Teaching Women's Self Defense Through Ninjutsu

[Dmitri]

You might consider updating that video with attacks that might actually take place against a (smaller) female, instead of throwing wildly-telegraphed huge punches.

But more importantly, the attacker should actually attack, instead of stopping after one swing or grab and then doing absolutely nothing afterwards, showing no aggressive intent/movement whatsoever. Unless of course you rely on those deadly, devastating strikes to the throat to land exactly like shown in the clip and incapacitate the attacker... good luck with that.

On a positive side, -- any kind of "stay away from me!" direct physical response is a very good thing to do in and of itself, regardless of technique or whatever, so if she learns at least that, that's already good. Just PLEASE, for your students' sake, change the way you are attacking them. Don't stop until you can't attack anymore, or until she has created enough time/space for herself to get the hell outta dodge, or step back and pull that Airweight mentioned earlier out of her purse.

[AllanF]

You might consider updating that video with attacks that might actually take place against a (smaller) female, instead of throwing wildly-telegraphed huge punches.

But more importantly, the attacker should actually attack, instead of stopping after one swing or grab and then doing absolutely nothing afterwards, showing no aggressive intent/movement whatsoever. Unless of course you rely on those deadly, devastating strikes to the throat to land exactly like shown in the clip and incapacitate the attacker... good luck with that.

On a positive side, -- any kind of "stay away from me!" direct physical response is a very good thing to do in and of itself, regardless of technique or whatever, so if she learns at least that, that's already good. Just PLEASE, for your students' sake, change the way you are attacking them. Don't stop until you can't attack anymore, or until she has created enough time/space for herself to get the hell outta dodge, or step back and pull that Airweight mentioned earlier out of her purse.

+1

Also you may want to consider the fundamental difference between how a male will attack another male and the way a male/predator will attack a woman. A man will more than likely try and dominate the woman as opposed to engaging in mutual combat. Read Rory Millar's books on the subject of self defense.

If this is just a course of basic strategies and techniques, personally i would use a combination of Tony Blauer's 'outside 90 splayed fingers/push away danger' and Baijiquan's Shuang Bao Tou Ding 双抱头顶 and nothing more. Baiji's elbow strike to the solar plexus will be enough to give you some distance or make the attacker think twice. Keep it simple and drill it to death.

[Mr_Wood]

i know people who have used this before. one of my former teachers was a corrections officer in Rikers Island, he said he used this stuff everyday, and one of my former classmates a girl,green belt at the time defender herself against three male attackers, so it works

I would want a little more evidence, if not first hand experience of using an art for self defense purposes before going around claiming it works and then teaching it to others giving them the impression it will definitely work.

[Michael Babin]

Grandpa Babin's 10 Vital Points on Short Term Women's Unarmed Self-defense

1. Keep it simple and drill it till it hurts on many levels [bad joke intended].
2. Avoid the "this technique is so secret/deadly/yadda-yadda-yadda" syndrome
3. The guy acting as "dummy" needs lots of padding, a strong body and patience & if possible, don't let women partner up with each other to practise; unless some are large and aggressive the way the average bully/rapist would be;
4. The participants need to be hit or knocked down enough to know what it feels like and that they can cope with it without falling apart [boxing mitts and safety matts are essential]
5. Any expert in any style will make what he or she does look potentially effective; When choosing an instructor watch the participants at a sample workshop and see how many can pick up on the ideas and methods being shown. If nobody seems to be getting "it" than "it" probably ain't there except in the teacher.
6. Emphasize disengaging as quickly as possible and running away, screaming as loudly as possible; if running isn't an option, then emphasize that fear can be harnessed
7. Emphasize that "shit happens" but that it's the right attitude that will keep you alive more than any technique or physical conditioning [though those are important].
8. That was only a list of seven..but I always had trouble with math and eight was/is a magic number in the West in any case so I'll stop here.

[pennsooner]

A drill that I love to get someone used to contact and build strength while reducing risk of injury is to get a small (40 lb) punching bag and have one person hit it while the other holds it. They take turns. Will build strength in both the person holding and the person striking and will get the person holding used to the shock of a punch safely. In order to get the full effect have someone hold the bag while it is being struck by someone with good power, perhaps the class instructor in this case.

Just a useful basic drill good for beginners.

Good luck. Try not to get anyone killed by making them think they are "ready" when their are not.

[wiz cool c]

yeah hitting pad is so ridiculous for learning how to generate power. that's why boxers, thai boxer ,sanda and all other good striking arts use them, maybe your tai chi class doesn't though. and why use a lunge punch attack,well i have been in a least 20 real fights in my life and have seen countless real life violent attacks on video. i never had someone throw a jab or vertical punch at me,hay makers and wide swings were most common, but hay hate on,i understand your pain

[gimpster]

So you're here for validation but have a thin skin and can't take feedback without flipping out. That's a bad combo for a supposed fighter.

[BonesCom]

In before the lock, popcorn and all....

[Ian]

People,

Wiz Cool C isn't looking for feedback. Any feedback.

[Andy_S]

Wiz:

Is this all a piss take...?

[Ian C. Kuzushi]

Poor guy, he should have started with his shuai jiao or push hands vids. Never open with a vid of you sitting like a taoist master with a kaidensho in ninjitsu all whilst being in Cathay! Mamamia!

Still, I'll whoop a ninja's butt.

[Sean]

The earlier reference to Rory Miller is spot on. There is someone with intimate knowledge of the subject.

True that large swinging punches are the most common attacks in street fights between males. Males are much more likely to be involved in street fights or, as Miller puts it, "monkey dancing".

Women, on the other hand, are much less likely to be engaging in this type of behavior, and much more likely to be the victims of violent crime. And the dynamics of violent crime is very different than that of a "street fight".

As Miller points out in his book, Meditations on Violence, an assault happens much closer, faster, suddenly and powerfully than most people believe.
An assault is also planned by the attacker. The criminal assailant doesn’t want a “fight”. He wants a victim. And he will choose his victim, as well as the time and place of the attack, in order to ensure minimum risk and maximum results.

In practical terms, this means that a woman is much more likely to be attacked from behind, grabbed or pushed suddenly from her blind side and dragged or beaten to the ground. Best to work on attacks that are initiated really close, in confined areas (like being caught between an assailant and a car, for example), etc.

And chill out Wiz, there are some very knowledgable people on this forum that are offering their advice. No one has been a "hater" on this thread.

[Bao]

Damn, I'm back in the eighties. The name Ninjitsu rings a bell of many strange memories.

I don't think "style" is a problem though. But i sincerely dislike all kind of short self defence courses. The very first thing people should learn is about how the mind and body reacts on sudden violence. If the body gets into a shock mode, no technique will help. Without teaching it from learning a mind set and how to control thoughts and emotions, you are really just fooling the people you are trying to teach. A false sense of security together with bad technical skill is not a good combination. Most people attending such classes would handle violent situations much better if they had no instruction, so they trusted their natural instincts instead of mediocre teaching.

[gzregorz]

Women's SD has always been a mystery to me. It seems the more I think about it the more complex it becomes. For example as useful as striking is a 100 lbs. female just isn't likely to KO a 225 lbs. male hyped up on drugs or alcohol. On top of that I doubt she would even have a chance to get into any type of boxing or kf stance before she's even grabbed, as mentioned more than likely the attack will be from behind, for example walking through a parking lot or unlocking a door. Seems to me that women's SD would be based on escapinging as quickly as possible, therefore being able to defend yourself and get out of there quickly. I have no idea how they would be taught though and the main obstacle would seem to be that women take these courses once every few years then don't even train it as a result it's hard to know if they'll even be able to use under extreme violence, obviously something is better than nothing but I'm convinced like an RSFer in truth it would have to be a lifelong pursuit to be truly effective but perhaps I'm wrong.

[Ian C. Kuzushi]

You dare question the scroll master???