Self-defense & women using dojo

Most of the time a karate Sensei will attempt to drill it into a student’s head that classroom ability doesn’t mean street ability. This is a hard lesson for women (and men) to learn. A classroom is a controlled environment and there is no true danger if you mess up. The ability to perform the techniques taught in class can cause a false sense of security though in many women.

It is true that the only wrong move in self-defense is no move at all. It is also true that no single technique works one hundred percent of the time in any given circumstance against all possible assailants. This is why your knowledge needs to include a wide variety of techniques. These techniques must all be practiced relentlessly until they become second nature to you. Your best chance to escape an assailant is to be able to flow from one nonworking technique into how ever many it takes until you are free.

Often a woman who has had some basic training will feel they can take on a man pound for pound simply because they do so well in their class. This simply isn’t so. In a dojo setting, the opponent usually knows what you are going to do and will give with the technique. As far as sparring goes, after watching someone fight long enough, you pick up on their cues as to what they are going to do next. A foot shifted a certain way could be the foretelling of a spinning back kick or a dropped shoulder an upper cut. On the street, you don’t have this advantage.

In most cases, the man will have the superior strength and it will require a level head and quick reflexes to use his own strength and aggression against him. Many styles of martial arts are devoted to this type of retaliation. One problem with martial arts training is you expect certain retaliatory actions from your opponent because you have both had them drilled into you. A street fighter hasn’t had that luxury and he can be much more difficult to fight because he has had no training so you can’t anticipate any moves.

Where you have been told to remove the target, block the punch and then execute two or three extraordinary techniques, the street fighter may just stand there and take your best shot and then have you up close and personal in HIS killing zone.

It is just like Hollywood and your mother getting you to believe a kick to the testicles will immediately drop a man to the floor and will have him rolling on the floor in agony. Unfortunately, most assailants have also had a mother, sister or wife who has been taught this and they look out for it. As for the instant drop to the ground, take a trip to some of the larger tournaments and watch the brown and black belt divisions fighting. Groin kicks are allowed in some competitions and these men do NOT drop like the actor on TV.

The throws and sweeps work well in the dojo because the “assailant” is expecting the throw and trying to make his or her land as gentle as possible. The street assailant isn’t going to give in or worry about how hard you or he hits the ground. The same works with the joint locks that can be so painful. The author has seen these joint locks literally immobilize most classroom assailants but is married to a man who the wristlocks are totally ineffective against. There is a good chance the assailant on the street may have worked years using heavy, hand held equipment and also has stronger than average wrists.

Believe it or not, the point of this article is not to put a possible student off from learning any form of martial arts. They are a great way of learning self-preservation skills, they increase health and can lower stress levels. Martial arts students are given certificates and belts for learning certain skills that are required for that particular level. These certificates are not a certification that you can get out of any given situation and shouldn’t have to worry about personal safety.

The purpose of learning is to hopefully be able to give you a large enough variety of techniques to enable you to stop the confrontation long enough to get away. It is important to remember that once you are free of your assailant, get away as quickly as possible. Don’t stand around trying to see if you did any damage or wait for him to get up and have another go at it. Once an assailant realizes you have had some type of training, he or she will fight you in an entirely different manner. A woman’s best defense includes the element of surprise so use it to your advantage and don’t stop or pause until you are free.