Inspired by Gus’s recent story about his daughter avoiding a potentially dangerous situation, I felt compelled to share a similar experience involving my own daughter.
A few years ago, while she was an undergraduate at a Midwest Big 10 university, she agreed—mostly to humor me—to take a basic two-hour private self-defense lesson taught by Gus. She enjoyed the session but didn’t give it much thought afterward.
Months later, that brief training may have made all the difference.
One day, while walking alone in the campus downtown area, she noticed a middle-aged man walking past her in the opposite direction. Shortly after they passed, she sensed something was off—her “Spidey sense,” as Gus had described it, kicked in. The man had turned around and was now walking behind her, gradually and slowly closing the distance.
Instead of panicking, she acted quickly and wisely. She sped up to join a nearby group of students walking ahead—people she didn’t know, but whose presence offered a sense of safety. She stayed close with the group for a few blocks, the man still trailing behind. At a street corner, when an opportunity presented itself, she quietly slipped away down a different crowded street. Looking back, now walking with another group, she saw the man continue following the original group, seemingly unaware she had left.
To this day, we don’t know what the man’s true intentions were. Maybe he meant no harm. But as her parent, I’m grateful my daughter trusted her instincts and acted. Now, she did not need to deploy pepper spray, have to de-escalate a conflict, or go “hands-on” with self-defense techniques. But her decision to quietly blend in with another group may have prevented something dangerous.
My message to fellow parents: give your children even the most basic self-protection knowledge and tools. Teach them to listen to that internal warning system and be cautious—without living in fear. In today’s world, that awareness might make all the difference. And finally, as a fellow father, thank you Gus for imparting your words of wisdom.
