Horrible news, guys. On Sunday night, a woman was attacked after getting off a bus on Delridge and Trenton Street in West Seattle. According to KiroTV.com, the woman had been talking on her cell phone when she noticed she was being followed. The attacker (who was armed with a gun) grabbed her, pulled her into an alleyway, sexually assaulted her, took her cell phone and walked away.
And the guy’s still out there. Yikes! (For the full story, click here).
Last night was the first time I heard about this. Colin and I attended our kajukenbo/stick fighting class (lots of self-defense moves) at the Seattle Wushu Center on California Ave. Sifu Restita told us about this assault and, very sternly, warned us to take our training seriously so that we are able to defend ourselves.
Here are some self-defense tips to keep in mind:
- Go for the soft spots- Don’t waste your time kicking or punching their arm and shoulder. In a life or death situation, you wanna go for the sweet spots. Punch their face, poke their eyes, slug them in the stomach or ribs, kick them in the groin… it may sound like “dirty fighting” but hey! Whatever works!
- If you get knocked down to the ground, cover your head and vitals, (fetal position) and wait for an opportunity to stand up or attack! Don’t stay on the ground for very long.
- Make a lot of noise! Scream for help and don’t stop screaming!
- If you are being followed, make sure the follower KNOWS that you know they’re there. Turn around and say, “Hey, how’s it going?” with your cell phone in your hand, preferably with a friend on the other end of the line who can call the cops if the pursuer tries to attack.
- To prepare for situations like these— work on stamina and cardio! After about a minute of defending yourself, you might just get exhausted and consequently lose the fight. Jog every day, beat up a punching bag (or air-punch), sprint, join a martial arts club (Seattle Wushu Center is on California Ave), or whatever. Just get yourselves in shape!
- Don’t walk alone at night! Bring a friend, bring your brother, bring your cousin, bring a taser…
I’m getting so tired of seeing horrible things like this on the news! Please, be careful out there and keep these small tips in mind when you go out at night–there’s all sorts of creeps on the streets these days! And once again, I recommend taking a few self-defense classes. Either that, or I recommend bringing along a friend who knows some kung-fu, jiu-jitsu, martial arts madness.
Or, as my buddy Corina says: “Pack a steel bat in your purse.” That should work, too.
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