I studied Tae Kwon Do for 10 years and Aikido for 7. I actually got attacked once, about 18 years ago. I fought the guy off and he ran away. The cop asked for a description; I told him 5'10" and 185 lbs. When the cops caught up with the guy, I went to the cop shop to do the report. The lady cop told me he was actually 6'5" and 225 lbs. I think I dropped his size in my mind so I wouldn't be psyched out.

Martial arts training kept me from freezing and panicking, much more than giving me fancy techniques to use on the guy. It took a long time to get over it, and to this day can't tolerate anyone following me at a close distance.