Dawn Armstrong is the founder of ThinkSafe Seminars in Tucson, Arizona, where she teaches civilian situational awareness, conflict management, travel safety, workplace violence prevention, and basic physical defense. She holds a 4th-degree black belt in Kenpo and is certified as a Situational Awareness Specialist, with additional training through Gavin de Becker and Associates and Vistelar. She works with corporations, organizations, and the public, and also works with 500 Rising, which is why her material sits next to what martial artists already teach on prevention and women’s self-defense.
The second part of our talk with Q&A from my Patrons is here
Summary
Dawn describes ThinkSafe Seminars as a civilian program built so people do not have to learn situational awareness only after something goes wrong. She defines awareness as more than “pay attention”: scanning during transitions, locking the car with the habit she calls close and click, and practicing those habits in daily life so they transfer to work. Wim compares that to driving and parenting. Dawn uses stories to reach people who have never experienced violence, and she separates a knee-jerk reaction from a more thoughtful response. They also cover assertive versus aggressive action, social excuses that let you leave without a scene, and students who jump into heroic action when the setting does not allow it.
The second half is about why people still skip training. Dawn says the general public still treats the material as common sense, while larger organizations are building behavioral threat assessment teams that bring security, HR, and other departments into a single process. They talk about self-presentation, students who dismiss techniques after two months on the mat, the slogan “teach men not to attack women,” and the victim-blaming charge aimed at instructors who teach options. Dawn’s line is that an attack is never the target’s fault and that people still need options. Wim adds agency, insurance-style negligence, and predator timing. They close on concealed carry treated as a complete plan, and Dawn’s classroom question: what are you willing to fight for, from a wallet up to a child in a car or when taken to a second location.
Key takeaways
- Close and click is the model for ThinkSafe habits: get in the car, shut the door, lock it before the phone comes out. The same small transition habits apply when you leave an office or arrive home.
- A reaction is fast and emotional. A response is slower and aimed at ending the problem. Dawn uses a bump-and-insult drill to show how matching tone can start a fight and how a short apology can end it.
- Prepared social exits work when force would be the wrong tool. “I have to use the restroom” or “I need to talk to that person” gets you out of a wine tasting or a rising argument without announcing that you are de-escalating.
- A husband, a security desk, a nearby police station, or a gun does not replace you as the first person who has to act. People who target you wait for the gap: hallway, parking lot, or any moment you are alone.
- Dawn’s planning question is what you will fight for before the moment arrives. Most students will not go to the hospital for a wallet or a car. A child in that car, or being moved to a second location, changes the answer. Figure that out at home, not mid-incident.
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