Worst Womens Self Defense Advice
After the abduction in Cleveland of Three Girls, the media was filled with self-defense advice. Inside Edition, on TV offered the worst, when their resident self-defense expert advised women to drop to the ground and start kicking if attacked.
Dropping to the ground is terrible advice. Apparently, some experts who subscribe to Martial Arts Mastery agree. Read their comments below:
Thank you so much for being the first piece of media I have seen that is trying to undo the damage done by this stupid and potentially deadly advice. I have heard about this advice, and seen it all week. Dozens of people have come up and asked my opinion of this advice. After all they can’t put it on TV, especially the news if it’s not true (right).
I have told every person that my opinion is going to the ground in an attack is not self defense, it is self defeat. Its giving up. In our self defense seminars on campuses we always tell women and men. If attacked go for the eyes, the face or the groin and then run! If you arent trained to fight then get the heck out of there as fast as possible. Try to disable the attacker long enough to get out of their grasp, scream and run. I was asked once what punch or kick to use. I said flail! Keys, shoes whatever, your job is to get away. Period.
Great response Kip, I hope you and the family are doing better and that things have settled down. We may finally be sing spring here.
Ben Frazer
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Dennis backed his letter with bulleted points of logic:
Jikes, dangerous advice indeed.
I can come up with at least the following dangers/disadvantages (besides not being able to run away):
– If you manage to land a kick, you might not have enough time to run away since you’ll have to stand up first.
– Stomping danger (especially against multiple attackers)
– Attacker has time to grab a weapon (knife, gun, stick) if he steps out of range of your legs
– Attacker can stomp on your ankles/feet, while staying pretty much out of range of your legs
But if you do end up on your back, using the legs seems to have some advantages compared to using the arms:
– You can reach the attacker with your legs, but he/she can not reach you with the arms
– Helps creating distance between you and the attacker (push yourself away from the attacker with the legs)
– Hopefully destroys the ankles of your attacker, which might give you an edge when you manage to run away
– For woman (and some men) in heels: the pointy heels are nice weapons
Kind regards,
Dennis Luitwieler
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JA SON
Nice article this week. I too am sometimes discusted with the news aka the doom channel. Wouldn’t it be nice if there were a news organization that only shared story of “good” or happy endings of overcoming challenges.
Anyway, I totally agree with you. The last place I want to be is on my back while someone is over top of me smashing my face in or worse a weapon involved.
Jason elliott
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David Union
Agree totally
This has always been a big issue with me with the ‘Brazilian JJ’ style ‘groundfighting’.
They advocate going to the ground *on purpose* rather than traditional JJ which is
about getting the OTHER guy on the ground and locked while you are NOT still on
the ground, while being able to fight on the ground if, and only if, you need to.
…So you can leave or be ready while his 5 buddies come after you with a chair.
BJJ was developed for ‘one on one matches’. They are really tough matches, but it doesn’t
cover the real world where people have 5 friends, where there is glass on the floor… etc,
where injuring the OTHER guy can get you in more trouble than getting beat up and the
best strategy if it’s available is to get away.
Go to the ground and kick *does* work against your brother trying to
poke you in play-fighting, and *might* hold off a single would-be attacker for a
minute or two in case someone happens to come and actually help in that short
a time.
But as a strategy… ?
Cliff diving onto concrete for the thrill of it is a strategy also. It will work. You’ll
feel the thrill. Briefly.
-Dave
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