Background

With today's society becoming increasingly more violent towards women, individuals are seeking means of protecting themselves. This program is designed to give an insight on how to become more defensive in protecting yourself from potential danger. By being physically and mentally ready you can prevent yourself from becoming a victim.

Firsts let's realize a few things. The time of day or locality does not always mean you are safe from harm. Broad daylight in your home can be just as much of a possibility for an assault as walking to your car in the night in some dark place.

Next, rape/assault criminal knows no age difference, physical appearance or race. Anyone can be a victim.

Some situations, of course, are more dangerous than others. What then is the best way to defend yourself from this? AVOIDANCE.

Dangerous Situations

Avoid potentially dangerous situations.

a. Walking alone at night even in neighborhoods considered safe.
b. Riding an empty bus or subway at night alone.
c. HITCHHIKING. This includes accepting rides from both Male and Female.
d. Parking your car where it could be very dark at night.

Defense

There are a few ways that one can defend themselves in a potential assault situation.

a. Try to run. Get out of the area.
b. Try to talk them out of it.
c. Use of force.

Run

The best thing to do is run. When you feel that the chance of an assault could be very possible, run away. If you can get out of the area or away from your assailant, do so. Run into a busy place of business (gas station, store, office building, etc.)

Can you run?

What is it that most women wear to work? Heels. Going to and from work try wearing something that you can run in. Change your shoes at work. If you have to wear heals or shoes try to carry them until you reach your destination. One, you cannot run far or fast in them. Two, by carrying them you have just given yourself a weapon of self-defense.

Talking

The next best thing to try and do is talk them out of it. By staying calm and just talking to them can actually buy you time to think of how you are going to defend yourself. It may make them think twice and scare them off in fear of being caught. It can buy you time until someone happens along. In other words, sometimes rational, calm thinking can save you from the assault.

Defending Yourself

The final thing you can do is defend yourself. Why would this be the last resort? The reason is because the majority of the time the assailant is bigger and stronger. So if you are able to prevent the assault by the other means that means the risk of bodily harm is reduced.

Car Jacking

If someone tries to force you into your car DO NOT get into the car with them. IF they do get you into the car then run into a wall, parking meter anything you can to bring attention to what is going on. If the assailant / has you in your car once he gets you to a remote location he will probably NOT let you live. If your children are in the back seat ensure you have gone over a plan way before you ever get caught in this situation so that they know to jump out and run also. Keeping your children prepared now can prevent them from also being a victim in the future.

So how do you keep it from happening?

• Look around on your way to your car for anyone following you or watching you!
• Accidentally hit your panic alarm as you get close to your car.. (everyone will look your way)
• Always lock your car before you go anywhere - NEVER LEAVE YOUR CAR UNLOCKED EVEN FOR A MINUTE
• Check your back seat before you get in the car
• DRIVE WITH YOUR DOOR LOCKED!
• Never stop for an unmarked police car.. Call 911 and validate a police officer is pulling you over! Drive to the nearest police station.
• Don't use your cell phone on the way to your car! This will distract you and make you an easy target!
• Make sure you move quickly to get your groceries or bags into your car then get in and LOCK the doors.
• Park near lights and close to the exit of the store if you can. Try not leave alone at night and if you can have a security guard or some escort you if it is a place of work.

How should a woman defend herself will be covered a little later, firsts let's look at RAPE.

About Rape!

Probably one of the most feared words in the female's vocabulary. It doesn't have to happen. Awareness and common safety practices can keep you from becoming a victim.

The Basic 4 Types of Rape

Date Rape (One of the most common)


This usually occurs at the conclusion of a date, where the man feels he should get more than just a kiss for the privilege of his company.

Social Rape


This one is referred to when a teenage girl gets raped. It is usually caused by a boyfriend who wants more than a kiss or heavy petting. The problem is during the teenage years the sexual drive is active. The teenage girl doesn't fully understand the changes going on. The teenage boy who has been through all the stages of kissing, fondling and sometimes oral sex now wants more. They often play on the emotions by saying "you owe it to me" or "how long do you expect for me to wait". The female is given an ultimatum and now feels responsible.

Acquaintance Rape (The most common)


Simple, this is caused by someone the victim knows. It can be a boyfriend, husband, co-worker, boss, etc ...

Stranger Rape (The least common)


This is the most dangerous of all rapes. This is because you cannot anticipate or avoid this type of rape. The rapist is very ruthless and unpredictable. It usually occurs when the women is caught off guard, alone and unaware.

Types of Rapists

Acquaintance Rapist


The most common rapist, they are the ones the female usually knows. It can be the husband, boss, co-worker, etc... This rapist admits to hearing the women saying no, however presumes she didn't really mean it and that afterwards she'll be grateful sex was forced on her.

Social Rapist


This is the rapist who plays on a females emotions by making her feel she was responsible for the way things turned out. The she teased him into this sexual state.

Non-sadistic Rapist


This rapist is the type that feels all women will turn him down. He has false beliefs that the female actually has feeling for him and desires having sex with him. He usually believes that everything will be all right afterwards.

Opportunistic Rapist


This form of rapist never plans out his rape, however if the opportunity arises, they will take advantage of it.

Power Rapist


Uses his strength to control and force a women into sexual intercourse. The more a victim resists, the more he enjoys it.

Sadistic Rapist


Often commits the Stranger Rape. This rapist is very unpredictable and enjoys the pleasure from the fear and pain of his victims. This rapist is usually full of hate and wants to degrade females by hurting, brutalizing and dehumanizing them. Normally, they randomly select their victims, to them the age, looks, race or size doesn't matter. This rapist has no remorse in killing his victims.

Anger Rapist


This is the one rapist who is very dangerous. He is usually angry at the world and will attack women and men. He derives great pleasure in hurting his victims physically. He is impulsive and probably has a criminal record. He does not care about the victims and has no feelings, period. He commonly kills his victims if he can.

False Thinking

Let's put to rest some false thinking.

"She provoked it by the way she dressed." Wrong.
"She actually enjoyed it and really wants to be raped." Wrong.
"She could have resisted more, therefore didn't really mind." Wrong.
"A rapist is a real stud, He-man." Wrong.
"All men are potential rapists." Wrong.

The Clothes you wear

Rape is nothing more than a violent crime committed toward women in order to degrade, dehumanize and often brutalize them. It does not matter to the rapist what she is wearing, her age, her ethnic background, her height, her weight or anything else. Rapist feed on their power over their victim NOT what she is wearing! It has nothing to do with how she is dressed.

She enjoyed it!

Sex is enjoyable. Rape is a violent crime where the victim suffers not only during but for sometime afterwards and in some cases for the rest of their life.

Click on the photo for technique details. Attack in the Park!

Resistance

Most victims do fight back and are often severely beaten for resisting more than they probably should have. Saying that one could have fought back more when fear is controlling the body is ridicules. People can literally be frozen with fear. It is also a tough call to make that decision when one should fight back. Each situation is different. In some cases the rapist may feed on the resistance and it is more dangerous to try to fight back and in other cases they may be planing on killing the victim and one will not survive unless they fight back. The only thing I can say is in either case it is not how hard you fight back or if you fight back but if you survive.

He-man

A rapist is usually around the ages of eighteen to thirty. More than likely the rapists will be unmarried, unskilled and of low intelligence. He normally has a low income job of sorts and is unsure of his masculinity.

A normal, healthy male wants normal, healthy sexual gratification. Where a rapist is seeking violent controlling power over their victim.

Prevention through Awareness, Preparation & Confidence

How do you prevent yourselves from being a victim?

By being aware, prepared and confident.

Awareness

Be aware and alert of your surroundings of the people around you. Don't be daydreaming or falling asleep. This doesn't mean you have to walk around in total fear. Stay calm and just be aware.

Preparation

Be prepared both physically and mentally. Try to stay physically fit. You need the physical endurance to fight off an attack. Dress appropriately. Wear things that you would be able to defend yourself in. Stay mentally alert, think about you would do if a certain situation came up. Have your purse ready, you may have to use it or items inside it, so know the items inside and what could possibly be used as a weapon, and how you could best use those items.

• Comb - use to attack the eyes, face or throat
• Brush - jab at the eyes, throat and groin area
• Keys - stab the eyes and throat
• Pen or pencil - use for jabbing or stabbing the face/back of hands
• Hair spray (breath spray) - spray into eyes
• Whistle (not worn around the neck) - to draw attention
• Pepper Spray is not a common item but is something you may want to invest in. (check local Laws in your area)

Confidence

How do we gain the confidence we need? Being able to defend yourself will make you confident.

The next would be knowing some defensive techniques to help fend off would be attackers. Since most attackers feel that women are defenseless it will catch them off guard when you go into a defensive response and give you one of the most advantageous elements -- SURPRISE. This in itself can at times make the attacker flee. Not wanting to have to fight his victim, he would rather go off and find an easier target. Before you can fight there are a few things you need to know.

Vulnerable Attack Points

Let's talk about key vulnerable attack points. Down the middle of everybody's body, front and back, you will find the most vulnerable points. The less vulnerable points being to the outside of the body.

Starting from the top we have:

The Front



• The Hair - Pull or Jerk it
• Temples - Punch or Strike
• Eyes - Jab, Gouge, Scratch or Punch
• Nose - Strike, Punch or Bite
• Lips - Pinch, Twist, Rip, Bite or Punch
• Ears - Bite or Pop
• Chin - Strike
• Mastoid Process - Jab, Poke or Lift
• Throat - Jab, Spear, Punch or Grab
• Clavicle - Strike
• Armpit - Pinch, Twist or Strike
• Solar Plexus - Punch or Strike
• Floating Ribs - Punch or Strike
• Groin - Kick, Punch, Strike, Grab or Pull
• Wrist - Twist or Strike
• Fingers - Pull, Bite or Twist
• Inner Thigh - Pinch, Twist or Kick
• Knee - Kick or Stomp
• Shins - Kick, Stomp or Scrape
• Instep - Stomp

The Back



• Base of Skull - Strike
• Neck - Strike, Punch or Bite
• Shoulder - Strike, Twist or Bite
• Elbow - Strike or Twist
• Back of Hand - Punch, Strike or Bite
• Kidneys - Punch or Kick
• Tail bone - Kick
• Achilles Tendon - Kick or Stomp
• Back of Knee - Kick

There are all kinds of places to attack. Let's look at the weapons we have:

• Forehead
• Base of Skull
• Hand - Front Fist
• Back Fist
• Bottom Fist
• Knife Edge
• Knuckles
• Palm Heel
• Fingers (to include fingernails)
• Foot - Side of Foot
• Ball of Foot
• Heel of Foot
• Top of Foot
• Knees
• Elbows

Defending Yourself

So as you can see you are not as defenseless as it seems.

Let's begin with the way you stand to defend yourself. This is the first important thing you need to know.

• The Front Stance
• The Side Stance
• Ground Position

Here is the proper placement in Hand Strikes.

• Front Fist (shown below)

  
  

  Back Fist

  Ridge Hand (shown below)

  

  Knife Edge (shown below)

  

  Knuckle Strikes

  Palm Heel (shown below>

  

  Spear Hand

Proper placement of the Foot Strikes.

Side of Foot
Ball of Foot
Heel of Foot
Top of Foot

The 4 R's.

In self-defense there are 4 important things to remember. Let's call them the 4-R's.

React: Reacting to the sudden assault by attacking the assailants vulnerable point.

Release: Techniques used to break free or escape.

Retaliate: Once you have escaped, apply a technique to a vulnerable point.

Run: Once you have disable to assailant "Run." Do not give them a second chance to grab you.

Let's ATTACK the situation!

Techniques in Punching or Striking:

Straight Punch
Underhand Punch
Backfist Punch
Hammer Smash
Ridge hand Strike
Knife hand Strike
Palm Heel Strike
Spear hand Strike
Knuckles Strike


Techniques in Kicking:

Front Snap Kick (shown below)



Top of Foot Snap Kick (shown below)



Side Snap Kick (shown below)



Back Kick

Heel Stomp (shown below)



Roundhouse Kick

Techniques against a grab or hold:

Against Chokes (click on the picture below to see detailed pictures and explanations)



Against Wrist Grabs (click on the picture below to see detailed pictures and explanations)



Against Bear Hugs (click on the picture below to see detailed pictures and explanations)



Against Head Locks (click on the picture below to see detailed pictures and explanations)



Now let's defend from the ground

How to fall (click on the picture below to see detailed pictures and explanations)



Falling Forward

If you are being pushed from behind and having to fall forward the best way to handle the situation is to do a forward shoulder roll and come back up on your feet. (photos will be added in the future)

Falling Backward

If you are pushed from the front you can fall be doing a backward shoulder roll and come directly up to your feet.(photos will be added in the future)

Proper ground defense position



Ensure when your on the ground that one leg is up to kick and the other leg is on the ground so that you can move around to keep your feet toward your attacker.

Kicks to knees or groin



Remember to use that your legs to kick your attacker away. Kick the knees or kick the groin from the ground until you can find that opportunity to escape.

Defense against someone being on top



When an attacker is directly on top of you holding down the wrists the one of the ways to remove the attacker is to first push directly up. Use your chest, shoulder and arm muscles to push up. Once the arms are pushing upward and the attacker is pushing back downward bring your arms directly down to your sides and at the same time push the attacker with one knee as hard as you can. (notice the legs of the defender in the picture. They are bent and feet are on the floor at the start.) As the attacker falls forward slide out, get up and run.

Knife Techniques

Techniques against a knife attack

It should always be remembered that an assault with a weapon is the deadliest assaults. In most circumstances always do what they want. You should only defend if it looks like your life could be threatened.

When defending yourself against a knife attack remembers that you will probably get cut. Why is this so important? If you believe that you can't be cut, that you are too good, when you do get cut it will cause you to freeze that one split moment. The one split moment that can cost you your life. However if you know and believe that you will probably get cut when it happens you will continue to fight without freezing.

(click on the picture below to see detailed pictures and explanations)



Awareness

Final key reminders in awareness for both women and children:

• Remain alert
• Never walk alone at night
• Wear items that you can defend yourself in
• Never take a bus or cab alone at night
• Single women should try to get an apartment that is not on the first floor
• Have a dog for a pet if it is at all possible
• Remember items in your purse that can be used as weapons
• Never accept rides from people you don't know
• If going to a party, know your drinking capacity
• If a car stops by you and they ask for directions, stand far enough back to avoid being pulled into vehicle
• Be careful who you let into your home
• Meet "blind" dates at a social function or a friends house
• Don't hang around the laundry room
• Have a light and radio/TV playing in another room
• Keep your curtains closed and don't dress in front of a window
• Don't advertise that your living alone
• Never let your husband or boyfriend beat you more than once
• Encourage them to seek help
• Don't ever blame yourself for being battered
• If you feel threaten leave the house
• Seek help for yourself if you are battered
• Teach your child to use the phone for 911 calls
• Get to know your child's friends
• A child should never except money or gifts from a stranger
• Teach your child not to allow anyone to touch or caress their private parts and to tell you if someone has
• Teach your child to tell you if someone exposes themselves indecently to them
• Teach your child not to cut through alleys or isolated lots
• Don't let your child play outside alone at night

There are so many other things that can be covered. The bottom line to all of this is to avoid becoming a victim by being aware of your surroundings and being mentally and physically ready.

Be Safe!