How to defend yourself if attacked
Would you know what to do if someone tried to attack you? David Carr, who teaches karate and self-defense classes in Meridian, gives a few tips. The first thing is to be aware at all times.
“Everyone needs to assess their life and say, ‘If I’m going to be attacked, where am I most likely to be attacked? Is it at night leaving the gym? Walking to my car after work?’ Now think, what are you doing to avoid being attacked in these places.”
He says to remain calm if an attacker confronts you.
“When you’re calm, you can think rationally, naturally. Say ok, what’s my situation, what’s going on here. Don’t think about dying. Keep him calm, say, ‘Just stay calm.’ Have your hands out in front of you. Stand at an angle, say, ‘Stay calm. I’m going to give you my money.’”
He says to stay put if the attacker tries to take you somewhere.
“Stay in crime scene A. Even if you get shot. Be shot at the mall. Not after they take you back to the rice paddy somewhere and do what they want with you and shoot you in the middle of a field. They don’t find your body for months. So, you want to be right there where you can holler, scream, blow your horn, cause people to turn around and look. You have a greater chance of survival there than out in a corn field.”
He explains techniques you can use to defend yourself. Here I am demonstrating a few.
“There’s always kicking to the knees. Knee to the groin. Two fingers to the eyes. Strikes to the throat, ears.”
He adds that taking self-defense classes is probably a good idea.
“We actually had one of our students who we were teaching how to use a knife. Two people attacked her. They grabbed her purse and started to attack her. She stepped back, pushed them back, pulled out her knife and opened it. As soon as you did it, they could.”
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