selfdefenseshow

This podcast episode discusses practical self-defense techniques, personal safety, and empowerment for women and teenage girls. The guest, Gigi, shares insights on staying safe as a teenager and the importance of self-defense classes like Krav Maga. The episode also addresses the problem of violence against women and the need for effective solutions. Gigi talks about common safety concerns for teenage girls and shares tips on staying safe, such as carrying pepper spray and using personal safety devices. The episode emphasizes the importance of self-defense training and quick thinking in difficult situations. Welcome to my podcast, where we will discuss practical self-defense techniques, personal safety, and empowerment for women and teenage girls. I'm your host, Jasmine, and today we have a very special guest, my friend Gigi, joining us to share her insights on staying safe as a teenager. Gigi is a teenage girl just like me. Gigi has taken self-defense awareness classes, such as a special martial arts called Krav Maga, which is a self-defense class, which is why she has the authority to speak confidently and insightfully on our self-defense podcast, offering valuable perspectives to our listeners. In today's episode, we'll be addressing some crucial questions about personal safety, self-defense, and the unique challenges faced by teenage girls. I am interested in this topic because my dad takes Krav Maga lessons, and he always stresses the importance of staying safe. Before we explore the solutions of self-defense techniques, let's acknowledge the elephant in the room. We're addressing the problem of violence against women head on, focusing on the victims and not just the perpetrators. It's essential to define the problem before we can offer effective solutions. The issue at hand is clear. Women and girls are not as safe as they should be in our world. This is a problem that affects all of us, and it's time we confront it with open eyes and open hearts. Now, why is this happening? Who is attacking them? Violence against women is a complex issue with roots in societal norms, power imbalances, and deeply ingrained beliefs. By not naming the issue directly, we risk perpetuating the idea that this is something we have to live with, an unfortunate reality, but it doesn't have to be that way. One legislative effort to address this pervasive problem is the Violence Against Women Act. It's a landmark piece of legislation that recognizes the severity of the issue and seeks to provide resources and support for victims. The fact that Congress is actively working on this issue emphasizes its national significance. Now let's dive right in to questions with Tiji. Hi, Tiji. Welcome. Hi. Thank you for having me. How are you? I'm good. How are you? I'm good. All right. Let's hop right into questions. In your opinion, how can schools and communities work together to create safer environments for teenage girls and reduce the risk of sexual assault? You know, currently at Santa Barbara City College, I take a great self-defense class with a bunch of other girls who are all there for the same reasons, to learn how to defend themselves and keep ourselves safe in the world we live in today. I've learned so much so far, a lot of moves, a lot of tactics. I think a class like this, I would recommend it for any girl. I think that this is a great way to prevent harm to girls. Yes. That's amazing. What are some significant things that you've learned from this class so far? One of the most significant things is we learned about mount attacks, which are the most common attacks on women, where a man will get on top of a girl and hold her down. This is usually associated with sexual assault. That's amazing that you're learning that stuff in your class. Thank you, Gigi, for those valuable insights. It's clear that incorporating self-defense into our daily routines is essential for personal safety. According to RAINN, Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network, individuals aged from 12 through 34 are at the highest risk of sexual assault, with teenage girls between 16 through 19 being particularly vulnerable. As a teenager, what are some common safety concerns or situations that you and your peers often face in your daily lives? In my class, they educated us about rape rates in the area, specifically Isla Vista, which has extremely high rape rates. That's a concern for me because I want to be able to go out with my friends and have fun, go to Isla Vista, but I don't want to be harmed and I don't want to have to be anxious or worried all the time about being hurt. Exactly. Have you or your friends ever felt unsafe in specific situations or environments? If so, how did you handle it? Yes. I think me and my friends always try to do what we can to keep ourselves safe. We carry pepper spray, and I have an alarm that I carry with me called a birdie, which has been great. That helps me feel safe in myself. Also, traveling in groups, staying with each other, never going out alone, especially at night, is super essential. Yes. I learned that in a Crowd Magog class, actually, that staying in groups is really helpful and just to keep your head on a swivel and always just scan your areas. Now, what does the birdie do? The birdie, you can pull it out, it's like a two-piece device, and it makes a loud alarm sound that continues to grow, so if you're in a dangerous situation or feel uncomfortable or if you're uncomfortable at all, you can separate it and the alarm will go off, alerting people around you. Wow. That's a great resource. All right. Now, circling back to Crowd Magog, Crowd Magog is a martial art designed for self-defense. We actually went together to a Crowd Magog lesson. They taught me some essential skills on keeping myself safe, like never going into dimly lit areas and always checking my surroundings. One of the most important things I took away from that class was to look people in the eyes, especially if you get a bad feeling from someone, a man, someone you feel like could attack you. Look them in the eyes, let them know that you're not intimidated by them, because if you give them eye contact, they're less likely to see you as prey and they're more likely to be intimidated and not feel they can attack. And I was also taught that if they're ever to start following you, you should just confront them, say, stop following me, why are you following me? Just confront the problem head on, yell, make loud noises, whatever you need to do. That's great. I know it's really hard for people to make that sort of eye contact, and it can feel awkward at times, but it's really important to make sure you're seen. It was also really fun because in that class, I remember we did this segment where we were fighting with the instructor. That was really fun. Yes. I learned a lot in that segment, too. I learned a lot about hair, even, that people can grab your hair easily if it's in a ponytail. And I learned some self-defense moves if your hair is grabbed or if you're grabbed by your arms, and where to kick, where to punch, so that they release you or find their weaknesses. Some of the best areas to strike are the groin, eyes, throat, and nose. To this day, my dad still says that the instructor is intimidated by you, and he says that you're really feisty. Oh, I'm glad I left that impression. I'm happy that this thing stuck with you. You know, whenever we go on walks, I notice that we'll look out for each other and point things out. I feel like we're just so much more aware. Yeah. We're totally aware. We're always looking out. It's great. Krav Maga says, the difference is that Krav Maga is not related to sport or competition. It's all about defending yourself so you can neutralize a threat or attacker and survive. As a result of this mentality, there is no technique that is considered dirty or illegal in Krav Maga. If it means the difference in surviving an assault, this is another huge benefit of Krav Maga. Students are taught to target areas like the groin, eyes, and throat, like I said, on an attacker because strikes to these targets elicit an involuntary response that can also impede functions like breathing, seeing, standing, et cetera. Now, this source is from Krav Maga self-defense classes and training programs. Empowering women begins with breaking the chains of stigma and silence. Through open conversations, we challenge the norms that perpetuate violence and create a platform for survivors to share their stories without shame. In this segment, we'll explore initiatives, support systems, and campaigns that actively work towards eradicating stigma and encouraging survivors to reclaim their narratives. Krav Maga has testimonials on their page where they talk about how Krav Maga has helped real-life survivors. One story is, he grabbed her in a bear hug from behind. She stomped on his instep with her high-heeled shoe. The assailant immediately let her go, shrieking in pain as he fell backwards to the ground. As she stomped, she nailed his foot into the warm summer asphalt with her high heel. He either fainted or hit his head on the pavement when he fell backwards and was knocked out. She ran away like Cinderella, wearing only one shoe. Krav Maga saved her life, reflecting its incredible results. In my self-defense class, we hear a lot of testimonials. We've actually had some survivors come in and speak about their situations, and it's crazy how much preparation can save you in the moment. Yes, even I think just one class is really helpful. Yes, exactly. I would recommend it for anyone. Stories like that highlight the importance of awareness and quick thinking in difficult situations. Gigi, thank you for sharing those experiences. I can definitely see how quick thinking would be important, but what happens when the fight or freeze instinct takes over? I mean, I think it's really common for girls to feel scared in these situations. What would you recommend them doing? Yeah, I mean, I know there's a lot of situations where there's fear and panic and where, you know, even if you, in your head before, would always plan on running or doing anything, where you freeze up, the number one thing that I've heard recommended in my class is to run, to get yourself out of the situation, to remove yourself from the threat. That's the most ideal situation. If you're attacked or if you're grabbed, I think it's doing simple movements to get yourself out, like in that testimonial, just harming them in any way you can, stomping an elbow, uppercut to their head, anything like that that can really just harm them in the moment temporarily so you can get yourself out of the situation. Yes, I agree. I think anything you can really do can save your life. I think it's really important for girls to know that, you know, if you freeze up in the moment, it's okay. I know we'd all like to think that if we're being attacked or if sexual assault is, if we're in a situation where sexual assault could occur, I know we'd like to think that we have all these plans and these moves, but, you know, it's a perfectly acceptable and okay thing to freeze and to not know what to do. It's important to have these tactics so that we can be prepared and feel more confidence in the moment, and I think that that helps, but I just want girls to know that whatever happens if you had a situation or if you're faced with something like that, your response is valid and it's okay. Those moments are really scary, and that's real. Stop! According to the CDC, one in three women report having experienced severe physical violence from an intimate partner. They suggest that teaching safe and healthy relationship skills in order to foster a better environment. In high school, I remember senior year, they all sat us down. We went to an all-girls Catholic high school, and I remember the teacher sat us down, and we had this talk about self-defense techniques. We talked about the reality of college and, you know, things that happen at parties, unfortunately, like... They taught us about roofing. Yes. And how to detect roofing if your ice is not floating, if it's sinking, and they talked about getting test strips so you can test it. They talked about a lot of self-defense for college, especially because sexual assault in college is incredibly high. I remember the statistic was in the first, like, three months of college, it's, like, extremely high. Yes. Yeah. Especially for girls. Yes, exactly. I think we were really lucky to have those conversations, especially in that all-girls environment. I'm really grateful that our school allowed us to have those conversations. I found them really helpful, and I think awareness can just save so many lives. I think it's honestly essential for girls and everybody, but specifically women, young women, to get those classes in high school and when they're young. I remember my mom started educating me about this when I was in middle school. It's like when you start to get to a certain age, it's very important to be aware because things can start happening, and you need to start being able to look out for yourself. Girls need this education. We were very blessed to have this opportunity in our high school, but even in other high schools, co-ed high schools, public high schools, all sorts, it's very essential to get this education. Education, yes. I remember having these conversations with my mom, too, but it's hard because sometimes you're so young and you feel like you're breaking that innocence a little bit, but it has to happen, unfortunately. Yeah. No, I remember when my mom first discussed this with me, I was disappointed. You want to think the world is such a pure place, and you don't want to have to worry about these things, especially so young, but I'm very, very grateful she taught me this young because as you grow with these morals, you see it more in the world and you understand how essential it is, and I will do the same for my kids. Yes. That's amazing. As you know, I'm in this Women's History class, and I have truly taken so much from this class. Ever since I've educated myself about these issues, I've seen them emerging everywhere in my everyday life, and we just watched a video called, She's Beautiful When She's Angry, and something that stood out to me from that video was when they started talking about how in the 70s, there was a rise in women's self-defense classes, topics like defending themselves from men and women's liberation started to rise. Finally, topics like sexual assault started to be discussed and seen. Before this, they were almost taboo and never talked about, so this was a huge step forward in the women's liberation movement. It also alleviated, I'm sure, lots of shame from these women holding in so many stories and trauma throughout so many generations, finally speaking about these issues. I'm sure it really made them feel recognized. I mean, talking about this makes me really emotional because it's crazy. After reading all these documents throughout this history class and seeing all of the ignored sexual assault cases, finally acknowledging it and fighting for what's right must have been beyond liberating. What advice would you give to teenage girls who wanted to feel more empowered and prepared to protect themselves? I would recommend either a Krav Maga or self-defense lesson for all teenage girls. I think it's essential. I think parents should be talking to their girls about these issues from that kind of coming-of-age age where the parents can't really be there to guard them all the time and they need to be able to look out for themselves, but I would say taking self-defense into your own hands and taking a class provides you with self-assurance and confidence, and it helps you know that if you were in a situation like that where you were being attacked, you would know what to do or you could have some moves or some things in your sleeve. It gives you some sort of confidence. I feel like even with the little preparation that I have, even with a few classes, I feel so much more confident than I would have before all of this. I can't imagine how scary it must be without taking any classes. I feel like I would know some techniques to do and I know the weak spots and where to hit, such as the groin and using elbows and really just fighting with whatever you have. In the age of smartphones and social media, how can technology be both a help and hindrance when it comes to personal safety for teenagers? I think it's really important for teenagers to, first of all, be aware of the safety of social media. I know I was educated, we both were in high school, and even younger. My parents talked to me and at school they educated us. Social media can be very fun, yes, and now it's such an essential part of social networking, but there are a lot of hindrances to it. It can be dangerous. Totally. It can reveal your location and especially with the emerging AI, it's very important to keep your information private, personal photos, things like that, especially if you're under 18, for minors, that's so important. I think there's a certain level of maturity that comes with it that we're kind of having to face now because sometimes the younger kids and teens won't really know what that line is. It's so important for that line to be drawn and for there to be education around technology and social media. Yes, especially for young kids. I passed by an elementary school and I saw kids with so many cell phones and I was like, I didn't have a cell phone in elementary school. That's so crazy and it's kind of scary. Totally. At Thanksgiving, there were so many young people with cell phones, younger than I would ever want for my kids or that I had. It really makes you think about that maturity. I think with the emerging and exponential growth of technology, it's just going to keep going down that path. It's so important. That's what makes technology education so essential. Yes, education. Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but I think I'm noticing a little trend. Education solves so many other issues beyond self-defense. Okay, so now that we've talked about the importance of education, how do you think parents and guardians can best support and educate their teenage daughters about personal safety and self-defense without causing unnecessary fear? I think it needs to be a delicate conversation. I think when it starts out young, it needs to start with the basics. I think sexual assault is a whole other scary can of worms that can be difficult for younger children. I think it needs to start in the mode of defense and for young girls to understand that not everyone has their best interests and there are bad people out there. You can't trust people. You need to always be aware. I think it starts with being aware of your surroundings and teaching simple things like that that can get the conversation going, get the mindset started. Then as girls develop and grow older, they can become more aware of, okay, sexual assault is real. There are people who can attack you. It's hard to come to that realization that the world isn't like it is in the Disney movies, like we always thought it was. Like it is when you're younger. I think that when you're young, that's how you think. This topic definitely breaks that up a little bit. I think, as you said, as you asked, to prevent the fear, it can start in a simpler way, just understanding that there are bad people, and then it can grow as you grow. I am so happy that I interviewed you, Gigi. You're so wise and the advice you gave, so thank you so much. Empowering teenage girls with self-confidence and knowledge is key to their safety. That concludes this episode of the show where we talk about self-defense. I want to express my gratitude to Gigi for her input and to all our listeners for joining us today. We hope you found this episode helpful. Remember, knowledge is power, and together we can create safer environments for everyone. Stay safe, stay empowered, and join us next time for another empowering conversation. This is Jasmine signing off. Until next time, take care. Bye. Bye. Thanks, Gigi. Thanks for having me, Jasmine. Thanks for listening to the show where we talk about self-defense. This podcast was created by Jasmine. It was produced and recorded by Jasmine, researched by Jasmine, and edited by Jasmine. Thank you very much, guys. See you next time.