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We have found that women are often reluctant to harm an attacker, since they are trained from birth to be demure and submissive. It's not their fault, it's simply society and the media which continue this trend. One major goal of our training is to allow women to find the ability to "flip their switch", and allow themselves to become violent and aggressive. We use many different types of scenarios, which include surprise attacks, defense inside a car, defense from under the bed covers, and the "Pressure Cooker".
The Pressure Cooker drill very closely simulates real life, in that the assailant merely talks to the woman. She must engage him in polite, real-world conversation, all the time positioning herself strategically and being alert for signs of imminent attack. He may continue to talk, and she continues to talk him down and refuse his advances. He may then choose to attack her, or simply walk away. Very much more like real encounters! If all scenarios go: 1. He grabs you 2. You hit him 3. You run away.... this situation does not simulate the way real encounters often happen. The trainee knows exactly what her response will be before the drill starts. In the Pressure Cooker, she must ADAPT her responses to the immediate situation, and deal with the (possibly) bad guy accordingly.
Interestingly (for the black belt who is only afraid of guns), one woman in our class, who was very physically powerful and a good striker, etc. went through the Pressure Cooker drill in this way:
Bad Guy (BG), wearing protective gear, approaches her with polite introduction:
BG: "Hi. I saw you in the restaurant, and was hoping I'd get a chance to introduce myself. I'm Joe. Would you like to have a cup of coffee and talk?"
Woman: "Hello. No thanks, I'm waiting for someone." (backs away slightly to check BG's intentions)
BG: "Aw, come on. Let's have a cup of coffee. I really think you're nice." (he doesn't encroach)
Woman: "I have to get going. My boyfriend's gonna be here soon."
BG: "Oh, well. It was nice to meet you and I hope you have a good evening." (Reaches politely to shake her hand)
Woman: "You have a good one, too!" (Shakes his hand)
BG immediately yanks her in once he has a hold of her hand, and goes to a rear choke position. Woman (remember her strength and skill) freezes for 10 (TEN) seconds out of surprise and then begins to fight back.
Moral of the story: Fighting skill alone is not sufficient to protect a woman from attack. There must be an understanding of fear, psychological factors influencing performance, and a tactical, cunning approach to your environment. This is one reason why 50% of rapes occur in the 15-19 year-old age bracket: these young women have not had the time to have enough real world experience in dealing with emoitional/psychological pressure, and have not developed the same protective instincts as their older peers. We attempt to give young women scenarios in which tactics used by predators are presented, and they can "internalize" their intuition as to their feelings during those scenes. This leads to a better sense of how to handle the "gray-area" encounters, where violence may or may not occur (REAL LIFE). Decision-making and strategy are the pivotal skills when things are more complicated than a dojo-type one-step-sparring scenario.
I hope this has given everyone something to think about. I learn more by reading what is already here, and hope to continue improving our services to our clients by taking your feedback to heart.
I can post a few more drills which work on different psychological/fear systems if there is interest.....
Thanks,
Lee
The Pressure Cooker drill very closely simulates real life, in that the assailant merely talks to the woman. She must engage him in polite, real-world conversation, all the time positioning herself strategically and being alert for signs of imminent attack. He may continue to talk, and she continues to talk him down and refuse his advances. He may then choose to attack her, or simply walk away. Very much more like real encounters! If all scenarios go: 1. He grabs you 2. You hit him 3. You run away.... this situation does not simulate the way real encounters often happen. The trainee knows exactly what her response will be before the drill starts. In the Pressure Cooker, she must ADAPT her responses to the immediate situation, and deal with the (possibly) bad guy accordingly.
Interestingly (for the black belt who is only afraid of guns), one woman in our class, who was very physically powerful and a good striker, etc. went through the Pressure Cooker drill in this way:
Bad Guy (BG), wearing protective gear, approaches her with polite introduction:
BG: "Hi. I saw you in the restaurant, and was hoping I'd get a chance to introduce myself. I'm Joe. Would you like to have a cup of coffee and talk?"
Woman: "Hello. No thanks, I'm waiting for someone." (backs away slightly to check BG's intentions)
BG: "Aw, come on. Let's have a cup of coffee. I really think you're nice." (he doesn't encroach)
Woman: "I have to get going. My boyfriend's gonna be here soon."
BG: "Oh, well. It was nice to meet you and I hope you have a good evening." (Reaches politely to shake her hand)
Woman: "You have a good one, too!" (Shakes his hand)
BG immediately yanks her in once he has a hold of her hand, and goes to a rear choke position. Woman (remember her strength and skill) freezes for 10 (TEN) seconds out of surprise and then begins to fight back.
Moral of the story: Fighting skill alone is not sufficient to protect a woman from attack. There must be an understanding of fear, psychological factors influencing performance, and a tactical, cunning approach to your environment. This is one reason why 50% of rapes occur in the 15-19 year-old age bracket: these young women have not had the time to have enough real world experience in dealing with emoitional/psychological pressure, and have not developed the same protective instincts as their older peers. We attempt to give young women scenarios in which tactics used by predators are presented, and they can "internalize" their intuition as to their feelings during those scenes. This leads to a better sense of how to handle the "gray-area" encounters, where violence may or may not occur (REAL LIFE). Decision-making and strategy are the pivotal skills when things are more complicated than a dojo-type one-step-sparring scenario.
I hope this has given everyone something to think about. I learn more by reading what is already here, and hope to continue improving our services to our clients by taking your feedback to heart.
I can post a few more drills which work on different psychological/fear systems if there is interest.....
Thanks,
Lee
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