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!

A common set-up

California -- Sfgate.com has a very informative article about a very common tactic or set-up used by robbers, thieves or criminals alike. It goes something like this:

- You are being approached by someone face to face
- The person distracts you or even attacks you (as in the above story)
- You are being attacked from behind by the persons accomplices
- This can also be a set-up for theft (pickpocket)

The people behind you are there either as a back up for the person in front or as the ones doing the actual hit.

In either case it is always recommended you walk, move (or if needed push) past the person confronting you. This goes even if you are stopped for directions, time, a dime or what ever. You are in a far better situation to evaluate and act when you're able to turn and face the person - and consequently any other persons - confronting you!

Read the above story and judge for yourself how bad it is to fight someone with your back to someone you don't know is there...

Classic cases of distraction

In Iowa City (Iowa), police are searching for a predator (or perhaps more than one person), according to gazetteonline.com. Police say young women have been targeted in downtown neighborhoods for months.

There are reportedly more than 31 reported incidents over a period of 12 months. The cases have similarities in more ways than the description of the perpetrator - a college age, white male of average weight an height.

Victims are often distracted, talking on cellular phones or fumbling with keys.

The man sneaks up on his intended victims and flees when they resist. Police says he targets college-aged females walking alone in residential areas which are poorly lit at the time of the attack. His victims are nearly always wearing a skirt or dress at the time of the attack, according to police.

The perpetrator often may confront his intended victim for less than a minute before fleeing, police said.

ATM distraction

Canada -- Police say there's an increase in distraction thefts that typically happen around bank machines, according to 640toronto.com.

They say an unsuspecting victim will withdraw a large amount of cash and is then approached by a suspect who starts up a quick conversation.

Usually, the thief offers some kind of help. When the victim is distracted, their money is stolen.

Cell phone strike

Glad there are instances when a cell phone comes to good use! As we all know by now, it can be a major source of distraction.

Story:
Tennessee -- Authorities have charged a 52-year-old postal worker who apparently attempted to abduct a 15-year-old girl Monday night, November 12 at a store in Cordova.

The girl, who was alone, had just left the store about 6 p.m., when the man approached her from behind.

"He initially told her to, 'Come here,' when she refused. The victim turned away and started walking back toward the store. The suspect then grabbed her and tore her shirt," a police spokeswoman said.

"She did strike him with her cell phone. She was definitely trying to get away. She felt she was in danger. She did not know this person and so she escaped serious injuries."

The "puppy trap"

local6.com in Florida has conducted an experiment which shows how easy it is to lure children away using puppies. A chilling read indeed.

Story:
A controlled experiment outside Central Florida homes found that a stranger with puppies could easily lure children into leaving inside a van.

Armed with a van filled with hidden cameras, a producer posing as a stranger with two puppies pulled into a Seminole County neighborhood.

With the parents' permission and blessing, they began a stranger danger test. The first test involved a large group of children ranging in age from 4 to 8 years old.

It took less than a minute before the children not only came close to the van but and then piled inside.

Targeting

More cases about the hazards of not being aware of your surroundings.

northjersey.com reports:
A 25-year-old suspect in a series of rapes and attempted rapes that occurred in the city's East side has been arrested, Paterson police (New Jersey) said. The man targeted young, petite Latinas. Since November 2006, he attacked at least five victims between the ages of 16 and 34.

According to police he looked for women who were distracted with cell phones and iPods before sneaking up on them from behind. They say he grabbed his victims with a choke hold, dragging them to a yard or an alleyway and then whispered in their ear before assaulting them.

And here's another report from East Lancing, Michigan:
A young woman called police saying she was approached from behind and fondled on a street by the Eli Broad School for Business building just after 11 p.m. Tuesday. She fought back and got loose in order to run away.

Another student told police a man with a tried to pull her jogging pants off while she was walking the river trail late Sunday. She also fought back and ran away.

"Both of these individuals were alone at the time," a MSU police spokesperson said. Both women escaped without injuries, but don't know the attackers. Police warn the women attacked were distracted--one was just finished making a call, the other using an iPod.

Stacking

Pay close attention kids...
Here you have a slick perpetrator who is using "stacking" - that is (in this context) using more than one means to distract and confuse his intended victim.
A. Asking for direction.
B. Talking on the phone (probably just pretending).
C. Extending the hand.

Story:
Texas -- Fort Worth police were searching for a man who punched a woman in a parking lot and drove away with her purse.
Police said the incident occurred about 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday. The 35-year-old woman was loading her vehicle when a man drove up and asked for directions, police said. The man had a cell phone against his ear the entire time he was talking with the woman.

When she sensed something was amiss and began to move away from the man, he stuck his hand out to her as if to shake hands and then hit her in the mouth. She fell and the man grabbed her purse before fleeing in his car.

Source

Ornamental stick-fighting

UK -- A 66-year-old mother of five originally from Belfast, grabbed an ornamental wooden stick (called a shillelagh) from her wall, shouting "Are you ready for me?" before swinging it at two men, who burgled her home after claiming to be from the water board.

The feisty woman told police the men were frozen to the spot as she grabbed one by the neck and lashed out at them, before shouting to neighbours for help. The men fled and made off in their van with her purse and a sum of cash, but were arrested after police chased them down.

The woman said she hoped that her bravery would inspire other elderly people to defend themselves."I shouted at them and I started hitting them. I think they realised then that they had picked on the wrong person," she said.

"They thought I was an easy target, but I am not soft. I grew up in Belfast and I've got five children and 17 great grandchildren. I won't be pushed around. "I don't think I was brave," she said. "I just didn't think about it. They were trying to rob me and I was going to defend my home."

Source

'Yankee-do'

Don't mess with granny! Don't they teach kids this lesson today?

Story:
The Yankees have honored a robber-bashing Bronxville grandmother of eight yesterday in a home plate ceremony.

The 68-year-old woman foiled an April 26 robbery at a sandwich shoppe in Tuckahoe where she worked by smacking the robber with a 1961 Yankees miniature bat.

With her 16-inch weapon in hand, she waved to the stadium crowd when she was introduced yesterday, then got a surprise when Derek Jeter came out of the dugout and presented her with a real bat signed by the team and gave her a hug.

During the attempted robbery last month, the man told the woman he had a gun, and demanded she empty the cash register. The lifelong Yankees fan said she threw the money on the floor, then as he was bending over to pick it up, grabbed her commemorative bat and hit him in the back of the head twice. He dropped the money and ran out of the store.

Source

Asking for directions

Asking for directions is a very common way to distract a potential victim...

Story 1:
West Virginia -- City police are working to determine if a possible abduction attempt in Martins Ferry late Sunday involved the man wanted in the recent abduction and rape of a Wheeling girl.

The suspect wanted in the abduction of the Wheeling girl also is believed to have been responsible for the attempted abduction of a Martins Ferry teen on Feb. 18. In both of those instances, the suspect asked the victim for directions before attacking them.

According to a report from the Martins Ferry Police Department, the suspect in Sunday's incident pulled along side the teen, and he became aggravated when she would not answer his questions. The report does not indicate what was asked.

Story 2:
Illinois -- Chicago Police are looking for two people who attempted to abduct a woman in the Hyde Park area on the South Side on Tuesday.

The 30-year-old woman was walking in the area about 10 p.m. Tuesday when a man asked her for directions, then grabbed her as she approached his vehicle. A struggle ensued and the woman was able to flee from the offender.

Story 3:
New Zealand -- Police are looking for a man in his late 20s or early 30s who attempted to get a 15 year old girl into his car in Wainuiomata last night.

Lower Hutt Police said the girl was walking home alone around 6.50pm when the man approached her in a car and asked for directions.

After giving him directions she carried on but a short time later noticed the same vehicle approach and stop in the middle of the road.

Police said the driver aggressively demanded she get into the vehicle the girl responded by screaming out which caused the man to drive away.

Source (1) - Source (2) - Source (3)

Classic distraction

Here's a classic distraction technique, involving two or more perpetrators. This incident describes a carjacking, but similar methods is used in thefts and robberies as well.

Story:
California -- The 4:03 p.m. carjacking occurred in a Kmart parking.

A 24-year-old man pulled into the lot in his car Saturday afternoon, when a woman approached and began a conversation, according to Antioch police.

While they spoke, the gunman climbed into the driver's-side passenger door, held a revolver to the back of driver's head and ordered him to empty his pockets.

The gunman then ordered the driver out of the vehicle, which he then stole. The woman fled in another vehicle.

Source

Fighting dirty

A University of Florida graduate assistant who was walking toward campus Thursday morning fought off a man who knocked her to the ground and attacked her.

"I chose not to be a victim," said the 23-year-old woman. "I thought to myself, 'I'm not going to let this happen.'"

The woman struggled with the man, who had first asked her for money as she was walking at about 11 a.m., Gainesville Police said. The woman told the man she was sorry, she didn't have anything she could give him, and kept walking.

"He just sort of came up behind me and pushed me to the ground," she said. "I just kept kicking him. My hands were already in the dirt. I grabbed dirt and started throwing the dirt."

When the woman fought back, her attacker let her go and fled.

Source

More light

Feltham, UK -- At 2:20 p.m. Friday a woman was passing a pub on foot when a car approached and the driver asked her if she had a light.

When the woman replied "no", the suspect continued to ask questions and then grabbed her right wrist, attempting to force her into the car.

After the woman got herself free, the suspect drove off towards Hounslow.

Source

Got a light?

This is a very common method of approaching, interviewing and distracting a potential victim.
If someone ask for a light, the time, distraction, some small change - anything that would potentially have you take the eyes off the subject in front of you - be aware!

Story:
UK -- A sex beast feared to have raped up to 20 women stole cigarette lighters from them as sick trophies, police believe.

The 43-year-old crack addict pounced on random victims walking in South London. He approached asking if they had a light — then attacked them at knifepoint.

Last night cops put on display the twisted predator’s haul of lighters.

Source

What time is it?

A common method this - to ask a potential victim for the time. It is a part of what is commonly referred to as an "interview", plus it's a good (from the culprit's point of view) method of distraction.

Story:
Michigan -- Pittsfield Township Police say they've identified a man accused of pushing a woman into her car and fondling her in the parking lot of a store a week ago.

The suspect, a 24-year-old township resident, was captured a few days later after at least two people called police to report his bizarre behavior near a bus stop. The callers said a man was acting odd and following women, police said.

A few days earlier, the 26-year-old woman said she was getting into her car at a store when a man approached, asked for the time, then pushed her into her car and groped her. She said she screamed and kicked him away.

Source

The secret seconds

Here's another great article about how kidnappers/sexual predators operate. Recommended reading!

Story:
Jacksonville, Florida -- "Right here, here, are scars from the handcuffs. There is a scar there and a scar right there." It's been four years and Heather Kangas still bears the scars of being kidnapped from her bus stop. "I know he lived not even 10 miles down the road from where I was standing. I believed it was like one of those perfect times. There was nobody on the roads, nobody could see."

Police say Timothy Oberlander grabbed Heather handcuffed her and drove off. In audio tapes never released to the public until now. We hear Oberlander admit to a jail house informant why he chose Heather.

Source

Fake handshake

It's a quite common trap - extending the arm as to give you a handshake. Then the perpetrator may grab your hand and attack you.

Story:
A white male suspect in his mid-50s tried to pull a victim into his car around noon on Oct. 17, UCSF police report.

The UCSF employee, was walking on Judah Street when he heard a man in a passing vehicle honking his horn. The car stopped and the driver asked, “Don’t I know you from somewhere?” while extending his hand as if to greet the victim with a handshake.

The victim then extended his hand to shake hands, at which time the suspect attempted to pull him into his vehicle. The victim was able to strike the suspect with his free hand and pull away from the suspect.

Source

'That'll teacher'

There are lots of conflicts and violence directed at teachers, and still very few, unfortunately learn how to protect themselves.
Do they need to learn self-defense? Absolutely not - there are conflict management skills involving positioning, zoning, evasion, distancing, defusing, distracting, pacing etc. that can be learned - and used - by anyone!
This is not by any means an attempt to blame this teacher for being attacked - the perpetrator is always to blame for his/her actions!

Story:
A 16-year-old high school student has been suspended and charged with assault after allegedly choking his female teacher in a classroom attack. Police have also taken out an interim apprehended violence order against the student on the 24-year-old teacher's behalf.

The alleged incident occurred shortly after the school bell rang at 3 p.m. on Monday at a high school in Sydney, known for its excellence in mathematics.

It is understood it will be alleged the male student tried to throttle the teacher, but police yesterday would not reveal what led to the alleged assault.

Source

Happy birthday!

Well, maybe she, eh.. I mean he thought that the woman's purse was a perfect match to her, eh... his own dress?

Story:
Dotty Stella was celebrating her 71st birthday yesterday afternoon at a restaurant when a young man disguised in woman's clothing, wig and makeup approached her.

Stella says she didn't realize that the man reached over and snatched her purse. Shoppers who heard Stella's yell chased the thief down the street until he jumped over a fence. Others called the police.

The 16-year-old was caught and taken to a juvenile detention center. As for Stella, she says getting her purse back was the best birthday gift she could wish for.

Source