A woman fighting off her attacker is something we can all cheer for.
Let’s take a close look at how this all played out, what she did right and what she did wrong. The remarkable thing is that even though she had no martial arts training, she prevailed in this assault. That can be chalked up to great stamina, good strength, and the will to fight back.
Dissecting this video shows her mistakes and her triumphs. When she sees him at the locked door to her gym, she lets him in. I get it, she was trying to be nice, accommodating, and do him that favor. The problem is, she was in an enclosed space with someone bigger and presumably stronger than she is. This translates to the other person being able to dictate what happens. If they are a bad person this does not bode well, as exemplified in this situation.
Her next mistake was not knowing the emergency settings for her phone. I was wincing at her desperately trying to use her phone to get help. All smartphones now have an emergency SOS feature that does not require dialing. For example, on an iPhone, if you hold down the side button and one of the volume buttons an emergency SOS feature pops up and you just have to slide the bar to call 911. All phones have variations of this feature, and you should know it. Look at how hard it was for her to try to call for help.
Her third and last mistake was running past the door in a blind panic when she initially broke free of him. By the time she realized it and turned, he was already blocking her exit. She had to stand and fight some more.
In the end, it wasn’t a viscous right hook that took him out, it was simply the fact she refused to give up and he became winded. She never gave up fighting against him, and because she had better cardio, she was eventually able to break his grip and run out. It reminds me of what one of my Krav Maga instructors used to yell. “Whoever has more gas in the tank is going to win”.
Here’s your take aways from this clip:
- Don’t be too nice or polite, you don’t know him and don’t owe him anything.
- Train, train, train, at something! Even if it’s not boxing or a martial art, it will most likely increase your stamina and strength.
- Always fight back with everything you’ve got, never give up, you could be fighting for your life.