BellaOnline Forums Health and Fitness Martial Arts Parking Lot Self Defense

I know martial arts isn't all about self defense But I figured this was the best forum to ask this in.

If a woman is alone in a parking lot and is being threatened, what is the best way for her to defend herself assuming she can't just run? Keys between the fingers?

That's a tough question Lisa. I would say it depends upon the situation. Keys are an option but even if those aren't available, almost anything at hand can be used as a means of self-defense.

The key to self-defense is really to first catch your attacker offguard. A lot of times practicing self-defense is hard because self-defense is about 2 factors:
1) catching your opponent off guard to gain the upper hand
2) put aside elegance for focusing on the immediate concern, getting away

The converse is the same as well: If you are caught off guard, you're in a worse position and if you focus on trying to be elegant about your attack rather than focusing on the objective of getting away you may miss an opportunity.

Those are my thoughts.

I would love to learn Martial Arts only for self defense.

Right I definitely think everyone should know the basics of self defense to be able to even try to keep themselves safe. And everyone should be in shape enough to at least run away a short while.

They say to kick at the kneecaps, that they are very vulnerable and you don't need to be strong to hurt them. So I would probably try to kick and then flee ...

It's actually quite hard to kick the kneecaps. If you kick at the wrong part and they have particularly strong shins, you end up hurting yourself moreso than them.

Sorry my answer was so vague Lisa but it really does depend on the situation. Let's say they are behind you or grabbing you from in front. One of the best things is if you can to actually stomp their foot as hard as you can. 1) the shock factor of getting hit there is often very high if you don't expect it, 2) it's an easier target to know if you've hit it or not.

If they grabbed your arm or purse is another situation. One thing you could do is a hard slap on where they are grabbing you. Again, the shock value of getting hit often leads to people reacting by opening up their hands.

There are actually a lot of schools which focus on just that. I recall a few that came up right after 9/11 and were specifically for flight attendants. Local YMCA's and other such organizations also tend to run self-defense specific Martial Arts. And of course, most schools and disciplines will teach self defense along the way.

My grandson is taking kick boxing, is that like martial arts??

Hi Skyhaven,

Yes. Kickboxing can be a form of Martial Arts. Many kickboxers come from very strong Martial Arts backgrounds. It's not "one" form by itself as the participants are from many different styles (some aren't even from Martial Arts originally but rather a boxing background). In fact, one of the best known kickboxers of our time, Don "the Dragon" Wilson, belongs to the Pai Lum Tao family and trained under GrandMaster Pai.

How long has he been practicing? Have you gotten to see any of his matches yet?

For a simple system I recommend Krav Maga for a self defense base. The system is very simple and uses natural instinct and simple moves to take down an assailant. This art also focuses on defense against knives and guns.