April is Sexual Assault Awareness month. I know, it’s a topic we all love to discuss and hear about, right? And February may be over as a Domestic Violence Awareness month but it is topic and cause that is never far from my heart because it is part of my story.
Did you know that nearly 1.5 million high school students nationwide experience physical abuse from a dating partner in a single year? In cases like those, there’s child sexual assault, too. What’s even more alarming is that 81% of parents believe teen-dating violence is not an issue or admit they don’t know if it’s an issue. I know my parents didn’t. No one talked about it then and they still aren’t talking about it enough today.
I believe that it’s important to educate adolescents about abuse from partners, but it’s just as important to teach them how to protect themselves. That’s why I’m showing Krav Maga Worldwide’s, the leading self-defense organization in the country, list of 5 critical self-defense moves that people should know. File this under kick ass parenting.
The Bear Hug
And check out this video for more moves that you can learn and teach your teen.
Choke Defense
Use the hands like meathooks to pluck the thumbs away, fight back aggressively, get away.
Front Kick to Groin
Drive your hips forward with the knee bent, extend the leg and kick up and through the groin with the foot flat (shoelaces up).
Knees
Establish your grip and position (if in close enough) drive the hips forward and strike the attacker in the groin or knee, with the knee traveling forward, recoil and continue as needed.
Straight Punch
When delivering a straight punch it’s ideal to punch with the “top two” knuckles of the fist, which are the pointer and middle finger. Hips and shoulders rotate forward explosively, use the “top two” knuckles to make contact with the to the soft targets of the attacker’s face.
Victoria, thank you for sharing this important post and your personal story. I am so sorry to hear that this is, in fact, part of your story. But good for you for spreading awareness and ways of handling it. You are a survivor that’s for sure and you totally rock!
Shelbee
http://www.shelbeeontheedge.com
Thanks, Shelbee! It was a long time ago but it definitely doesn’t get talked about enough. When I mention it to parents of teens now they are always so surprised or shocked. It has to start somewhere, right? It’s a cycle that only gets more violent over time but often creeps up so slowly the victim doesn’t even realize it is happening. By the time the violence has escalated to the point we often see depicted on tv and film the abused person sees no way out.
For me, I had no idea what was happening was not normal. I had no idea that relationships didn’t work that way because I was so young when it started. It took me a year of therapy after getting away from a person I thought was just selfish and immature to realize that I wasn’t weak and didn’t need punishments to make me stronger.