“Our bodies are not decorations: They are strong; they are powerful, and when violated, they can be deadly” –Geneen Roth, bestselling author

ONE FIGHTING TIP AND ONE PREVENTION TIP

I’m often asked: “What if I don’t have specific training and I’m in a compromised position–such as on  my back, faced with an attacker or sexual predator?”

All is not lost! Remember: YOU ARE THE WEAPON. And this: INTENTION IS THE MOTHER OF TECHNIQUE.

For example, if you’re being pinned and don’t know what to do exactly but you have some range of motion, notably in the hips, and you’ve decided to resist (note: best to choose timing when his hands are occupied or he’s otherwise distracted; but sometimes an attack is BOOM already underway and you have to ‘go NOW”) your goal is to get him off. Of you.

SQUIRM LIKE THE DICKENS! VIOLENTLY & AGGRESSIVELY twist and torque. Bite. Punch. Explode. Be relentless. It won’t be easy; yelling helps. Morph into the unsuspecting wolverine at your attacker’s throat/ face/ nether region. Be the nightmare. Strike. Yank. Rip. Elbow. Smash everything you can.  

If you’re going to flail, do it at one thousand percent to EXPLODE OUT FROM UNDER. Make yourself impossible to contain or to keep pinned. 

The purpose of violently torque-ing underneath his weight is to create a gap, so that you can free your legs/ arms/ hands to deliver effective kicks and strikes – to create escape. Don’t stress about technique. Sometimes going animal IS THE technique and it allows us to then create better openings. 

But if you choose to resist with force, don’t test the water. It’s GO time woman!

And here’s the simplest prevention tip of all. Simple but oft times tainted with undue shame. KILL that shame. Here’s the tip- you already know how to do this :

Walk away. Seriously. If you see trouble coming – be it familial or from a stranger- and you can remove yourself, do it. There’s no shame in that. Don’t merely hope or wait for a person to change their behavior. Self Defense means taking control and ACTING on your own behalf sooner than later.