Note: This blog post was guest written by one of our event attendees and members, Amanda Schwarz. If you are interested in attending and writing about our events, please contact us at info@awaplusd.org.
By Amanda Schwarz
Our group of fearless AWA+D ladies gathered to learn key self-defense concepts from Nelson, our soft-spoken yet fierce instructor from SHEILD. Although this was not an architecture or design event, it was an empowering experience to keep us safe as women in the world.
We began with how to avoid violence:
Listen to your gut. It knows things that your intellect can’t know.
Pay attention to your surroundings and walk confidently.
If you can run, then run.
Go into a local business.Carry Pepper spray.
Yell from your diaphragm something like “back off.”
Many people avoid violence by startling their attacker.
Then we learned that if you are attacked:
Your weapons are your forehead, teeth, forearms, hands, legs, and feet.
Their weaknesses are their groin (best spot), nose, eyes, or throat. Do not aim for their stomach, chest, or other part of the body, it will not be effective.
Counterintuitively, if you are attacked and you can no longer run, you should actually get closer to the attacker. Grab them with your own hands instead of pushing away; this gives you more control and makes it more difficult for them to hit you or throw you.
If you only remember one thing: YELL LOUDLY AND HIT THE GROIN.
Pairing off into groups, we practiced a few maneuvers to combat an attacker. One highlight was getting to full-force kick the attacker in the groin (although the protective gear thankfully saved our instructor Nelson from suffering the impact of our rage). In just one morning of practice, we were all starting to get a hang of it. But there is a lot more to learn and more practice will help us be even more ready.
While we hope we’ll never have to use these skills, we have grown more confident in our strength and are prepared to defend ourselves.