MYTH : Most assaults are commited by strangers in dark alleys.

FACT : Most Assaults are committed by someone known to the victim.

MYTH : It won,t happen to me.

FACT : One in six women will be a victim of an attempted or completed assault of some kind in their lifetime.

MYTH : Resisting will only make it worse.

FACT : Over 80% of women report that resisting was beneficial with nearly 55% able to escape after fighting back.

Self Defence, Awareness & Prevention

 “Self-defence is what we do to make our lives safer on a daily basis.” It’s about taking control of situations in which you’re to be made a victim - this ranges from comments to physical attack. It’s realising that if someone does not respect your boundaries, you should stop them. There are many different strategies for this - saying something, yelling, leaving, fighting - the important thing is you DO SOMETHING!

Body Language

Staring at the ground, hunched shoulders, hiding your hands in your pockets, making yourself small, carries the message “I’m weak & vulnerable!”

Women get targeted as easy prey, so having strong body language decreases our risk of being messed around. Make eye contact with people in a way that lets them know you’ve seen them. Swing your arms when walking, take up space.

Strong body language not only affects how others see us, it increases our own confidence.

Verbal Strategies

Asserting yourself is an important part of taking control of your life. If some behaviour is making you feel bad, uncomfortable, scared, confront the person. You can

1. Name the behaviour
2. Criticise it
3. Tell them what you want them to do.

“You’re constantly touching me. I don’t like it. Stop it.” Repeat if needed!

This is direct, on-engaging way of establishing what you want:

Self-defence for women & girls

Fighting

If you choose to physically fight, you have to commit 100% and be as fierce as possible. Believing in yourself is an important part of this! Channel the adrenaline rush of fear into anger to make yourself stronger. Strike, don’t wrestle.

Attack the weak parts of the body - any attacker, no matter how big and strong, has these weak spots. SHOUT with each strike.

Targets

• Ears
• Nose
• Eyes
• Throat
• Groin
• Knees
• Top of foot

Strikes

Poke to eyes, knee into groin, stomp to knee, elbow to throat. Also, bringing you knee up will help keep someone off you. A few well-landed strikes will surpise hurt and  surprise the attacker  giving the vital seconds where we can escape and get to safety.

For further information in regards to Ladies & Girls only workshops please contact John Simpson, Complete Krav Maga's Chief Instructor, on 07540 358121