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.

Make some noise!

"Jump up and down, scream and holler, do whatever – just remember, the more noise you make, the safer you will be!" This is a lesson given to five-year-old elementary school kids by an Ohio resource officer.

Recently, remembering the methods she learned at school, a young girl (9) escaped an abduction attempt in Middletown, Ohio, according to wlwt.com.

The girl's mother credits Officer Mike Davies with saving the girls life after she fought off the 6'8", 300-pound would-be abductor on June 6.

The mother said her daughter kicked and screamed and punched, and did everything she was told to do.

Apart from being a great story about the ability to fight back - this story also raises the question as to how and how early children should learn about this issues.

Some say children should be allowed to be children. It's hard to disagree with that, really. However, at one time these lessons has to be taught, and they should be presented in some shape or form - the earlier the better.

stalking, push-in

Here is a "classic" case of a perpetrator using (at least) two means to get to his intended victim - stalking (following), and a push-in.

Story:
UK -- In Newcastle, police say a man stalked an 18-year-old female in the early hours of March 9 (Sunday morning).

The teenager was walking home from a night out with friends at around 2:30 a.m., and footage from closed circuit TV, shows the intended victim being followed through the city centre.

The assault happened at around 2:40 a.m. The perpetrator followed her inside her complex, grabbed and pushed into her home, before sexually assaulting her. Screaming and kicking him, the young woman forced the attacker to flee her home.

Lame excuses #5

Today, in our series "It wasn't me - It was Mr Pee", we present you with an all too common tendency of blaming the victim: "She wanted it". After all we know it's never the perpetrator's fault, right?
Jeez...

Story:
A 27-year-old man allegedly attempted to rape a female leasing agent who was showing him an apartment in O'Fallon Lakes, Missouri, according to kctv5.com.

The man reportedly went to the apartment complex Sunday to inquire about an apartment. As the agent showed the man around, he blocked the front door and attempted to rape her, according to police.

The woman managed to escape by struggling and screamed for help.

And here comes the "I'm totally lame, and it shows" part:

This genius allegedly told authorities he had looked at the apartment with his wife the day before and "believed the agent was sending him signals that she wanted to have sex."

A secret password

Minnesota -- Two young Rochester students (first and second grade) said a man approached them Wednesday afternoon as they were walking to their day care after school according to kttc.com.

The unknown man reportedly told Isabel and her friend that they were supposed to go home with him. The two young girls ran away and made it home safely.

The youngest girl's mom says a code word may actually have saved the girls' lives. When the man told the girls they were supposed to go home with him, the second grader asked 'what's my password?' when he provided the wrong answer she started screaming and they ran away.

The girl and her mom picked out the code word just in case someone other than she had to pick her up.

A bite out of crime

Florida -- An attempted abduction happened Monday in a quiet subdivision of Deerfield Acres. The 11-year-old was walking on the side of his street when the suspect pulled over in an older model car.

The boy told authorities the man grabbed him by the collar, then wrapped his arm around his face. That's when this potential victim fought back the best way he knew how.

The boy said when he put his arm around his face he bit him on the arm and that's what caused him to turn him loose.

The boy started screaming and ran to his grandmother's house. The perpetrator jumped in his car and took off.

Locking doors

Pennsylvania -- Pennlive.com reports about a woman who escaped early Wednesday because her car doors were locked when two men tried to rob her.

The 46-year-old woman, 46 was stopped along a Carlisle street just before 1:30 a.m. when one of the would-be robbers grabbed the handle of her driver's side door. When they found the door was locked, the men began yelling and demanding money, police said.

The woman didn't panic. She drove off and called police as soon as she could.

Another fire

Florida -- Deputies say a purse snatching was foiled on Monday when the 59-year-old victim fought back. The crime occurred in front of a supermarket in Englewood.

Reportedly, two late teen males tried to grab the woman's purse. The intended victim struggled with them and as they tried to pull her purse free she started yelling "Fire!" This spooked the "would-be robbers" and they took off, according to deputies.

Another tough cookie

I really wonder what goes through the head of people like this...
The answer is most probably: Very little.
As far as I know it takes a brain to have a thought process. Consequently, one may argue that folks like these thugs here have sh**-for-brains - or belong to a league of zombies we refer to as air-heads.
As for the woman here - now, this is a real fighter! I would have her on my team any day.

Story:
Arizona -- A 78-year-old woman is lucky to be alive after surviving a vicious attack. Police say she was attacked by two men -- one of them using a baseball bat.

"I'm very mean when I want to be," the Tucson woman said. The Tucson woman said the attacked occurred when she open the door of her home and to two young
men, one with a baseball bat. "He hit me three times over the head," she said.

The woman fell against the wall and screamed, "you get the hell out of my house, you're not coming in this house."

She struggled to slam the door, while she says one of the boys kept taking swings at her head. The boys eventually ran.

From: Firstcoastnews.com

A simple lesson

I bet these Texas parents are more than happy they had their 9-year-old daughter Misty watch a self-defense lesson they saw on TV.

She remembered the lesson well, and a simple kick to the groin may possibly have saved her from being kidnapped, molested or even killed.

The young girl was approached by a man Tuesday at a playground in Allen, Dallas. She fought back hard when the perpetrator grabbed her - kicking, punching, screaming and running away.

The brave girl ran to a friend's house a few blocks away. "I ran. I ran as fast as I could. When I got to her house my heart was pounding so dang hard," the girl said.

You go, girl!

Source: Cbs11tv.com

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

Muffin-fighter

In Finland they have a MMA (mixed martial arts) type event called Finn-fight. I suppose then this is the equivalent food fight variety? :-)

Story:
Connecticut -- "Muffin-Thrower;" That's the nickname given to a woman after thwarting a robber with her baked goods.

On July 15, the woman was standing behind the counter at the half-century-old Polish deli in New Haven, ringing up packages of Kielbasa, when a man came in the store.

He was dressed as nicely as the rest of the Sunday morning visitors, so he didn't call attention to himself. As other customers perused the selection of imported Polish, Russian and Hungarian treats, the man inquired if the deli made subs.

"Yes," came the reply. He stood behind a woman in line at the counter. "All of a sudden, he lurched and grabbed the lady by the neck," recounted the shop owner. "I thought he was hugging her. I thought, gee that was rough," she said. She quickly realized he was being more than rough.

"This is a stickup!" he said. "Give me all your money, or I'm gonna shoot her!"

The shop owner quickly took in the situation. "I didn't see any gun." She saw him reach his hand towards a bag to retrieve something. "I didn't believe he had a gun, and I figured I was faster than him," she said, explaining her next, risky move.

She looked towards the baseball bat she keeps leaned against the counter. "I couldn't get it fast enough." But "I had all the muffins here," she said, pointing to a tray of a dozen wrapped muffins and Danishes, sitting on the counter.

"You son of a bitch!" she screamed, flipping the tray, launching the muffins at the man.
From the force of the woman's yelling, and the rain of pastries, the robber got disoriented. He ran away.

The scream

Illinois -- A 21-year-old Arlington Heights man is accused of a violent burglary attempt. The man allegedly broke into a Mount Prospect apartment early Saturday morning, pushed the startled woman inside to the floor and hit her repeatedly.

The incident began around 3:15 a.m. Saturday. The accused allegedly entered through the bedroom window of an apartment, where a 27-year-old woman awoke to find the man standing over her, according to police reports.

Startled, the woman screamed. The intruder threatened to tie her up and struck her several times in the face.

The man fled the apartment through the bedroom window. He later was arrested when police determined he matched the description provided by the victim. The man later told police he was scared someone would hear the woman when she screamed.

Just looking ...

Say this can't be so: "Several stunned witnesses watched as the woman screamed and battled back"! Oh, my ...

The paper is calling this woman "tough as nails", and I tend to agree. I wonder what we should call these onlookers ... "concerned citizens" maybe?

Story:
New York -- A woman fought off a would-be rapist who viciously attacked her on an East Harlem street in front of shocked onlookers, authorities said.

The woman, 37, was walking on a street at about 4 a.m. July 4, when a 28-year-old man allegedly grabbed her from behind and dragged her down to the ground.

During the struggle, the attacker shoved his hands under her shirt and pants and fondled her, prosecutors said.

Several stunned witnesses watched as the woman screamed and battled back. Finally, the perpetrator gave up and fled but was arrested nearby, cops said.

Source

Strong "belief"

"Believing she was about to become the victim of a crime, (...)"?
I would dare suggest she was spot on, and wisely enough acted accordingly.

Story:
A man and woman, both 29, dragged a motorist from her driver's seat in a carjacking attempt at a Hermosa Beach gas station, but fled when the victim struggled free and screamed, police said Friday.

Police officers quickly arrested the pair, who are also suspected of another attempted carjacking Thursday, when they pretended to be panhandlers, Hermosa Beach police said.

The first victim called police about 5:35 a.m. Thursday after racing away from a gas station. The driver told police she had just finished fueling her car and was leaving for work when the female suspect approached her and asked for change. At the same time, her accomplice and another man stood at the front and back of her car.

"Believing she was about to become the victim of a crime, she locked her doors, screamed and drove away from the location," a police said. The suspects ran and the woman called police.

Source

'Car-go'

... Or car-do ("the way of the car") :-)
Anyhow - a car is a great and versatile self-defense tool!

Story:
UK -- A shopper has told the Old Bailey how she used her car to scare off a man who attacked a 39-year-old housewife. The man is accused of committing the attack four days before allegedly knifing a teenager in Orpington.

On September 26, the woman noticed a man following the victim in a car park. The woman told the jury she had first seen the man loitering by a car park ticket machine near a shopping center.

When she reached her car on the floor below, she noticed the man was following the other shopper. She then heard screams. The court heard the victim had been knocked to the ground and the attacker was on top of her.

The woman then started sounding the horn of her car and shouting at the man. She told the jury the attacker then stood up and looked at her before slowly walking away. She said: "He stopped doing what he was doing and began to walk away. Initially it was quite slow, which I found quite strange considering what he had just done. He seemed quite cool and calm."

Jurors have already been told the suspect is a loner obsessed with Internet porn, including sites which celebrate rape and other forms of sexual violence. The prosecutor told the court the hospital worker spent hours downloading sick stories and pictures from the Internet.

Source

Flower power

An armed robber proved no match for a 71-year-old woman's water hose Tuesday afternoon. The Wilmington woman scared off a would-be robber by spraying him with a water hose and screaming for help in the backyard of her Forest Hills home.

Police said the woman was unloading flowers from her van in front of her home when she noticed a man walking near her yard bend down and get something out of his shoe.

The woman took her flowers to her backyard and began watering them and when she looked up she saw a man in her backyard pointing a gun at her. After seeing the gun, she turned the hose on the man and began to scream, police said. The man ran away.

Source

Street-smart kid

This is one smart kid! Sadly too many people don't know about strategic planning and the positive effects of preparing for what we call worst-case scenario.

Story:
New York -- An 11-year-old girl kept herself ready for the worst, constantly rehearsing in her mind how she could escape an attacker or kidnapper. Little did she know her hours of mental preparation would pay off - possibly saving the Brooklyn girl's life.

On Sunday, the 4-foot-5, 80-pound sixth-grader was hailed as a hero for fighting off an attacker twice her size - then having the wits about her to help capture the suspect.

The girl was coming back home when she realized a 19-year-old male was following her and decided to run home.

She recalled seeing him talking to her landlord before, she said, and wondered if she had misjudged him. But after making it up two and a half flights of stairs in her building, the man grabbed her just short of her apartment, she said.

"He grabbed my mouth and told me to not scream. I thought he was going to take me up to the roof and rape me or something like that," the girl said. "When [we] went downstairs, he loosened my wrist a little bit. And I took advantage of that and I broke out of where he was holding me and I ran outside."

That was Plan B - "to calm down, relax and try to get away." The girl also admitted, "Before a robbery happens, I always think of a plan to do. But sometimes when I'm nervous or scared, I forget my ideas. I only came up with half a plan when I got caught." She didn't immediately scream because she wasn't sure her brother would hear her.

When she got away, she screamed for help and buzzed all the apartment intercoms. Finally, two residents heard them, and the two men, with the help of other neighbors, grabbed the suspect, who had taken off his green shirt, possibly to evade capture. According to the media, the man said, "I'm sorry, I won't do it again. I won't do it again," as the "crowd pummeled him to keep him from escaping."

The girl's parting advice: "Try to figure out a plan before somebody tries to kidnap you. That way if somebody tries to touch you, you're ready to attack them back."

Source

Hazards at work, 43

Scotland -- A 56-year-old former sales executive was left with painful physical injuries after a 39-year-old man tried to rape her at a furniture store in broad daylight, July 2006. The woman had been left alone after a colleague she was paired with went off to speak to a client.

When she went back to her desk, she noticed the man sitting in one of the designer chairs. She asked what he wanted and followed as he pointed up a short flight of chairs towards French furnishings. The woman said the man jumped on her and smashed her to the floor. She screamed 'help' and one of the store's managers pulled the assailant away.

The woman had two broken bones in her hand and three displaced vertebrae in her neck after the attack. "I loved my job, but I resigned because I thought security in the store was totally inadequate," she said.

Source