If someone is following behind you on a street or in a garage or with you
in an elevator or stairwell, look them in the face and ask them a question,
like what time is it, or make general small talk, I can't believe it is so cold out here, we're in for a bad winter. Now you've seen their face and could identify them in a lineup,you lose appeal as a target.
If someone is coming toward you, hold out your hands in front of you and
yell Stop or Stay back! Most of the rapists this man talked to said
they'd leave a woman alone if she yelled or showed that she would not be
afraid to fight back. Again, they are looking for an EASY target. If you
carry pepper spray (this instructor was a huge advocate of it and carries
it with him wherever he goes,) yelling I HAVE PEPPERSPRAY and holding it
out will be a deterrent.
If someone grabs you, you can't beat them with strength but you can by outsmarting them. If they grab your wrist, pull your wrist back so your hand is in waving position (palm facing forward) and twist it toward yourself and pull your arm away. It is hard to hold onto wrist bones that are moving in that way. They
stumble toward you and you stumble back, so you can use that momentum to
bring the same out and backhand them with your knuckles in the forehead,
nose or teeth.
If you are grabbed around the waist from behind, pinch the attacker
either under the arm between the elbow and armpit or in the upper inner
thigh - HARD. One woman in a class this guy taunt told him she used the
underarm pinch on a guy who was trying to date rape her and was so upset
she broke through the skin and tore out muscle strands - the guy needed
stitches. Try pinching yourself in those places as hard as you can stand
it; it hurts.
After the initial hit, always go for the groin. I know from a
particularly unfortunate experience that if you slap a guy's parts it is
extremely painful. You might think that you'll anger the guy and make him
want to hurt you more, but the thing these rapists told our instructor is
that they want a woman who will not cause a lot of trouble. Start causing
trouble, and he's out of there.
When the guy puts his hands up to you, grab his first two fingers and
bend them back as far as possible with as much pressure pushing down on
them as possible. The instructor did it to me without using much
pressure, and I ended up on my knees and both knuckles cracked audibly.
Of course the things we always hear still apply.
Always be aware of your surroundings, take someone with you if you can and
if you see any odd behavior, don't dismiss it, go with your instincts.
You may feel a little silly at the time, but you'd feel much worse if the
guy really was trouble.
