If assaulted, hit and run

A strange man has pinned you to the ground, his hands are reaching for your throat, what do you do?

Pull a crazy Jackie Chan-like stunt and head-butt him, kick him in the chest and do a back flip to get out from underneath his grasp?

I wish.

I admit, I’m not quite sure what I would do if a stranger attacked me. But after taking a women’s self defence workshop at St. Albert Jiu-Jitsu Dojo on Saturday, I now have a better idea.

Ideally, I would do a body bridge, hook my attacker’s knee with my left leg, scissor kick and flip him onto his back. But realistically, I would hope to just deliver a powerful punch to his nose and run away as fast as I could.

“The most important thing is to keep it simple, don’t try the fancy stuff you see in the movies,” said StĂ©phane DorĂ©, a fifth degree black belt and chief instructor at St. Albert Jiu-Jitsu Dojo.

“Distract, immobilize and run.”

With the recent rash of assaults in south Edmonton – all physical attacks on women – I jumped at the chance to participate in the weekend course taught by DorĂ© at his studio in Riel Business Park.

Along with a couple of mother-daughter duos and a few singletons, most were in the same boat as me – they have always thought a self defence class would be beneficial, but never followed through.

Over the course of two hours we learned the basics: getting into a proper fight stance and delivering a powerful punch using the driving force in your hips. Doré also taught proper technique for a front snap kick and roundhouse kick. The roundhouse will hopefully bring your attacker to the ground when your front foot and shin strike the back of his knees.

Doré also stressed the importance of palm, elbow and knee strikes as powerful defence tools, especially if you are in very close physical contact to your attacker.

A palm strike can be delivered to the chin, nose or throat. An elbow strike can be thrown forwards or back, with one elbow or assisted with the second elbow for more force. Aim for the groin with a knee thrust.

“Once you get the attacker down, hit their face and run away. You don’t want to get into a fight,” said DorĂ©.

The class also reviewed more complex techniques, including hand grab escapes, choke-hold escapes and ways to get on top of your attacker if you have been subdued.

Dore noted that it is unlikely you will remember a specific technique to use if you are being attacked, but with more practice you will build muscle memory.

“Just do what you can to defend yourself,” he reminded.

Techniques taught in the class stemmed from several disciplines of martial arts, including jiu-jitsu, judo and mixed martial arts.

DorĂ© plans to hold a women’s self defence class every Saturday or Sunday if there is enough interest. Subsequent classes will explore leg locks, arm bars and joint holds.