He Who fights and runs away,lives to fight another day.
Self defence
Picture the scene : a young woman is walking to her car in a multi-storey car park late at night . Suddenly , a man jumps out at her from behind a column . She performs some fancy moves,Kicks him where it hurts and while he’s on the floor she jumps into her car and drivers away unharmed.
Well, that’s how they do it in films. Unfortunately, the reality might be something quite different. When the girl tries to kick the bad guy, he grabs her and pulls her off balance and now she’s on the floor, defenceless, with nowhere to run.
This little scenario should serve to teach you three very important things: real life is nothing like in films; never walk alone at night, whether you are a man or a woman; and, most importantly, use your brain and not your body to defend yourself against an attacker.
Staying safe is all about not putting yourself in a potentially dangerous situation. Avoid a potential attack before it happens by using your common sense. This means don’t go out alone at night, stay in well-lit areas, make sure someone always knows where you are ,be aware of your surroundings at all times, walk with confidence and carry a mobile phone with you at all times. Basically, don’t make yourself a target. Attackers look for people who are vulnerable.
If you do find yourself in a dangerous situation where you are being threatened, try and diffuse it. That is , try not to make the situation worse by getting angry or trying to fight. The best defence is to remove yourself completely from the situation. Calmly walk away if you can but if you feel you have to run away , then that’s what you should do , as fast as you can .
If all else fails and physical force is your only choice, then you must fight back. However , the only way to do this effectively is to use the moves you have learnt in a self-dence class. A good self-defence instructor will teach you how to escape an attacker’s grasp and how to disable or distract him long enough for you to escape.
Ask at your local police station, community centre or YMCA centre for details of your nearest class.