March is National Women History Month. In honor of Women History Month I’m dedicating this article to women’s self defense in an effort to empower women. I’ll also give a free self defense class this month to all of the women readers of the Doral Tribune.
More than seventy percent of women in America encounter a violent crime within her life time. approximately three thousand women report that they have been victims of some force aggression. Have I gotten your attention yet? Yes, as a woman you could become an endangered species. The truth of the matter is that your safety is your responsibility, not your knight in shinning Armor (husband, boy friend or brother), the government, your association or the security guards. Remember you are not always in the presence of your knight and by the time the police arrive it might be too late. So what can a woman do not to be a statistic?
The answer lies in this African proverb. Every morning a lioness wakes up and chases a gazelle. across the plain. The lion picks the slowest and weakest. When the criminal goes out in search of a victim he doesn’t want a challenge he wants the easy prey. Here are three important principles that could save your life.
- Don’t walk, look or act like prey. Be aware of your surroundings and everything that is happening around you.
- Walk with confidence like the lioness not the gazelle. Look the world in the eyes.
- Predators prey on the weak or what I call a gazelle. Take a reality based street self defense course. This in turn will have you walk with confidence like the lioness and if attacked you’ll survive the encounter.
As a corrections officer (I worked in a maximum security state prison for over 10 years), U.S. Marine Corps Sergeant, martial arts instructor (Kung Fu, Muay Thai Kickboxing, Jeet Kune Do and Haganah Israeli military reality based self defense) and through years of research, I’ve discovered 3 things that the bad guy does not want to happen.
- He doesn’t want to be physically defeated by the victim.
- He doesn’t want the victim to identify him.
- He doesn’t want to be caught by the police.
He picks on women that he perceives to be easy victims. It’s not how tough you really are but how tough he perceives you are. To accomplish this goal you must learn verbal and physical self defense as a confidence builder. You most learn to walk like a predator and not like prey. You most learn to project your voice in what we call a bad dog attitude. You most learn to turn fear into power.
Reading this article or books on self defense will not teach you to defend your self. It can however point you in the right direction. You must become the fastest gazelle not a victim of crime or better yet the lioness!
Julio Anta is the head instructor at Anta’s Fitness and Self Defense in Doral since 1998. You can contact him at 305 599-3649 or via the internet at www.antakungfu.com for classes or Women Self Defense Workshops.
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