Self-Defense For Women |
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All women are targets of violence. Even if you use good judgment, have solid self-defense skills, and firmly believe you have the right to protect yourself, you are not immune to assault. For battering survivors, the risks are even greater.
A high percentage of women who were sexually abused as children have been re-victimized in adulthood through assault, rape, and battering. When this happens, the adult frequently blames herself or feels that somehow she de- served it. This is false. She did not deserve it. The reason so many survivors experience violence as adults is that they were trained to be victims. The effects of childhood abuse leave them especially vulnerable.
If you are unable to identify your own feelings or gauge other people's intentions, you may not recognize danger. If you space out, you may not see the warning signs. In order to feel comfortable around other people, especially men, you need to know you can protect yourself. The ability to say no firmly and to move out of a bad situation is enough to keep you safe.
Some abusive men, fathers, boyfriends are not stopped by words alone. Then you need to use more self-defense skills-shouting, yelling, kicking, hitting. Women in this society are not encouraged to be combative on their own behalf, but you have the right and responsibility to take care of yourself.
One practical and effective form of self-defense is called Model Mugging. Model Mugging is a fifteen- to twenty-hour course in which women do not just practice self-defense, they use full-force defense in simulated battering situations. The course is taught by a woman instructor and a man who is specifically trained to be a "model mugger."
The mugger wears protective gear. He attacks each woman in a realistic scenario, approaching her with obscene and insulting language. For the first time, women in this course are taught to deliver a knockout blow. Model Mugging is an intensive, effective way to move toward personal safety. Whether you use it or other forms of self- defense, learn to protect yourself and you will never be a victim of battering.
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