It's life altering, but at least for me, the single most profound event I ever had. And when I was smart enough to listen to it, in the most positive way. So how do you protect them? Since you can't be there 24/7 I insisted my girls train in how to defend themselves. Now I didn't send them to classes, but there were multiple things they were taught, and the training was done for the sole purpose of removing conscious thought from the process. Repetition made the reaction muscle memory, and instantaneous. I have a friend who is retired from MMA and he advised what I teach is prohibited in the ring. PERFECT.
Some years ago I got a phone call from my oldest, she had just been assaulted at work. At that time, she was the manager of a retail store, and had been married for about 2 years. This male customer apparently felt, as God's gift to all women, wasn't bound by the rules of common decency. He had been advised more than once, his flirting was inappropriate. Some people are just that stupid, entitled, or evil.
My girls learned to compensate for their lack of size. A hand full of keys, a pencil, a ball point pen, even a credit card, quickly evens up the odds. Soft points, eyes, nose, throat, and any joints became focus points. Elbows and knees only bend one way and forcing them to bend the wrong way won't be forgotten, ever. Much is based in martial arts, but no particulate discipline. It has a lot of Brazilian jiu-jitsu used, mostly for the stealth.
In this case, she was alone in the store. She saw him enter as she was working on a display. Five minutes later, she felt his hands on her hips from behind her. My little girl EXPLODED. She told me all the training took over. She said the world seemed to slow down. She said she even had time to think, "What if this is one of my friends?...then, My friends would know better"
Initially, she twisted at the waist to her left. I call this "Winding the spring" I shouldn't have to explain on this forum what happens when you increase velocity. Predictably, he looked to his left anticipating her turn, exposing his entire right face. She then snapped hard to her right, stepping 90 degrees with her right foot to add to her momentum, bringing her right arm up. She got her head turned quickly to pick her target. He was over a foot taller and too close for a backhand, so she used the tip of her elbow and drove it hard into his cheekbone just below his eye. She was 5'1" and less than 100 lbs soaking wet, and he was over 6' tall. He was out cold before he hit the ground. (Sniff)...Daddy's little girl....
She then walked over behind the counter and called the Mall's security office. Wisely, she went out of her way with kindness towards the security guards, almost half were off duty police. They came running, literally. One asked, "Which way did he go"? She smiled and pointed to the guy who was starting to regain consciousness, sitting 20 feet away. The older guard was a cop, and was struggling to keep a straight face as they helped him up, noting he was already displaying the growing black eye. She may have fractured his cheekbone.
This guy, actually demanded she needed to be arrested for battery. So the wise officer asked him to explain what happened.
"I just walked up to her, from behind, and put my hands on her, But in a friendly way...."
The officer started giggling, informed him that's called assault and battery, and she had every right to protect herself. He was escorted from the property and warned, he would be arrested for trespassing if he ever returned, for life. One would think that was the end of it, but nope. For over a week, he called the property owners, corporate offices, anyone he could think of. The last person she heard from was her district manager, who had told the lad, "We stand behind her 100%. We already have heard from mall security, the police, and the prosecutor. She had every right to defend herself. You can hire a private attorney to continue if you so choose, we will hire an entire law firm to defend her. Frankly, I want you to pursue it, I want to be in the courtroom when you tell the judge, my tiny store manager beat you up!"
For at least a month, she was asked for advice and assistance from a plethora of other girls working at the mall.
But that day, she just wanted to say thank you. She has a little girl now. Guess who is training her.
At least a third of my clients are elderly. Several have asked me about carrying, and all ask me to teach them how to shoot. My initial training is always the same. I insist they get a holster (bravo belts work well) and carry around their house. Now it works better with 2 people, but can be done with one. They are to practice (with an unloaded gun) to get it drawn and pointed. I have found the best target to aim at is the light switch in that room, as it differs from room to room. This continues until it becomes muscle memory. They now carry with confidence. After teaching it to my twin girls, the only target shooting they did was at 21 feet, and the target center was a hole in short order. Neither had ever fired a handgun before. No wasted ammo. If you can't get it drawn, does it matter how good your aim is on a paper target?
I've never had to draw mine in self defense, but I have had to show it.
Some years ago I got a phone call from my oldest, she had just been assaulted at work. At that time, she was the manager of a retail store, and had been married for about 2 years. This male customer apparently felt, as God's gift to all women, wasn't bound by the rules of common decency. He had been advised more than once, his flirting was inappropriate. Some people are just that stupid, entitled, or evil.
My girls learned to compensate for their lack of size. A hand full of keys, a pencil, a ball point pen, even a credit card, quickly evens up the odds. Soft points, eyes, nose, throat, and any joints became focus points. Elbows and knees only bend one way and forcing them to bend the wrong way won't be forgotten, ever. Much is based in martial arts, but no particulate discipline. It has a lot of Brazilian jiu-jitsu used, mostly for the stealth.
In this case, she was alone in the store. She saw him enter as she was working on a display. Five minutes later, she felt his hands on her hips from behind her. My little girl EXPLODED. She told me all the training took over. She said the world seemed to slow down. She said she even had time to think, "What if this is one of my friends?...then, My friends would know better"
Initially, she twisted at the waist to her left. I call this "Winding the spring" I shouldn't have to explain on this forum what happens when you increase velocity. Predictably, he looked to his left anticipating her turn, exposing his entire right face. She then snapped hard to her right, stepping 90 degrees with her right foot to add to her momentum, bringing her right arm up. She got her head turned quickly to pick her target. He was over a foot taller and too close for a backhand, so she used the tip of her elbow and drove it hard into his cheekbone just below his eye. She was 5'1" and less than 100 lbs soaking wet, and he was over 6' tall. He was out cold before he hit the ground. (Sniff)...Daddy's little girl....
She then walked over behind the counter and called the Mall's security office. Wisely, she went out of her way with kindness towards the security guards, almost half were off duty police. They came running, literally. One asked, "Which way did he go"? She smiled and pointed to the guy who was starting to regain consciousness, sitting 20 feet away. The older guard was a cop, and was struggling to keep a straight face as they helped him up, noting he was already displaying the growing black eye. She may have fractured his cheekbone.
This guy, actually demanded she needed to be arrested for battery. So the wise officer asked him to explain what happened.
"I just walked up to her, from behind, and put my hands on her, But in a friendly way...."
The officer started giggling, informed him that's called assault and battery, and she had every right to protect herself. He was escorted from the property and warned, he would be arrested for trespassing if he ever returned, for life. One would think that was the end of it, but nope. For over a week, he called the property owners, corporate offices, anyone he could think of. The last person she heard from was her district manager, who had told the lad, "We stand behind her 100%. We already have heard from mall security, the police, and the prosecutor. She had every right to defend herself. You can hire a private attorney to continue if you so choose, we will hire an entire law firm to defend her. Frankly, I want you to pursue it, I want to be in the courtroom when you tell the judge, my tiny store manager beat you up!"
For at least a month, she was asked for advice and assistance from a plethora of other girls working at the mall.
But that day, she just wanted to say thank you. She has a little girl now. Guess who is training her.
At least a third of my clients are elderly. Several have asked me about carrying, and all ask me to teach them how to shoot. My initial training is always the same. I insist they get a holster (bravo belts work well) and carry around their house. Now it works better with 2 people, but can be done with one. They are to practice (with an unloaded gun) to get it drawn and pointed. I have found the best target to aim at is the light switch in that room, as it differs from room to room. This continues until it becomes muscle memory. They now carry with confidence. After teaching it to my twin girls, the only target shooting they did was at 21 feet, and the target center was a hole in short order. Neither had ever fired a handgun before. No wasted ammo. If you can't get it drawn, does it matter how good your aim is on a paper target?
I've never had to draw mine in self defense, but I have had to show it.
Regards .
