Self-defense 101: engage, escape, run

By Nickky Faustine P. de Guzman

In a Utopian world, the genders are equal and violence is a foreign concept. But in reality, women are still considered weak and are often the targets of criminals. According to the Philippine National Police, the number of rape cases in the Philippines went up to 8,288 in the first half of 2015 from 5,069 in the same period in 2014. One in 10 Filipinas is a victim of sexual assault, said the Philippine Commission on Women.

This does not mean that women have to be helpless — they can fight back by learning the basics of self-defense.

“You don’t have to be athletic. Always have presence of mind and confidence. Tell the attacker: Hey, don’t mess with me,” said Paui Pena, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu blue belter, as she demonstrates a quick attack against her bigger opponent.

Don’t be fooled by her sweet looks, Ms. Pena is one hell of a fighter who has been into jiu-jitsu since 2013.

Brazilian jiu-jitsu is a combat sport and martial art that promotes the idea of David versus Goliath, where the smaller and seemingly weaker opponent can win against a giant thanks to proper technique and leverage via joint locks and choke holds.

Ms. Pena, emphasizes that the idea of martial arts is solely for self-defense. “The goal is not to inflict pain on the attacker, but just engage and escape. Run as fast as you can after,” she said.

Your safety already means you are triumphant, she added. Never fight back.

She shared a number of techniques to use. If an attacker grabs you by the hand, most people’s instinct is to push and pull back in an attempt to make the attacker let go. She said not to do this. Instead, stand beside the attacker, legs apart, and plant yourself firmly on the ground. This stance is stronger. When you are facing the attacker, the tendency is that one is pulled along. If you stand sideways, it’s harder to be pulled or pushed. The next thing to do is find the gap between your attacker’s fingers and quickly release your arm through the opening, and then twist the attacker’s arms.

“FIGHT LIKE A GIRL”
According to the global organization One Billion Rising, which aims to eradicate violence against women, one in three women across the globe will be beaten or raped during her lifetime.

“The PNP report said the rape cases in the Philippines have increased 500% since 2000,” said Gab Pangalanan, a bulky and buff guy who is behind Dojo Drifter, a multimedia company focused on fitness and combat sports and the promotion of mixed martial arts in the Philippines. It believes in the benefits of the sports: to promote fitness and camaraderie, and as a buffer against the lure of drugs.

In the lead-up to the global celebration of the annual Women’s Month in March next year, the group launched the “Fight Like a Girl” campaign on Sept. 15 that aims to hold special classes on self-defense in schools and gymnasiums in Metro Manila.

Perpetrators of violence against women do not discriminate — 80-year-olds and infants, nuns and streetwalkers, mothers and teens have all been victims.

“Violence doesn’t discriminate, so why should we?” he said.

Anyone of any gender, age, size, and shape can protect themselves. He said he himself has sparred against a blind judoka player.

“The campaign wants to highlight the kickass women, like Paui Pena and the rest. That they are a force to be reckoned with. We want to break the stereotype that women are always submissive and meek,” said Mr. Pangalanan, a judo and mixed martial arts fighter.

“People don’t know where to go to learn self-defense, so we bring it to you. You don’t have to be brusko (muscular) to do it. You can be in any age, size, and shape,” he said.

MUSCLE MEMORY
Dojo Drifter works with a wide network of gyms, including John Baylon in Pasay City. Established in 2012, it is named after the Filipino fighter who holds the longest single-title win in Southeast Asia Games — nine SEA Games gold medals to be exact.

A member of the John Baylon gym is Annie Ramirez, who may look skinny in her all-black outfit, but wait until you see her bust some moves: she’s a judo black belter.

“Self-defense is always the last option. Kahit sino, ‘pag tinanong mo kung lalaban kami, [I’d say just] give it, ’di mo naman kailangan i-risk ang life mo for a cellphone or a laptop. Gagamitin mo siya pag kailangan mo na,” she said. (If you ask any one of us if we would fight, I’d say just give it, you do not need to risk your life for your cellphone or laptop. You should only use self-defense when you need it.)

She taught this writer a simple yet hard and effective self-defense technique: when someone pushes you or pulls your hair, grab his/her pointing finger and push it backward, hard and quick. And then move your elbow — one of the strongest parts of the body — in the opposite direction of the attacker to pin him/her down.

If I lost you, do not worry. Hardly anyone gets it the first time.

“Muscle memory is important,” said Ms. Ramirez, who was into judo since 2005 before shifting to jiu-jitsu in 2010. She said repetition and the willingness to learn are the important ingredients to a successful self-defense class.

“Kung ’di ka nasa sport, ulit ulitin mo lang kahit isa o dalawa lang don para muscle memory. Pag nasa utak mo lang, ’di gagana eh, pero kapag muscle memory automatic na. Hanap ka ng partner, then do one to two na tingin mo applicable sa ’yo.” (If you’re not into sports, just do one or two routines over and over to develop muscle memory. If the routine is just in your brain, it won’t work, but if it is muscle memory it becomes automatic. Find a partner, then do one or two routines that you think are applicable to you.)

Doing a specific routine over and over again creates a continuous feedback between our brain and muscles, til we do it with ease and without effort. It becomes less daunting and essentially becomes part of our “muscle memory.”

“In one class, you can learn enough techniques [to use]. When somebody grabs you in the street, you don’t have time to think na ‘Ay paano nga ba ’yun, ganito ba?’ (How did the move go, like this?) Dapat automatic. What we taught today is a crash course, dapat less routine and more consistency. The more consistent the better. Being physically fit is key to self-defense. It’s muscle memory so it becomes automatic,” added Mr. Pangalanan.

The beauty of muscle memory is it never forgets even if we slack off after a while, agreed all the instructors.