are (some) self-defence videos for women a crock of ****

[traceyracer]

Think of the billion-pound dieting industry, so many diets but so many are poor ones devised by someone who wants to exploit people wanting to diet and to make a quick buck.

is it the same with self-defence techniques supposed to help women if attacked by a man?

In this video two MMA guys try out some of these techniques and found that they just won't work against someone who really is going to resistant and who wants to hurt you.

are some of these videos just out to make money and to exploit women's need to feel safe? the danger here is if you learn a bunch of useless techniques that could actually put you in danger if you ever tried to use them.

In case anyone wants to check their area. My nearest is hour+ away.

britishkravmagaassociation.co.uk/schools.html

Woohoo, there's a class really near me, and on a night I could go (if I could work out what to do with the small child...)

I’ve done some krav maga

Had to stop when I got pregnant but it was great

All sorts of reasons but let’s just say it helped me get over my anxiety after having been street attacked

To my surprise and pleasure I learned that my instinctive reaction had actually been the right one - I played along with him, let him lead me down towards an alley a bit, gathered my wits and then exploded at him : really let rip, kneed him in the balls, elbowed him in the ribs, screamed like a banshee and did not stop, then ran like hell

I haven’t worn heels since that night

I was lucky

Took me years to get back to “normal” and my life changed forever in that moment and I hate that ... but that’s how it is

My take on it all for street attacks -

Situational awareness - I’d taken a shortcut down a quiet dark street . Krav teacher’s take - “I’m ex military and 6 foot and I don’t walk down dark streets . Best self defence Is not to be there“

Good footwear - as per above. Again I was bloody lucky as I was able to “play along” with him till I got close enough to a bar I knew I could run to (I’m not fit)

Element of surprise & play dirty - Krav training uses guards and pads so that you can train as “realistically” as possible. Crucially , they try and create situations where you are attacked unawares to get you used to that initial “shock” of being violated (and I say that deliberately, because any attack is to me a violation of my boundaries which in a civilised society I used to take for granted were safe in public.. that was a big shock, I just was so ...ANGRY that some bastard dared try that... and I honestly do not wish to minimise anyone else’s experience, please take this in good faith). For example you are blindfolded and the other group members take turns to approach you from different directions so you don’t know what’s coming next - bloody scary but I found it helpful. Could be triggering though, I had been lucky albeit that I was still scared by it all

Always know your scape routes in any situation eg car park, house party ..

Sorry

And again - I stress that I am not saying any particular reaction is “right” just that for me it was right that night and I had to reframe it as such In order to get over the trauma ... I had to try and reframe the experience with positives

I am by saying anyone else is “wrong” of they react differently

Don’t get me wrong

The Krav teacher also made the point that traditional martial arts risk creating unhelpful habits for real life attack situations in that the rules are that you are “polite” to the opponent and do “set pieces” etc ... whereas in real life , if you land the initial blow you must follow up, keep hitting using whatever you have to hand until they are incapacitated or as close as ...

In my younger days I did taekwondo. Echoing what others have said above the emphasis was always ‘run like the wind’ if attacked. You don’t stand much of a chance if a man has hold of you, the key is to use the skill to briefly disable so you can get away, not kick arse.
However, what it did teach me was how to punch properly. When a large man grabbed me from behind in the street one night and turned me around to face him I was able to punch him very hard in the mouth. He let go long enough for me to run. I don’t have any illusions that I’d have been able to fight him off if he’d had a better grip on me.
At the time I was under seven stone (I was tiny) and he was six two and strong built.

One strike and run, unless you’re a serious pro. I don’t think a short self defence video would be very useful, you need to act reflexively and that takes time and practice.

And again - I stress that I am not saying any particular reaction is “right” just that for me it was right that night and I had to reframe it as such In order to get over the trauma ... I had to try and reframe the experience with positives

I am by saying anyone else is “wrong” of they react differently

I totally get this. My experience of being in "iffy" situations is that instinct takes over. Or a weird mixture of instinct and calculating the odds. I suspect that at some subconscious level we possibly read whether this is a situation where it's safer to fight back or safer to freeze.

Just googled my local krav maga group and it looks, err, more than a bit testosterone laden. Not sure it would be a particularly female-friendly environment.

Bowl, in Krav they try and teach a palm strike - so instead of punching with a fist (risks broken fingers), you try and hit with the heel of your hand outstretched, fingers pointing upwards (so like making a “stop” gesture)

But yes the technique involved in the strike is the same, namely using torque and twisting your torso to get your full weight behind the strike

Fermat - there can be a v male vibe in some groups

Make sure they are properly affiliated to an Israeli entity

And that they have insurance - ask them

And be careful going along to a class in a new area - I was always ready to leave if no other women arrived at a session as it was down in a basement in an old church... I felt reasonably safe but no way was I going to be alone with a bunch of men who could have argued I’d given implied consent to attack me !

It's all above board, I think, part of "British Krav Maga" (the website Mip linked to upthread). At local private school (which I've been round when looking for nurseries for DS many years back!)

Try also

www.kravmaga-ikmf.co.uk/about-krav-maga/grading-system/

scotkravmaga.co.uk/womens-self-defense

fascinated it’s easy to break you hand punching! Krav Maga looks really interesting.

The main down side was the number of bruises I sported

The main down side was the number of bruises I sported

Friends practise several aerial disciplines (a good 3 nights a week) ranging from static and dynamic trapeze; lyra/hoop; silks; vertical gymnastics; rope; flying pole; to nets etc. The extent of the bruising is so impressive that several have had tactful conversation from colleagues delicately probing if there are "any problems at home". [

I've often thought of trying Krav Maga. You just want something effective that's going to disable an attacker quickly rather than spending ages learning lots of fancy moves.

Did 6 years of full contact competitive Judo. Frequently have people (men and women) saying oh yeah so Magpie is a badass, teach us your ways if we get mugged.

All I can say is I might as well know how fast a car is going before it hits me. If anyone wants to overpower me, save literally my grandmother, they could. I've fought and trained with men well over twice my size - it's not a toughness issue (ok, I could be tougher, I always could be) - but you start at a disadvantage, and there's only so much you can do. I mean it when I say it's sobering to be yanked about by children. I am relatively strong for my size and reasonably skilled prepubescent boys could beat me up, not to mention untrained grown men.

This isn't to say that a highly trained and skilled small woman could hold her own against the average man - it's about being realistic about the fact you start from a lower bell curve. What we were always told is don't assume your experience in full contact sparring will save you because there's that danger that you'd try to take someone on, when really you should just give them your shit and leg it...

HAVING SAID THAT the physical aspect of being fitter, and confidence that that gives you, is not to be sneezed at. I at least hope there's a higher chance that I'd just scrap like hell and dissuade the less persistent, but I stress I've never been in the situation. I just don't know what I'd do and I think it's too common for someone to say 'well you should have just done this' to a woman who needs support at a difficult time. Perhaps it's a bit of a just world thing?

So in short I'd recommend exercise, any exercise at all, and pick a sport you enjoy first and foremost, because the best workout is the one you do. If you specifically are picking between martial arts/combat sports, again consistency is your friend. The fact that I spent a huge amount of time actually physically scrapping in Judo recommends it to me, but I would prioritise 'the sport you actually do' above all else. There's no point us arguing about 'which one is better' if you hate one of them so much you can't bring yourself to do it!

(Anyway, the best one without question is running-fu)

I know a karate instructor who is ridiculously tough (you'd think he could handle anyone) but he always tells everyone that the best form of self defence is to do an impression of the Road Runner.

My husband used to be the suited-up-fake-attacker for women’s self defence classes (some years ago now). His general advice is something like, head butt to nose, knee in balls, fingers in eyes, elbows in ribs (whichever of these you can physical reach to do) and then run like clappers (into the light) and don’t look backwards.