I'm going to trust my gut on this instead of, “Oh, it's probably nothing. I'm probably making too much out of it. Oh, it's probably fine.” When everything in her was telling her this is not fine. And I think the way that that story played through exemplified that it was not fine and that she basically she was her own hero in that story. She kept herself from harm. Obviously, that guy was probably clocking her very expensive equipment, but who knows what he would have done to her to get that from her or just in spite of. And so, I just, really love how aware she was. There's a statistic that I teach that's awareness is 90% of self-defense. Nine times out of 10, if we are aware of our surroundings, we can keep ourselves from becoming victimized in the first place.

Kellie 

More and more people like Aniko are sharing their stories because not, you know, maybe not everybody does have this experience, but maybe somebody's listening to this right now and saying, well, that's never happened to me, but I can learn from this. Like, I want to ask you, Aniko talked about the purse. Like, when he yanked her purse and she was air-bound, are there any best practices on how we should, if we're choose to travel with a purse, how to better protect ourselves from situations like that?

Lisa 

Crossbody is a really secure way to carry a purse. That being said, if somebody is going after your purse, let them fucking have it. 

Kellie

Yeah.

Lisa

It's not worth your life. It's not worth your physical safety. It's not worth an assault. Your purse has things. You're more important.

Kellie 

We have to be aware every single second.

Lisa 

Absolutely. Absolutely. Danger doesn't just come out when the sun goes down.

Kellie 

Based on Aniko’s story and all of your knowledge, what are some practical steps that listeners like, you know, me and everyone else can take to improve their awareness and readiness in their daily lives, no matter where they are, whether there's a tunnel or not?

Lisa 

Obviously just being curious about your surroundings, being curious about who is in your immediate area, what they are doing, keeping out of your own head. And the easiest way to get into our own head these days is to be in our phones. And there's this sort of sense, I think sometimes – I know I had it as a young woman before I learned about self-defense – that if I pretend I don't see him, he won't see me. And that is so false. Ignoring a potential threat and pretending like you don't see it or like you don't know he's there or like you don't know he's watching you or like you don't know that he's standing on the side of the sidewalk and you're about to pass him. Ignoring it does not mean it will ignore you. It is so important not to ignore. It is so important to pull our heads up out of our phones. It is so important to look around to, again, just notice things. Just be curious about the surroundings you're in when you're out in public.

Kellie 

I think that's important. I feel a lot more aware just, I mean, just knowing you personally in my life, but being more aware, but also again, people like Aniko sharing their stories. There's reasons not to, which I honor, but it's so important that when we can share them for other people to go, hey, I've had this experience too and it's okay to react in a way that protects me.

Lisa 

Absolutely. And I think that was a really important aspect of her story, which is the fuck politeness aspect.

[trumpet sound]

Lisa

Quick sidebar, we just want to take a moment to acknowledge that the phrase fuck politeness isn't ours. We wish it was, but it's inspired by the brilliant minds and quick wits of one of our favorite podcasts, “My Favorite Murder.” Karen and Georgia said it best, your safety matters more than someone else's comfort. It's about giving yourself permission to listen to your gut, even if it feels rude. So, we're borrowing it. Loudly and lovingly. Credit where it's due and shout out to them for putting words to what so many of us have felt. Now let's get back to it.

[trumpet sound]

Lisa

I don't fly, as you know. I drive home across the country to see family at least a couple of times a year. And there are men that exist in smaller towns along I-80 that think I am the biggest bitch they have ever met in their lives because they tried to engage me in conversation while I was alone pumping gas in the middle of nowhere. And you might be the nicest person on the face of the Earth. Might have a wonderful conversation with you. But when I am by myself in the middle of nowhere, there is no way in hell I'm going to engage with you in a conversation that could put me at risk. And if that means that you think I'm a bitch and I'm not being polite, okay. Like what, like who cares?

Kellie 

We don't owe anybody politeness–

Lisa

No!

Kellie

At the risk of our personal safety.

Lisa 

That's exactly right. 

Kellie

We don't.

Lisa

Your feelings do not trump my safety.

Kellie 

Hundred percent. And I encourage– this podcast is about, you know, women's safety, but I also encourage share this with the men in your life because the more they're aware of the reactions and the steps we have to take, maybe that'll make them aware of how to approach women if they feel like they have to. 

Lisa

Absolutely.

Kellie

I don't know that you always have to, but maybe they can–. We have a friend, a mutual friend, Joshua, and he told me one time that he's aware of what women have to do to protect themselves. And that when he has been walking down the street and say it's just him and a woman, he's aware enough to know that they may be afraid. So, he crosses the street and doesn't stay behind them just to make them feel safer. So, this is a man in our lives who is aware of what women have to go through to protect themselves. And I think it's more important if we could get more men to have that awareness.

Lisa 

That's right. He's a great ally. You ask a man how many times a day he has to think about his own safety, and you know, you see a little bit of a deer in the headlights. You ask a woman that and she will say multiple times a day, every day. No shade on guys. They just don't know any better. A lot of them. But if you take the time to talk to them, if you take the time to explain... to your husband, to your boyfriend, to your brother, to whoever the men are in your life, to say, you know, if I'm walking down the street and it's dark out and, you know, a man's just walking, you know, 10 steps behind me, there's a fear factor there. And so maybe don't do that to women.

Kellie 

Abso-fucking-lutely don't do that. But let's switch gears to something we should do, which is talk about your new short film. It's called “Three Things.” And your cool factor, Lisa, just keeps getting cooler. My world is shrinking in the best way possible because of you. It's like six degrees of Kevin Bacon, all the cool things I’m learning. Self-defense, content creation, storytelling, thanks to you. So, let's talk about your film, Lisa. I'm so excited.

Film crew sounds

Alright, here we go. And rolling sound. Quiet. Here we go. Ready. Speed. Speeding.

Kellie 

When you were envisioning this film, what was your awareness moment that sparked the idea that you should do something like this film? That there was maybe an information gap that this film could fill? And was there a moment that made you think, universe, this is something I need to create right now. What… what was that like? What was the genesis of this project?

Lisa 

I think the genesis of the project itself was just my frustration, honestly, that there was so much of the curriculum that I was teaching in a… in classes that you don't need to sit in a class to learn. You know, the physical defense techniques have to be taught in class, but there's so much of the stuff that I teach that you don't have to sit in a classroom to learn it. And so, I was talking about that with a millennial friend of mine.

I think I needed a millennial to go, “Hey, why don't you turn this into a film?” Somebody who sort of embraces the ways that new media can reach people. She got me thinking about that and I had never, you know, I'm a theater artist. I had never worked in film before. I've never even really been on a film set. So that was very daunting. And I kind of just put it in my back pocket and went, yeah, wouldn't that be great? But, you know, I don't know how to do that.

And then I had a very, very good friend of mine, his name's Brian, and he's a wonderful ally for women. He's someone who goes out of his way to make sure that the ladies in his life are safe. And so, he had reached out because we had worked on a lot of theater projects together, and he was sort of in a place where he was interested in taking on another project. And he reached out and said, “Hey, if you… if you're working on anything, let me know. I'm interested in… in a project, I'm ready for a project.” And at that time, my wife and I, who had been producing theater via our… our theater company, had stopped because of COVID. We hadn't gotten back into it yet. We weren't really interested in doing that again. And so, kind of like the film idea, I stuck that in my back pocket and went, you know, okay, I'll let you know if anything comes up. And then about three o'clock in the morning, I woke out of a dead sleep.

And those two pieces, one in each pocket, came together in my head and it was sort of a light bulb in the middle of the night. And I just went, Brian and film, these things need to go together because Brian's a film guy. And so, I thought, let me pitch this to him. And I pitched it to him, and he said yes immediately. And so, we just started talking about what that would look like to make a film about women's safety.

And I identified three different areas of curriculum that I have that I thought would suit that medium very well. And the very first one of those things is… actually it's called “Three Things.” And it is a bit of curriculum that teaches us the three things that if we are mindful of when we are out in public, that can help keep us safer 90% of the time. If we are attentive to these three things, nine times out of 10, we don't have to deal with the other stuff. We started there.

Kellie 

In what ways, Lisa, does the film encourage conversations like this about staying aware and prepared? How does awareness play into the film's conversation?

Lisa 

I'll start by naming all three things and then bringing the focus back to the awareness. So that the three things are awareness, confidence, and destination. This first episode is focused on the awareness bit. That's where everything starts, right? Awareness is where every single bit of self-defense begins, whether it is physical self-defense, whether it is mental or emotional self-defense. You know, we have to be aware of the things around us. There's no other mindset to begin talking about keeping ourselves safe than to do it from an awareness mindset.

Kellie 

I am so excited. This is our first episode. And I think the key takeaway from this first inaugural episode is awareness is everything from the film's purpose that you've developed to Aniko's personal story. We really learn and hear how awareness plays a critical role in our personal safety. You know, stay attuned to your environment and pay attention.

Lisa 

It's not just being aware to see a threat coming. It's being aware to see a threat coming with enough time to truly react to it in a way that helps us keep ourselves out of danger. If you see something coming down a mile down the road, you've got a mile to prepare for that and to know how you're going to react to it and to play out the scenario in your head and to tune into your instincts. If you don't see that threat coming until it's five steps in front of you, you don't have time to react to it.

And that's really what predators look for. The more time you have to react, the more likely you are to thwart that attack. The more likely they are to get caught or injured. And predators are cowards. So, they want to catch you off guard. They don't want you to be able to have the time to react, to fight back, to do all of that stuff. That's why awareness is everything. And I just have to say a second piece to the awareness is your instincts. Those go hand in hand. We are so often taught to suppress our instincts about things. You know, we think something might be going on and… and there's this voice in your head that says, “It's probably nothing.” You know, you hear a noise, “Oh, it's probably nothing. Oh, I'm overreacting.” You know, all of those things that we somehow get instilled into our brains.

So, it's easy to ignore our instincts when they come about. Our brains are like, it's like a camera. We have our eyes in the front of our head, just like a camera has a lens. That lens only sees what's in front of that camera. But there's an entire world of 360 degrees that surrounds that camera that the lens doesn't see. And that's where our instincts come in because our brains pick up many more pieces of information about our environment then we can consciously process through our visual cortex. Always trust your gut. Always pay attention to your instincts. If you walk into a room and something feels off or wrong, walk out. So, I think that's just my piece is that like instincts and awareness have to go hand in hand. We have to learn to trust those instincts. We have to give them their proper due and they will always help us with the awareness aspect as well.

Kellie 

That is so important. You're such a good teacher, too, how you hit all the things that we need to know in such a, I think, beautifully and poetic way. It reminded me, because I have the privilege of seeing the short film that you've done. And one of my favorite narration bits in there is, again, cowards. You just mentioned predators are cowards. And I love that you have that aspect in the story of your film. And that really circles everything for me. I really do believe in the power of storytelling, what you've done with the film. What we're doing with this podcast, what we did with inviting Aniko and her telling her story. Because we all connect through storytelling when people like her share their real-life experiences, when we have our conversations in private and storytelling emergence as a vital tool really for raising awareness, for creating communities, sparking conversations, and inspiring some practical steps and tactics toward personal safety. 

Kellie 

You and I have the privilege of coming from a storytelling background, and there is something I really do believe so powerful in sharing our stories and putting the truth out there. So, I really appreciate that you've convened a process and an environment where we're sharing these stories and encouraging other people to share their storytelling.

Lisa 

Well, since the dawn of women, right? Since the dawn of time, we have shared stories in order to learn things from each other. When I'm teaching a class to a group of women and we're going through the risk awareness portion and we're talking about the things that we can do in our daily lives to try and keep ourselves safer, stories always come up because every single woman in every single class I have ever taught has at least one story about a time when she had to consider her safety. And so, when stories come up, there is an energy that happens when you get a group of women in a room together and give them permission to talk about their safety and to tell their stories. An energy unlike anything I've ever experienced in any other part of my life or my career, we want to talk about this. We are hungry to learn from each other. And there is just not an aspect of our daily lives in which we are able to do that, or we generally feel comfortable doing that. So, you know, when I provide that sort of space before that in my classes, it's one of the most productive parts of the class. The amount of things that we learn from each other just by telling our own stories to each other is amazing. And I think that we should do more of that. And I think that it's just an honor to be able to provide some sort of platform to be able to do that and to learn from each other and to help support each other in keeping ourselves safe.

Kellie 

If you're listening, you've heard a story, and we want you to know that your story matters. You have a story, whether you share it globally on a podcast or in a blog or just with a neighbor or a trusted friend or ally, your story does matter. So just remember to keep sharing your stories and live your truth. Be sure to watch the film and follow this podcast for more empowering stories, maybe a story of yours, perhaps... and safety tips and explore the self-defense resources linked in our show notes and on our website. Stay aware. Lisa, final words from you.

Lisa 

I think one of my favorite statistics is that just by thinking about our safety, we are half as likely to become victimized. So, just by tuning into an episode of this podcast, just by sharing a story with a friend about a time you had to think about your safety and then you have a conversation about it, just by thinking about your own safety, you have cut your chances of being victimized in half. I applaud anyone who takes the time out of their daily lives to do that. And I think we just have to continue to help support each other to stay safer.

Kellie 

Thank you for making us all more aware in everything that you do.

Lisa 

Oh, my god, it's a pleasure.

Kellie 

Hey listeners, what are your stories for staying safe?

Lisa 

We want to hear from you. You know, your story could be one that helps someone else stay safe.

Kellie 

In the next episode, we talk about confidence. And confidence isn't always quiet. Sometimes, It roars.

Lisa 

Thanks so much for having your ears on this podcast, everybody. You know we appreciate you so much.

Kellie 

And huzzah, we would love to have more ears, so, please like, share, subscribe wherever you're listening.

Lisa 

Alright, stay safe out there.

Kellie

Watch out for motherfuckers.

Lisa 

And shine on diamonds. 

Theme Music

I am a fighter. Checking my armor. I'm marching onward. Hey Hey.