Fight or Flight – Things to Know As a Woman Stuck in a Self-Defense Situation
Women’s Self-Defense. The term “flight or flight” refers to our body’s natural response mechanism when faced with a foreseen threat. Some women respond to threats by running (flight) while others respond to threats by getting read to fight. As a woman, there are certain things that you need to understand about getting stuck in a self-defense situation.
Don’t Act Like a Victim
One reason why muggers, rapists, and murderers target women is because they (falsely) believe that they’re going to be easy prey. Most muggers thrive on the fact that most women are going to choose flight over fight (they’d much rather deal with a target who isn’t going to struggle). For this very reason, it’s essential that you fight back against an opponent rather than flee immediately. It will likely discourage them from attacking and may cause them to give up all together.
Women’s Self-Defense: Avoid Bear Hugs and Chokes
There are two main moves that attackers typically try on women. These include chokes and bear hugs. An attacker will try a choke in an attempt to render the women unconscious and will use a bear hug so that he can drag her to a desolate location. Fortunately, almost all self-defense schools in the world teach against these very two moves. The two main types of chokes that you’ll encounter are ones from the front and ones from the back.
The ones from the front are usually very easy to escape from: simply use arms to go along the inside of the attacker’s arms (this is used to break the grip). Chokes from behind are a little trickier to escape from, and will require that you use a variation of the bear hug escape in order to break free from it. For example, if an attacker is bear hugging you from the back then the first thing you’ll want to do is lower your center of gravity.
This will automatically force them off balance, in which time you can break free and run, or use another self-defense technique of your choice. Above all, remember to not act like a victim! Attackers are betting on the fact that you’re going to surrender. By putting up a struggle, even a little one, you’ll deter them long enough for help to arrive. This is why learning self-defense, as a woman, is so incredibly important.
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