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With The MOB FIGHT NIGHT-"Fight Like a Girl" event coming up, we thought it fitting to have some self defense tips for you! Whether or not you are coming to the Fundraiser Event on August 3, knowing how to defend yourself in a sticky situation is a must!

Polly Williamson from AKF Martial Arts of Cache Valley (Also the Boss Babe who will be teaching the Self Defense Course) has put together a must read stuffed full of all the information you need to know when it comes to self defense. 

Seeing as I will be attending the class, I obviously know nothing of self defense! So, read on to learn all the ins and outs from Polly herself! 

"There is a thought that we use often in the self defense community…

The best self defense you can have is not putting yourself in a situation where you need it. Most often, when people hear about self defense or are interested in learning it, they think of the defense aspect.

After all, that is the scariest part.

That is the part that catches the attention.

How do I get away from an attacker?

Where is the best place to strike?

Can I really get somebody bigger than me, off of me?

Though these are all important questions and warrant much concern, 90% of self defense that is not often considered is what you can do to reduce your risk factors and prevent an encounter from turning physical.

Though it is not as exciting to think about or learn, one thing I have learned in my training is that evading an attack is always superior to blocking one. There are a couple categories we can separate self defense into…

Situational Awareness –

This characterizes everything from how you walk, to the situations you are placing yourself into.

Attackers not only look for certain physical cues but play on social and emotional ones as well.

Physical cues would be how you walk, i.e. is your head down, are your hands in your pockets, are you distracted?

Social and emotional cues, like self confidence and propensity to worry about offending others are often played on by attackers that know their victims.

Other factors would be things such as location, time of day, weather, availability of help. …meaning, is the potential attack in a park? Are there stores nearby? Is there a large crowd? Are you at a party, on the street, in the mountains?

Evaluation –

In this category we recognize and evaluate if there is indeed a threat.

This includes the size and number of attackers,  and familiarity with potential assailant.

Their demeanor and availability of weapons, both theirs and yours will also play into this.

The last thing to come into play is the decision for fight or flight. Sometimes the flight will be as simple as leave a party or move elsewhere in a crowd. Other times, the decision might be made for you and you will have to fight. 

Encounter –

Now this is the part that everybody thinks about when talking self defense.

The attack is imminent and you have to decide how to protect yourself by any means necessary. This might include verbally trying to talk them down or turning to physical techniques.

Whatever means you decide to use will depend on the above evaluation as well as the distance between you and the attacker and whether you are standing or on the ground. 

The best advice I can give here is to never give up.

In up to 80% of cases, certain actions reduced the chance of rape.

According to victims, the most effective actions were struggling or attacking the attacker, running away, and verbally warning the attacker.

The least effective tend to be stalling, cooperating, or just screaming in fear.

In addition, studies show that victims that resisted, even in the event of a complete assault, were better off mentally than those that didn’t."

The MOB Fight Night will be an event that you do NOT want to miss! All proceeds will be donated to the O.U.R. Foundation! 

xoxo

Alexandra