Foot stomp defense

Foot stomp - Illustration, from Flickr.com

There are a number of basic and highly effective ways of fighting back - the rather innocent looking foot stomp defense is one of them.

A basic foot stomp is quick and simple to execute, and when you land it properly... Goodbye trouble - hello freedom!

The story below from clickorlando.com is a great example of this "sneaky" self defense tactic - apparently executed flawlessly I might add.

According to Melbourne police, the woman was walking her dog near the racquetball court when she was approached from behind by a man who grabbed her shirt.
The man told the woman to let go of the dog and then said he was going to rape her, according to police.
The woman began talking to the man to distract him and then stomped on his foot, causing him to let go of her, police said.
The woman, who was not injured in the attack, then ran toward her apartment while screaming, Melbourne police said.

Not only is the foot stomp defense move in place - she apparently sets it up with a distraction and then running away screaming.

In my opinion, this is a text book example of a great self-defense action. Kudos!

Girl fights off attempted kidnapping

USA -- On Wednesday, a seven-year-old girl was grabbed by the man at a large store in Bremen, Georgia. The man, a convicted killer out on parole, then tried to carry the girl away.

The video below shows young Brittany screaming and kicking and eventually being dropped by the 25-year-old suspect.

The child had reportedly learned the evasion tactics at a school 'stranger danger' lesson.

Killing in self-defense

Killing in self-defense
Public domain illustration image

Shooting and killing a person in his sleep can't possibly be deemed as self-defense? Or can it?

It most definitely can, as the case below from Texas - where a girl is cleared by a jury - clearly indicates. The girl was 12 at the time and shot her own father to death while he was sleeping.

I can remember a similar case here in Norway where a youth shot his abusive father to death with a shotgun, while the father was asleep. He was freed by the court on the grounds of self-defense, just like the girl here.

One of the commentators in the case here also gives a reference to another similar case of someone being cleared of murder.

Jurors Monday decided a teenage Katy girl accused of fatally shooting her father was not guilty of murder because she acted in self-defense. Mark A. Nelson, 38, died in April 2009. His daughter, who was 12 at the time, was accused of shooting Nelson in the back of his head as he lay in bed.

I'm positive you will have some viewpoints about this, right? Is it totally wrong to free someone who have shot and killed a sleeping person, or may it indeed be cases where this will be justifiable self-defense in your opinion.

Media and self-defense

Women's self-defense
Illustration - from Flickr.com

Meg Stone has a precise and very true observation in jamaicaplaingazette.com about how the media seems to ignore - or at least appears to underplay - a very important fact about women and self-defense actions.

Stone has the same experience as yours truly - it is proven countless of times, and beyond a shadow of a doubt how women are capable of defending themselves in situations where the attacker is male and very likely much stronger. In fact there are several thousands (and growing) cases being documented: Women Can.

By failing to focus on the facts of the matter, it may be that men as well as women may think that your only viable option is to get help from the authorities/police, a male companion, or begin carrying a gun for protection. Now, there is probably nothing wrong with being able to trust in outside help, as long as you don't take away the individual's trust in herself and her own abilities before anything else!

A sad but rather obvious fact is that you will often times be alone, and that you will need to stand your own ground. Any help will many times come in after the fact - or in addition to your own self-defense maneuvers.

A closer reading of the article reveals that this woman successfully defended herself by using her voice and shining a flashlight in the would-be assailant's face. In response to her actions, the assailant fled, but not before she got a physical description, which she gave to the police. Most importantly, this woman's bravery and fast thinking kept her from sustaining serious injuries. Unfortunately, this woman's successful self-protective actions are nowhere to be found in the Gazette's headline or the opening paragraph of the article.

In the above article, the author makes a reference to the National Crime Victimization Survey. It's undoubtedly a good idea to read it and make up your own mind.

In any case, the author makes a very good point in my opinion, and you should definitely give it a read. I'm also curious as to what your perspective is on this issue. Feel free to post below, re-tweet or post to Facebook!

Intuition - a textbook example

Trusting your instincts when followed
Illustration photo, from sxc.hu

From Tulsa Oklahoma, here's a textbook example of why you should always pay attention to your surroundings and listen to your instincts/gut feeling when you get this "something isn't quite right here".

It is really impressive to see how this woman does everything right in handling this potentially dangerous situation - read it carefully and learn from it!

She got off work Thursday night, went home, opened the garage door and, as she does each night, took a moment to look around.
"When I turned around to check, I felt somebody was there. He looked me straight in the eye," Keely said.
Keely quickly realized she had been followed. She put the garage door back down and pulled out of her neighborhood, hoping maybe he was just lost, but he followed her.

What's your take on this article? Also, do you have similar experiences like this with using your awareness and trusting your instincts?

Peppers spray - MMA combo

MMA - Illustration, from Flicker.com

OK, so it wasn't the MMA (mixed martial arts) alone that did the trick - a healthy doze of pepper spray was part of the self-defense combo.

Still, it is no doubt that learning martial arts can be of great help when you suddenly find yourself in a dangerous situation like the California based woman here did.

Also, it is definitely a major equalizer to have access to some sort of weapon - here a can of pepper spray.

A Sanger woman used mixed martial arts skills on a man claiming to be a door-to-door salesman.
It was around noon Thursday, when Mayra Villanueva heard the doorbell ring. She looked out and saw it was a man dressed as a Dish Network consultant.
She opened the door and that's when he threw a punch, and tried to get into the house.

Anyone else having good or bad experiences with using martial arts and/or pepper spray for self-defense? Feel free to comment below!