Sexual Assault Awareness Month brings a spotlight to self-defense skills
April is sexual assault awareness month and with one in five women in the nation experiencing completed or attempted rape during their lifetime, it's important to learn how to thwart attackers.
A team from SHIELD Women's Self-Defense shared that knowing what to hit and knowing what to hit with makes a big difference.
Instructor Nelson Nio said no one is too young to start learning self-defense. Some classes start taking girls as young as 8 years old. A National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey found that most female victims of completed or attempted rape said it happened before age 25.
Nio said he was inspired to start teaching women's self-defense 20 years ago when a coworker of his was badly attacked while walking from her car to her apartment.
"She's barely five feet tall. So after that incident, I did a lot of research on the internet, and when I found out that every two minutes, a woman is sexually assaulted in this country alone, I started putting together self-defense training specifically for women," said Nio.
As far as some quick tips, Nio says when trying to push someone away from you, don't push on the chest, push on the neck. The groin on male attackers is a key target zone. Nio says to use all your body weight to strike the knee repeatedly into the groin.
He said it takes about five self-defense classes to really get a good foundation.
Here are some general guidelines for self-protection:
- Be aware of your surroundings
- Be car smart
- Use your strengths against their vulnerabilities
- Get loud and push back
- Take an opportunity to run
