Giving The Girls A Fighting Chance
Every picture tells a story.
These series of articles, on Ladies Self-Defence, have been motivated by various approaches to real life situations in the street and, I am quite sure, that many will have read or seen similar defence tactics in other articles on self-defence. Nevertheless, it remains a hard fact that attacks on women are sadly on the increase. Ever aware of their vulnerability, many women are now taking their safety into their own hands - and who can blame them. Each month I will be highlighting some of the main dangers women face out on the streets and how to deal with such a situation, should it ever arise.
The basic age group illustrated, ranges between 16 and 21 - although, by no means are attacks confined to this age group - unfortunately, unless a girl or young woman is STREET-WISE, she would not know how to handle a situation, as far as what to do or say is concerned, if ever confronted by a would-be-attacker. Even when teaching a woman self-defence - no matter how adequate she looks in the gym - an instructor can never be sure how that woman would deal with the reality of being attacked in the street.
Confidence is a key factor. Whilst training in the gym a woman knows she can punch, kick, elbow or knee and achieve success, but willthose same methods work if the attack is for real?
As a Martial Arts Instructor, I have the training and the background knowledge necessary to teach the basics of self-defence, but, to turn round to a woman, after she has completed a 6 month course in self-defence, and say: "Okay, Lady, now you can take care of yourself," would be foolish. I never promise that to anyone, not even myself. It is a very unpredictable world we live in, and the most a woman can do and the most I can teach her, is; to be prepared. Women must become aware of the importance of self-defence and make it part of their everyday lives, just as walking from A to B is part of our everyday lives.
Take the following example: When you get into a car, you put on the seat belt. Why? Well, besides being 'the law', it is also a method of preparing yourself, just incase you have an accident. In the event of a crash, chances are the seat belt would save your life. So, it has become second nature to us all, to put the belt on because we are aware of the dangers. Similarly, women must develop the same heightened awareness about self-defence. Women are aware that Sexual Harassment is an unfortunate part of life and so it follows that they should be prepared.
Women must believe in themselves! Even the Ladies who train in an extremely effective form of Martial Art, when confronted with a would-be assailant, would have to deal with the added shock and panic of an impeding attack. I asked a couple of the girls demonstrating in the photographs how they felt about the self-defence training they were receiving.
"Up until about 3 months ago, I was afraid to walk down the street alone. As I am so small, I feared I would not have the strength to protect myself. So, I started weight training and kick- boxing. It has helped me build up both my body and my confidence. I feel kick-boxing has helped me a great deal. I now think I could handle the situation, if someone much stronger than myself, tried to attack me from behind. When I am in the gym, kicking a bag, I am made to think that it is an attacker. I believe kick-boxing and seIf-defence are essential for all girls. I feel much safer when I am out alone now, although I do try not to be, whenever possible." - Zoe Austin.
"Self-Defence is a very important part of everyday life. When I discovered, I was too scared to go out of my own front door, when it grew dark, I decided to do something about it. I initially started weight training but soon progressed to kick-boxing. Defending myself became I something much more natural, and my confidence simply grew. . However, I am still very aware of being anywhere on my own, but, now I feel that if anything did happen, I would stand a far better chance than ever before." - Caroline Browne.
Training in self-defence varies, depending on the particular Instructors Martial Art background and his, or her own ideas on what will and what won't work. Who can say which method is the best?
I have trained under many top masters, in Europe, the U.S.A, Malaysia - but I find the standards set here in the U.K. have proved an excellent guideline to my own education in self-defence. Every Instructor will have their own methods.
Personally, when I am teaching a student, in self-defence, I like some degree of feedback. I like the student to tell me, how she feels about the instruction she is receiving. Does she feel that particular method or style suits her? Does she feel confident with the techniques she is being taught?
Kung-Fu, Karate, Judo, Aikdo, Ju Jitsu - are all good systems for learning self-defence, but, at the end of the day, when a young lady comes into my gym and says; "I want to learn self-defence," it is up to me, as an Instructor, to decide which of these methods will suit her best. The young lady may have many reasons why she wants to take lessons - perhaps she has had a bad experience on the street or she just wants to be prepared and keep fit. Whatever the reason, it is now the Instructor's responsibility to teach that lady, to the best of his ability, to take care of herself - because neither Instructor nor student, will know when it may be needed to save her life.
So, come on, let's give the girls a fighting chance. Dave Lea, is now teaching kick- boxing as a form of Self-Defence and is instructing Police women from North London. He also instructs courses at some of London's top Modelling Agencies.
