Video Analysis: Columbus Women’s Self-Defense Class

I recently came across this video of a women’s self-defense class featured on 10TV. The class was sponsored by the Ohio Restaurant Association and held in honor of Reagan Tokes, who was abducted and murdered after leaving her bartending job in the Short North.

Clearly, this event was organized with good intentions and it did bring some awareness to the threats posed against women. Unfortunately, I don’t have much else to say that is positive about what was in the video. In fact, I would even say I saw some things which could do more harm than good for a woman trying to defend herself.

The fundamental problem I had with this class is the same problem I have with most women’s self-defense classes; the focus on technique over strategy. Much of the time is spent trying to turn women into fighters with martial arts techniques that can take months, if not years, to master -in the span of a couple of hours. How is anyone (female or male) supposed to develop these types of skills in such a short time frame? The answer is that they can’t and they won’t. Any technique not drilled into muscle memory and repeatedly tested under stress and resistance over a period of time will go right out the window when the adrenaline hits. Learning usable martial arts techniques without consistent training just isn’t possible, which is why most women’s self-defense classes are borderline worthless. I know these may sound like harsh words, but I can assure you that reality is much harsher when you try to defend yourself with bad training.

Before we dig in any further, let me be clear that I am not picking on the instructor here. I do not know her experience level, who her teacher was, how she was trained, or if she is required to follow a specific curriculum. I also do not know what other information was presented in the class, such as awareness strategies, weapons, etc. Aside from my fundamental disagreement with the technique-over-strategy approach of the class, my critique below is strictly of the physical techniques as shown in the video. They are either valid or not -regardless of who is teaching them.

With that disclaimer, let’s break down what we saw.

0:00 – Headbutt and foot stomps to break a rear bear hug. Not terrible, but also not great, I feel these defenses should be secondary rather than primary. A backward headbutt can do some quick damage and cause your aggressor to release you, though you risk dizzying yourself or injuring your own head (especially if the attacker’s head is down or lower than yours). Foot stomps can definitely hurt and might loosen the grip on you briefly, but are relatively ineffective through harder shoes. They also require accuracy and a stationary target to work well. Ineffective foot stomps will likely anger your attacker and create more aggression.

0:34 – Stomp kicks to the thigh. Even with trained accuracy, these aren’t going to stop anyone from advancing who is fully intent on reaching you. You might get one kick in to little effect before the attacker closes the distance, and you run the risk of getting caught off-balance and falling in the process.

0:42 – Punching. A smaller female punching a larger male aggressor is a recipe for disaster. If you start punching someone and do not knock them out, it’s highly likely they are going to start punching you back —and they’re probably bigger and stronger than you are. Punching for self-defense is bad strategy regardless, which I’ve broken down in depth here.

0:45, 1:13 – Spinning and wrapping both of the attacker’s arms from a rear neck grab. This defense (and attack) was more confusing than anything. An aggressor grabs you by the neck from behind, you raise your arm, spin, and wrap both of his arms. OK, so now what? Once a hold has been broken, you should immediately escape. Don’t try to hold the attacker in an impossibly weak restraint position and further engage in a physical battle.

0:58, 1:26 – Outward wrist twist against a double lapel grab. Whether you call it Kote Gaeshi (Aikido) or Omote Gyaku (Taijutsu), this is a much higher level technique than most people realize. It is a finer motor skill and not well-suited for high-adrenaline situations, which is why it has largely been removed from police and military training. There are so many nuances to an effective wrist twist that even a skilled martial artist will likely struggle to get one in a live self-defense situation. Trying to do it from a tense double lapel grab is utterly futile and will only alert the attacker to the fact you might know something and are willing to fight back, sacrificing your element of surprise. This technique is far too technical to teach in a women’s self-defense class.

1:40 – Double outward wrist twist against a double lapel grab. No one is getting this on anyone, ever, no matter how inebriated or inept the attacker is. It’s just not happening.

While some of these are valid techniques, they require consistent training to be useful in a highly stressful situation —something a short self-defense class simply cannot accomplish. This why I strongly advocate using the time in women’s self-defense classes to teach strategy. Having a plan of action of almost any sort will be far more beneficial than a handful of techniques you’ve only practiced a few times under little or no stress.

If you are interested in developing an effective and usable self-defense strategy, schedule a time to stop in for a private training session.

Original article: https://www.10tv.com/article/news/local/women-learn-self-defense-honor-reagan-tokes/530-84ce552a-4941-41f4-9021-469b98ecc045