All the scary statistics on
campus sexual assault lead some women to take self-defense classes. Two
self-defense instructors want these women to know another statistic: Women who
fight back have an 81% reduction in the likelihood of completed rape.
The statistic comes from an analysis of data from the National Crime Victimization Survey. The self-defense instructors— Leslie Peterson and Sylvia Cranston—offer workshops in Eugene that teach women how to fight back.
Leslie is an instructor with Warrior Sisters, a non-profit group that offers self-defense classes for women, youth, seniors and college students in Eugene, Oregon. Sylvia is co-owner of RMA martial arts and fitness studio, also in Eugene. The two occasionally team up to conduct workshops for women of all ages.
The right to fight
In their workshops, Leslie and Sylvia lead student through a series of drills that empower women to avoid and survive assault. Students in a typical class include university students, professional women, and moms who bring their young kids.
For most people, talking about—much less practicing—how to fight off an attack is disturbing. Instead of using fear to motivate, Leslie and Sylvia encourage students to tap into their sense of self-worth. “You don’t deserve to be attacked,” says Sylvia. “Even if you made some bad choices, you absolutely have the right to defend yourself.”
Defending yourself does not require the ability to break bricks or do spinning kung fu moves. Instead, it requires some basic skills that students practice during workshop drills: how to set boundaries, how to sense when boundaries are being pushed, and how to act quickly and effectively when boundaries are crossed.
“Setting boundaries with somebody making demands on you is a good place to start in practice.”
Setting boundaries begins with a drill of exploration. Students line up shoulder to shoulder. One student walks down the line and notices how she feels as she makes eye contact with each person. There is no right or wrong way to do it, Leslie says. Instead, it is “a drill to have awareness about how you are in the world. Are you uncomfortable making eye contact? Do you feel compelled to nervously smile at strangers?”
She encourages students do this exercise in public. “As you walk down the street, think about that. What are your personal boundaries? What’s ok for you? What message does your body language send to other people?” Sylvia adds this exploration should be extended to other areas of life. “You want to know ahead of time what your boundaries are, instead of waiting until they are broken and hoping you will do the right thing. Really sit and think about it: ‘What will I allow in my space? Who will I allow in my space?’”
“This comes from a self-proclaimed nice person who really has a tough time saying no and always wants to be nice. We practice saying ‘No.’”
Students pair up for a drill to build awareness of when their boundaries are being pushed. One student walks ahead. The other steps in behind and follows closely. When the student senses she’s being followed, she turns, raises her hands and commands: “Leave me alone!”
“You’re not going to do this to everybody who is walking behind you,” says Sylvia. Instead the drill encourages students to follow their gut and sense when boundaries are being tested in any situation. “A predator will test your boundaries and pick a person who will make it easy for them.”
Leslie insists students say ‘no’ like they really mean it. “I think we are all pretty well practiced at saying a ‘leave me alone’ that sounds like this: ‘You know, I’m sorry, I don’t want to offend you or anything but maybe you could leave me alone.” She then leads the class in yelling a piercing “No” and “Leave me alone” that comes up through the soles of their feet.
With this this drill, Sylvia has found that many students experience an exhilarating breakthrough. “They did something they didn’t think they could do. They said ‘no.’ It gives people a very powerful feeling to say no—and to say it loudly—and still know that you are a good person, a nice person. For some women, it is the first time they’ve practiced saying ‘no’ and drawing their boundaries in an assertive way.”
“In a second, you just turn the tables and go from victim to defender”
When Sylvia and Leslie introduce the punching and kicking drills most people expect from a self-defense class, they warn that the techniques will only work if student follow an important rule: “There are no rules.”
“Every day we live by rules, driving rules, social rules,” says Sylvia. “Rules that say, ‘Don’t cause a scene,’ and ‘I shouldn’t kick people in the groin.’ But there are no rules in self-defense. When it comes to defending my life or the lives of my family, fairness is no longer an issue. We don’t go there in our daily lives. But we need to know that we can go there."
With a commitment to do whatever it takes to survive, a women can use the element of surprise against her assailant. When an assailant chooses a victim, he thinks he’s in charge. He is not thinking about defending himself. He’s expecting his victim to give in. A women can surprise and overwhelm her assailant during this moment by attacking what Leslie calls “soft targets:” eyes, ears, neck, groin. “Your attacker is not expecting you to do something like that.”
Attacking soft targets works, Leslie explains, because “a three hundred pound, six foot nine person has the same pain level as much smaller person for some of these targets. The eyes are soft and vulnerable. No matter how big and strong you are, it hurts to get hit there."
Soft target attacks can be done quickly and don’t require much power. "Attacking the soft targets allows us to create a response in the attacker which creates an opening,” says Sylvia. “If you strike the eyes, then the attackers hands will come up, leaving the groin open. This gets us in a better position to execute harder more powerful strikes if we have to. And to finish the fight and get away."
Leslie has students use training gear to practice attacks on soft targets. Student use a life-like dummy to execute an ear-slap, eye-gouge combination. They use a tombstone pad to practice groin kicks. They lie under a heavy bag and throw hammer fists to the face.
While these are all effective techniques, Leslie believes the exercises provide the additional benefit of self-expression. “Learning the physical practice of self-defense gives you a way to express something that you were not able to express in words. It’s a physical expression of something you didn’t have words for that can be liberating.”
This self-expression builds a confidence that students can project outward into the world. Sylvia believes self-confidence—coupled with awareness—is the key to preventing trouble before it starts. “The way I act, walk, make eye contact…the way I carry myself. Through my actions, I’m telling you I’m not an aggressive person, but I’m not passive or timid. I know you are there and I can handle myself.”
In this sense, self-defense training is less about the kicking and punching. While it may come down to that, Leslie and Sylvia emphasize it is first and foremost about mindset. It is understanding that it is not your fault if you are attacked, that no one has the right to hurt you. And if somebody tries to hurt, you have the right to stop him.
The statistic comes from an analysis of data from the National Crime Victimization Survey. The self-defense instructors— Leslie Peterson and Sylvia Cranston—offer workshops in Eugene that teach women how to fight back.
Leslie is an instructor with Warrior Sisters, a non-profit group that offers self-defense classes for women, youth, seniors and college students in Eugene, Oregon. Sylvia is co-owner of RMA martial arts and fitness studio, also in Eugene. The two occasionally team up to conduct workshops for women of all ages.
The right to fight
In their workshops, Leslie and Sylvia lead student through a series of drills that empower women to avoid and survive assault. Students in a typical class include university students, professional women, and moms who bring their young kids.
For most people, talking about—much less practicing—how to fight off an attack is disturbing. Instead of using fear to motivate, Leslie and Sylvia encourage students to tap into their sense of self-worth. “You don’t deserve to be attacked,” says Sylvia. “Even if you made some bad choices, you absolutely have the right to defend yourself.”
Defending yourself does not require the ability to break bricks or do spinning kung fu moves. Instead, it requires some basic skills that students practice during workshop drills: how to set boundaries, how to sense when boundaries are being pushed, and how to act quickly and effectively when boundaries are crossed.
“Setting boundaries with somebody making demands on you is a good place to start in practice.”
Setting boundaries begins with a drill of exploration. Students line up shoulder to shoulder. One student walks down the line and notices how she feels as she makes eye contact with each person. There is no right or wrong way to do it, Leslie says. Instead, it is “a drill to have awareness about how you are in the world. Are you uncomfortable making eye contact? Do you feel compelled to nervously smile at strangers?”
She encourages students do this exercise in public. “As you walk down the street, think about that. What are your personal boundaries? What’s ok for you? What message does your body language send to other people?” Sylvia adds this exploration should be extended to other areas of life. “You want to know ahead of time what your boundaries are, instead of waiting until they are broken and hoping you will do the right thing. Really sit and think about it: ‘What will I allow in my space? Who will I allow in my space?’”
“This comes from a self-proclaimed nice person who really has a tough time saying no and always wants to be nice. We practice saying ‘No.’”
Students pair up for a drill to build awareness of when their boundaries are being pushed. One student walks ahead. The other steps in behind and follows closely. When the student senses she’s being followed, she turns, raises her hands and commands: “Leave me alone!”
“You’re not going to do this to everybody who is walking behind you,” says Sylvia. Instead the drill encourages students to follow their gut and sense when boundaries are being tested in any situation. “A predator will test your boundaries and pick a person who will make it easy for them.”
Leslie insists students say ‘no’ like they really mean it. “I think we are all pretty well practiced at saying a ‘leave me alone’ that sounds like this: ‘You know, I’m sorry, I don’t want to offend you or anything but maybe you could leave me alone.” She then leads the class in yelling a piercing “No” and “Leave me alone” that comes up through the soles of their feet.
With this this drill, Sylvia has found that many students experience an exhilarating breakthrough. “They did something they didn’t think they could do. They said ‘no.’ It gives people a very powerful feeling to say no—and to say it loudly—and still know that you are a good person, a nice person. For some women, it is the first time they’ve practiced saying ‘no’ and drawing their boundaries in an assertive way.”
“In a second, you just turn the tables and go from victim to defender”
When Sylvia and Leslie introduce the punching and kicking drills most people expect from a self-defense class, they warn that the techniques will only work if student follow an important rule: “There are no rules.”
“Every day we live by rules, driving rules, social rules,” says Sylvia. “Rules that say, ‘Don’t cause a scene,’ and ‘I shouldn’t kick people in the groin.’ But there are no rules in self-defense. When it comes to defending my life or the lives of my family, fairness is no longer an issue. We don’t go there in our daily lives. But we need to know that we can go there."
With a commitment to do whatever it takes to survive, a women can use the element of surprise against her assailant. When an assailant chooses a victim, he thinks he’s in charge. He is not thinking about defending himself. He’s expecting his victim to give in. A women can surprise and overwhelm her assailant during this moment by attacking what Leslie calls “soft targets:” eyes, ears, neck, groin. “Your attacker is not expecting you to do something like that.”
Attacking soft targets works, Leslie explains, because “a three hundred pound, six foot nine person has the same pain level as much smaller person for some of these targets. The eyes are soft and vulnerable. No matter how big and strong you are, it hurts to get hit there."
Soft target attacks can be done quickly and don’t require much power. "Attacking the soft targets allows us to create a response in the attacker which creates an opening,” says Sylvia. “If you strike the eyes, then the attackers hands will come up, leaving the groin open. This gets us in a better position to execute harder more powerful strikes if we have to. And to finish the fight and get away."
Leslie has students use training gear to practice attacks on soft targets. Student use a life-like dummy to execute an ear-slap, eye-gouge combination. They use a tombstone pad to practice groin kicks. They lie under a heavy bag and throw hammer fists to the face.
While these are all effective techniques, Leslie believes the exercises provide the additional benefit of self-expression. “Learning the physical practice of self-defense gives you a way to express something that you were not able to express in words. It’s a physical expression of something you didn’t have words for that can be liberating.”
This self-expression builds a confidence that students can project outward into the world. Sylvia believes self-confidence—coupled with awareness—is the key to preventing trouble before it starts. “The way I act, walk, make eye contact…the way I carry myself. Through my actions, I’m telling you I’m not an aggressive person, but I’m not passive or timid. I know you are there and I can handle myself.”
In this sense, self-defense training is less about the kicking and punching. While it may come down to that, Leslie and Sylvia emphasize it is first and foremost about mindset. It is understanding that it is not your fault if you are attacked, that no one has the right to hurt you. And if somebody tries to hurt, you have the right to stop him.