In this issue we would like to speak about self-defence for women with an expert, Master Angelo AIROLI, 5th Dan in Karate and Renshi di Goshindo, Karate instructor and security consultant.

Master Airoldi, what would you advise a woman to do in order to feel less of a target for aggression?
It is vitally important to take some steps to avoid putting oneself into danger.

And this means:
- if you are walking alone avoid wearing tight fitting clothing that single you out in the eyes of a maniac or that makes you too clumsy in your movements, such as very high heels and tight skirts
- when you are walking around make sure to appear determined and self-assured, walk with a decisive step, do not be afraid to look around carefully and to “size up” those who approach you, to not be eluded into thinking that you can discourage a possible aggressor by ignoring him, quite the opposite is the case.
- if a stranger approaches you, do not be afraid to appear bad-tempered and ill-mannered and trust your instinct
- when you are travelling by car always lock yourself in with the safety lock, in the summer turn on the air conditioning rather than leaving the windows rolled down
- never take the elevator with a stranger, always park your car in a well-lit area and near the location that you have to visit, its always better if this is in a crowded area
- on the other hand don’t elude yourself into thinking that people will be willing or effective in helping you, occasionally rapes take place in crowded areas
- do not be embarrassed to ask a male friend, with whom you went out, to accompany you to the landing of your apartment building, he should be ashamed that he did not think of doing so without being asked.
When you are out on your own, always have your mobile phone with you and turned on, with a full battery and at arm’s reach, to request help if you need it
You should always have your car keys and house keys at arm’s reach, you should never find yourself in the situation that you are rummaging for your keys alone in front of the door of your house.
If you have a license to carry a firearm, remember that it is preferable to carry a gun for self-defence, it is better to carry it on your person rather than in your handbag and this is also the case for anti-aggression spray.
Always keep your handbag closed, adherent to your body, under your arm and facing in the opposite direction to the flow of traffic or in the opposite direction to where a thief could appear.
Never keep your bag too tied on to your body, to avoid a situation where during a handbag snatch you are dragged for metres without being able to free yourself from your bag.
Never carry large sums of money with you, if you should have to carry a lot of cash with you, prepare a “theft wallet”, with a sum that is sufficient to lead a possible thief to believe that they have successfully targeted you (this will leave them satisfied and allow them to escape rapidly without any consequences).
If somebody stops you on the street to ask you information, keep at a safe distance, even if they speak in a low voice and you fail to understand what they are saying, avoid any physical contact (like a hand-shake for example) unless such is completely justified.
When at home, always lock yourself in, locking the doors in such a way that it is impossible to open the door from the outside, even with the key, or insert the safety lock.
At home during the summer it is preferable to turn on the air conditioning rather than leave the windows open, or if you do wish to open the windows have some iron bars mounted on them.
Do not open the door to anyone, not even to police officers, unless you are certain of their identity and their intentions
Even within your own home it is a good idea to evaluate the risk of attracting the attention of a maniac, avoid walking around the house naked and if it is easy to see in from the outside, put up curtains on the windows, do not go out to throw out the garbage or to sign for a parcel wearing a negligée.

What behaviour do you advise in case of aggression?
Always seek an escape route, if necessary improvise a distraction (for example: pretend to have an epileptic fit)
if you are forced to strike your aggressor, do so decidedly, using all of your strength, strike him in the weakest areas, if you are unable to escape, strike him until you are certain of having neutralised your aggressor, if you can escape, take advantage of his temporary inability.
In cases of aggression and intent to rape it may be useful to pretend to have a certain interest for your aggressor and agree to “service” him in a certain manner, this will give you the opportunity to strike him hard and surprise him.
When crying for help, shout “fire”, or use another subject that is not that of your aggression, remembering that people are normally afraid, they will not risk running to save a little girl if they have to face maniac.
Use all of the weapons that you can: your handbag, your umbrella, your shoes, your comb, your hairbrush, a pair of scissors or a nail file. But remember that excessive defence is taken into consideration quite a lot in Italy, perhaps too much in my opinion.

Are there any self-defence or martial arts courses in general that will make a woman really capable of defending herself?
Any experienced gained during a self-defence course may be useful in dangerous situations, but let us not elude ourselves into thinking that we are invincible.
Nothing is definite or absolute in this field; it depends on how each woman approaches a certain discipline, on her psychophysical characteristics.
A martial arts course or self-defence course will most certainly improve a woman’s personal abilities to fight, but I would say that it is often more important to look at improvement that can be obtained from a mental behaviour point of view rather than physical abilities.

When approaching any course it is important to bear in mind the following:
the fights that we have in the gym are quite different from those that may occur on the street
during self-defence it is important to use the strongest and best-trained parts of our body with simple, quick and powerful blows.
a woman’s delicate hands will never succeed in striking effectively. Use a blunt object to help you to strike (if your hands are not trained to strike).
I would advise you to use an anti-aggression spray as a distraction, which is also legal in Italy if used with a chilli pepper base
women are generally less muscular and lighter than men, women must therefore base the effectiveness of their defence on speed, on knowing their opponent’s weakest points, avoiding body to body fighting.

Regarding blows to be struck “simply, quickly and powerfully” is it useful to know something of the human anatomy in order to be able to strike the weakest points?
It is not necessary to know much about the human anatomy, all you need know are a few simple things, both to be able to defend yourself from your aggressor’s blows and to be able to strike him:
a blow that even slightly strikes the eye area can lead to temporary or permanent blindness. This zone must only be struck in cases of necessity for self-defence, but it is very effective.
Without much of an effort, striking the temples will lead to dizziness and loss of the senses
The area of the mouth and nose is delicate due to the cartilage and the vascular network surrounding it, if struck such will lead to a copious amount of blood loss, acute pain and dizziness.
If struck and broken, the skin around the eyebrow area will lead to a copious amount of blood loss, while not causing grave damage or invalidity.
Striking the chin violently will lead to dizziness and a loss of consciousness
The neck is quite delicate and if struck may cause fainting.
If the neck is struck violently it may cause suffocation or even fracturing of the trachea
The solar plexus (the mouth of the stomach) is rarely muscular and when struck violently it may cause strong pain and the urge to vomit.
If elbowed or struck with the tips of the fingers (only if our hands are well trained) or with a blunt object, the floating ribs can cause acute pain, if they are struck violently they could be fractured and cause injury to the lungs.
A blow to the liver can cause acute pain, inhibiting movement
The male genitals are the ideal target in situations of self-defence; an aggressor’s movement can be inhibited significantly without much effort.
The thighs may easily be targeted also due to their position and a blow to this area can cause acute pain, with a paralysing effect.
Pressure of 8kg is all that is necessary to break someone’s knee, this point is easily reachable even on a giant.

Overall, I would advise any woman who does not have particular experience in martial arts and who finds herself forced to defence herself, to strike the knee area, the genitals and the nose of her aggressor, since these are the easiest points to reach, they are effective and blows to such areas do not require extensive muscular strength.
Injuries to these areas will not be lethal; they will not cause serious or permanent injury or indeed the death of the aggressor nor will they put the victim in the undesirable position of being investigated for excessive defence.

Can you give us the names of any Internet sites or associations that women can contact to ask for help or advice?
I recommend visiting this site: www.psdm.it.
I also recommend reading the book entitled “The Gift of Fear” by Gavin De Becker.

Published on: 26 Jul 2004