I know that a child is going to find it almost impossible to defend themselves against an attacker. So how and what do you teach them? Is this very much dependant on age? Budo.
I teach my children simple rules, actually I remind them over and over and over again that being smart is part of being safe. 1. Always try to walk with a buddy...try never to walk alone. Walk straight to and from school... I will be waiting and worried if you are late. 2. Walk on the sidewalks away from the traffic so it is more difficult for someone to just open a car door and grab you 3. When walking to a friends house alone... call me when you get there so I know you are safe. Call before you leave so I know to expect you. 4. If someone approaches you that you do not know, ignore them. If they try to grab you, scream, kick and yelll as loud as you can that you do not want to go with this person. MAKE A BIG SCENE! 5. Make sure your kids know a secret password so they know if you really sent that person for them, even if it is someone they feel they know telling them that their mother/father is hurt and they need to come with them. All common sense things to try and make my children safe... I have two girls. I also take them to mixed martial arts classes in hopes that if attacked they may have some sort of advantage... don't know if this is true... I hope I never have to find out.
Another good rule: When in doubt or danger, never, ever get in the person's car, no matter what they say or how they threaten you. I also have my children, ages 13 and 10, in a class with heavy emphasis on grappling and groundfighting. Thanks to this, my 13-year old daughter's physical confidence has increased dramatically since she started. We also talk very frankly about what an attack might be like. Even so, talking doesn't teach her to think fast the way reacting in a grappling situation in class does.
This is taken from the PARENT'S GUIDE TO KIDNAP PREVENTION website (lots of good info there for parents!) (F) - FIND a way out of the situation (E) - ESCAPE from the situation (A) - ALWAYS be AWARE of danger (R) - RUN away as fast as you can FIND A WAY OUT OF THE SITUATION: No matter what situation your child may FIND himself or herself in, they should be taught to always FIND a way out. They should learn to be observant, resourceful and clever. They should develop the skill of conquering their FEAR by keeping a level head and using their common sense skills. ESCAPE FROM THE SITUATION: Your child should be taught to consciously look for ways of ESCAPING from a would-be abductor or possible kidnapping situation. Running away from the situation is usually your child's best line of ESCAPE. If your child is abducted and tossed into the trunk of a car, he or she should be taught to try kicking out the tail light from inside the trunk. Sometimes this will attract the attention of a police officer. ALWAYS BE AWARE OF DANGER: AWARENESS is the key to avoiding danger and taking a proactive approach to kidnap prevention. Developing keen AWARENESS skills teaches your child how to stay out of dangerous places such as new construction sites, parking lots and alleys. The word ALWAYS should be a constant reminder to your child to never let their guard down, not even for a second. It should also be a reminder and wake-up call to you, the parent or guardian, as well! RUN AWAY AS FAST AS YOU CAN: Your child must RUN away from a stranger at the first hint that something may be wrong or seem out of place. A child should be taught to trust their instincts. Their instincts are usually right. RUNNING places distance between your child and someone who may harm them. Tell your child to run away from a stranger, not toward or past them. Teach your child to run in the OPPOSITE direction a car is facing, should they be followed by a vehicle. It is a lot easier for your child to turn around and change directions than it is for a car to do the same. Children understand more than you might imagine, even kids 3 - 4 years of age. When you are teaching your child what to do, engage in role playing with them. Present a realistic situation that might arise, such as you being the stranger and approaching your child to see how your child would react. NEVER put your child down if he or she makes a mistake, but correct them in a positive way to reinforce their understanding of what you are trying to teach them. Seek feedback from your child. It is recommended that you review all of this information with your 3 - 4 year old child at least once every three months and older children once every 3-6 months. It makes an excellent weekend family project and shouldn't take a great deal of your time. Kids also enjoy the role playing aspect of their education. Make it fun for everyone involved.
My boys all have a background in kicking. They know where to kick so that even an adult would be injured, they go for the knees, groin, raking the shins. Go for the eyes with the fingernails, even jamming a finger up the nose. That is a very sensitive area also. My daughter, the petite little thing she is, has one of those ear piercing screams that only dogs and policemen can hear. I swear she can scream louder than anyone I know. She knows to go for the eyes if someone was to grab her and scream as loud and long as she can. Since she is NEVER out of my sight outdoors, it would get ugly if someone tried to snatch her. After my sons and I got finished, whatever was leftover, the police can have....
I just love this post, family united I don't have children yet but if I had I think I would be the same. oh BTW how old is your daughter?
KCHICK has put up some of the best ideas I have seen. Noise, even falling to the ground and kicking while screaming is much better anything to make dragging them hard. Keep in mind what the kids scream is very important they do not want to be taken for a spoiled brat not getting thier way. I always teach the kids that to try an fight using kicks punchs even most grappling against an adult WILL NOT work. I do not care what move you use a even a 12-14 year old girl who is a BB or above will not beat 190 - 250 lb man intent on hurting them. I let them kick and punch me to show them. The famous groin shots all guys know this and are good a deflecting it even if not a trained MA.
What, even a nukite to the larynx? Jeez, testosterone has some seriously cool qualities. I want some!
Children learn gross body movements: get out of the way, turn, put your arms here, put your feet here, duck, run away. It's the simple things that make all the grown-up "good stuff" work. Children don't have the coordination to do anything complicated, but they can learn the same foundation that adults have to first learn.
i dont think that teaching a kid how to kick people in the goolies, poke eyes etc is the smartest thing to do. they arent going to do enough damage to really slow the attacker down, and then they'll be back at square one- except that the attacker will now have that much more incentive.
It's unrealistic to think that a young child can defend itself against a fully grown adult. The best self-defence techniques for children are the non-violent ones-awareness, escape, shouting for help etc etc etc. Moreover, a kidnapper, paedophile etc being an adult will have a mental advantage and will be smarter in the sense that they will fool the child into a false sense of security rather than just picking them up and taking them away, they will intice the child with false promises etc.
Not "we." Children are defenseless against adults. Age 8 vs. age 30. Who wins? Age 30. Even age 10, even age 12, the adult will still win. That's why God invented parents. I haven't been there yet, but I wonder if I wouldn't one-up Kwajman: After I'm done with a would-be attacker, the coroner can have what's left over. There won't be anything for the police. That is how I feel about all three of my kids, and my wife too. I thank God that I've never been in that situation.
Really? Most kids I know would run if someone started acting like that - as the media says modern kids are getting precocious Age 14, what's your verdict? I'm 5'7, as tall as most adults or nearly, sooo.....it's probably just a stupid gut instinct or something but something tells me I could 'take care of myself' No-one needs to train in them. We all know how to scream and run.
Well, look at all the kids getting abducted.....doesn't seem to comply with your theory. and don't you mean cautious? you're 14 and 5' 7", but that means nothing. Im 5'10" but i know most adult guys or even guys 4 years older than me that could be me purely because with age comes confidence, and more importantly strength...at 14 you won't have as much strength as a 21 year old. Easy to say but its harder to do when it ACTUALLY happens, rather than pontificating and being a theoritician. have you actually had a fight lately of "taken care of yourself" as you put it?
I agree, I dont think it matters how much MA training you have and how much you know what you're supposed to do in these situations, you'll never really know until it happens. All you can do is hope that you would do SOMETHING.
True, also depending on where you live its not likely that you will be getting into a fight or needing to defend yourself physically everyday. Perhaps you will never need to do this. Common sense and self-confidence will help though when trying to avoid confrontation.
