You Must Take a Self Defense Class

I'm pretty suspicious of strangers and try to be aware of my surroundings when I'm alone, but feel that I'm vulnerable when I'm with the kids because they're incredibly distracting.  I've identified several weak points in my routine.  One of them is when I'm loading/unloading the kids from the car.  I have thought through what I can do to minimize exposure, but people with kids know how hard it is to fully control a child's behavior.  So, when a fellow mom at Peanut's school offered a two-hour self defense class at her studio, ATA Martial Arts, I jumped at the chance.  Also, she was generous enough to donate all the fees back to the school.

I've always been into martial arts, so I was really excited to attend and was not the least bit disappointed.  First of all, this mom is a 5th degree black belt and all around bad ass.  Secondly, we learned some real techniques and got to practice them on a couple of her male, black belt students (4th degree and 2nd degree black belts to be exact).  The hands-on practice was invaluable.

Our instructor started off by saying, "get your life in order" so when you have to react, you can focus on fighting for your life.  It's human nature to take an inventory of your life when you're in a life threatening situation.  Now is not the time to think about needing to write your will, forgetting to hug your kids goodbye, or remembering that fight you had with your spouse.  In the few seconds you're taking inventory, you're wasting valuable time that you could use to defend yourself against a perpetrator.

Then, she told us that the first step a criminal takes is a passive interview.  He/she is looking for an easy target; someone who won't fight back, is distracted and alone.  This is an "interview" you want to fail.  The instructor said, even if you're having a bad day, walk with intent, look like you're pissed off instead of sad, and look like you're in control.  Also, don't fall under the social pressure to be kind to everyone.  That last one sounds bad, but I totally got what she was saying.

If you are selected as a victim, here's where the self defense comes into play.  Make that criminal regret he picked you as his candidate.  When you're experiencing fight or flight, for most people, your fine motor skills are out the window, so focus on using your gross motor skills (big muscles).

- Make a fist and pound down on a nose like a hammer.
- Strike someone's neck or throat with your elbow.
- Use your knee to strike the groin.
- Kick at the side of the knees.
- Use your body weight.
- Jab your high heels into the top of the perpetrator's foot.
- Punch the top of the perpetrator's hand as hard as you can.
- Remember wherever the head and neck go, the rest of the body follows.  This goes for you and your opponent.  If someone has you by the hair, grab that hand, move toward them, make the hand flat, and continually hit the top of it so it hurts and they'll let go.  Then, kick and pound on them as best as you can.
- Don't bother hitting the chest and stomach because there's so much muscle and fat there, it won't make as much of an impact as, let's say, the face.

Best areas to strike:
- Eyes
- Nose
- Neck
- Ears
- Shins
- Knees
- Top of hands
- Groin (this area is obvious and most likely protected)

If someone's lunging at you, it's natural to back away, but if you've been selected, you have to fight.  Don't back away because you could fall or back yourself up against a wall, which can be even more dangerous.  It's scary, but step forward, swing for that neck or nose.  Fight, scream, fight, and get yourself out of there.

The other really valuable thing I learned is you have to get over the fact you're going to get cut when you defend yourself against someone with a knife.  A cut on the arm is better than being stabbed in the stomach.

This class was eye opening.  Practicing against these larger men was invaluable because I got to feel how hard I needed to hit to protect myself.  Of course, I'd try hitting harder in a real life situation.  (Let's hope I'm never there.)  These are just my notes so I can remember some of my learnings.  I'd highly recommend everyone (men, women, and kids) take a self defense course every 4-6 months.