After the recent events which have taken place in the city, without a doubt, Bengaluru is not safe anymore for women. Everything from petitions to increased security and even protests have taken place, but nothing is as good as taking matters into our own hands. Attempting at doing just that, more and more women are registering themselves at self defence classes, so they can protect themselves in times of crisis, without having to depend on others.
Most gyms and self defence training centres admit that there has been a larger influx of women registering for classes post the New Year Eve incident. “It’s time women stopped running away from risky situations and stood up for themselves. Simple twists of the hand and kickboxing techniques can take them a long way to even give them enough time to get to somewhere safer,” opines Danny Fernandes, a women’s self defence coach. “Punches too are very effective if they know the weakest areas. But mostly self defence classes teach women about being aware of their surroundings. It’s all about dealing tactfully with attackers,” adds the instructor.
Apart from women taking matters into their hands, a number of corporate too are trying to encourage women to take up self defence. “Attack and defence are the two main techniques of self defence, which is what most corporate want their female employees to be aware about,” says Prasad MG who has been conducting workshops for different corporate in the city. “After the MG Road incident, more women are coming forward to learn the techniques, but it’s still not enough. Women are still very held back when it comes to training and think it takes a lot of effort, but it’s not karate chops or kickboxing and takes minimum effort but is very important for every woman to be able to defend herself, especially in today’s day and age,” continues the trainer.
A file picture of girls at a self defence class.
But just aggression and violence is not the way to go. Following the scientific technique and no rule system, is the way to do it, according to Franklin Joseph. “Most women think carrying pepper spray and knives will keep them safe, but when somebody comes to attack, how do you have time to fish these things out of your pocket or bag? I think they are the most misleading aspects in women’s safety,” says the women and child safety empowerment specialist at BadAzz self defence. “Self defence is more than that. It’s about being smart and analysing the situation. More than fighting back, I think it’s important that women learn how to react. In certain situations, violence will not work and women will have to know how to make the attacker back off, just verbally, which is where self defence comes in handy,” says the instructor.
Swift moves
It’s all about body mechanics and the element of surprise. Here are some simple self defence techniques you can follow...
Answer the phone move: Make a fist with your hand and raise it to your ear as if picking up a telephone. The swing your elbow and hit the attacker’s chin.
The flamingo move: Stand on one leg and bend the leg you are not standing on. Swiftly kick your attacker’s shin, but make sure to keep the kick low so he can’t defend it
Air guitar move: If your arm has been grabbed, raise the grabbed arm and move it in circular motion towards your face, as if you are playing an air guitar!
