Women's Self-Defense: Escape from the Rape Position

[RBFC]

One of the most frequently asked questions from women is "How do I get away when a guy holds me down on the ground?"

In this photo sequence, we'll examine how a smaller individual can use leverage to get out from underneath a larger attacker.

Here, the bad guy has tossed our heroine down onto her back and is closing in to control her:



Notice that our heroine is instinctively doing the correct thing: getting her feet between her and the attacker. Here's another look:



If there is sufficient space between her and the guy, she can put her feet right into place. Often, she can only move one foot at a time:



The goal is to place both feet in the "frog" position (feet out in a "V" shape) on his hip crease:



From this position, she has the leverage to push him away very powerfully. You can try this at home with your significant other, but be kind!

Of course, we posed the first sequence for clarity. In reality, the attacker will not be so accommodating. Here, in a more realistic scenario, he holds her down on the ground and pins her with his weight while he starts to choke her:



Notice that she no longer has the space to put her feet on his hips to push him away! So, she must make the space to use her legs as shown in the earlier photos. Most all people do not possess the upper body strength to push a heavier attacker off of them while being held down, so using the stronger musculature of the lower body is the most efficient means. In order to get her feet into position, she must make space between his hips and her body. Once again, using the leverage of her lower body, she'll move him just enough to get her feet into place. She'll wrap her legs around his waist and lock her feet together, giving her a firm grasp of his torso. A bonus is that male attackers typically don't see this as a threat! If her legs weren't long enough, she could squeeze her legs together to gain as much traction as possible as she moves him away.

Continued...

 

[RBFC]

Trying to pull the attacker's hands off her throat with gravity, his size, and his greater strength against her is futile. We have purposely told her to not use her hands at all so that we can show the mechanics of the leg leverage at work. In actuality, she would of course be using her hands as well.

Here, she arches her back and you can see the space developing between the two of them. Also, the pressure on the choke is reduced by this movement:



Over the next 3 photos, she struggles to get her feet into position one at a time:



Please realize that this entire sequence takes only a few seconds, so it's not like she sits there being choked for an hour! Also, remember that she would be using her hands as well! Now, she's in position to push away from him. The greater length of her legs vs. his arms quickly strips the choke away from her throat. He's 6'5" and she's 5'4".

Continued....

 

[RBFC]

Here's the push-away:



Now, with enough space between them, she starts to "ride the bicycle on his face":



I mentioned that she would be using her hands. If she tried to lift the attacker off her, she would quickly become exhausted and easy prey. Instead, she can use the eye gouge as pictured in the "Simple Tips" thread in this forum. She could also "rake" across his eyes with her fingertips. Notice that either of these attacks causes the bad guy to assist her in creating the space she needs to place her feet!



I hope this photo sequence has provided a glimpse into the realm of women's self defense. It's amazing what the human body can do if we unlock its potential.

Thanks,

Lee

 

[rrr]

What happens when he flips her over facing the floor?

 

[RBFC]

What happens when he flips her over facing the floor?

Hehe! It's always a matter of time in any discussion of self-defense before the what if's appear. Kidding aside, it's typical in martial arts demonstrations to begin "The bad guy grabs you like this!". What we fail to ask first is really the most important question: How did we get here?

Being grabbed constitutes a failure of our awareness and of our stand-up fighting skill. It may be that the attack was too powerful or sudden, bypassing those stages effectively. I've been asked in seminars what I'd do when confronted by a gang of baseball bat-wielding thugs, and many more even outlandish scenarios.

However, it is quite difficult to rape a woman when she is flat on the floor, and that is a more unusual position at any rate. By squeezing her buttocks tightly, rape is difficult in this position. The attacker has to beat her badly into submission first. We now enter the dividing line between domestic violence and opportunistic rape. Most opportunistic rapists count on terror and submissive behavior through threat to commit the crime. Domestic violence has components of repeated painful injury and is a different matter.

There are techniques by which the woman can "buck" like a bull trying to throw its rider, allowing her space to spin underneath the attacker so that she is facing him. These are beyond the scope of this introductory presentation.

Thanks,

Lee

 

[Orb]

Hey Lee,
just curious as part of the self defense; do you consider teaching arm bars/triangle (using legs when one is held in similar position to that of the position mentioned in this thread), or do you see that as too offensive/advanced in capability?
I appreciate it takes a fair amount of training to pull of locks, especially the prone arm bar that requires flexibility with the legs and also a cool head in such a pressure situation, just wondering if it would ever be considered even for advanced self defense relating to this subject (can see downsides more relating to the damage it can cause when taken beyond the limit and some countries would open one up to prosecution,and of course its advanced nature combined with maintaining close combat).

Cheers
Orb

 

[RBFC]

Orb,

Short arm bars, kimuras, sweeps, guillotine chokes, and more are part of our curriculum. For beginners, it's best to offer a singular response to a given problem. Hick's Law states that having a second option for responding to a stimulus slows the response by 58%, basically showing the delay caused by decision-making. Beginners are still learning the basic mechanics of the techniques. They are also learning how to function under the stress of physical peril. By giving them a single goal for a scenario, we not only speed their response, but also provide a focus to their actions. This singular purpose helps to prevent stress, fear, and indecision from removing their "action mindset". Once they can compose themselves under pressure, we then introduce a limited number of options, with an eye toward choosing tactics that particularly suit an individual.

I hope this clarifies the progression and the reasoning behind it.

Lee

 

[Orb]

Great response and yes thank you.
Agree the mindset-approach is critical for any self defense and being comfortable, quick, and natural with ones responses.
I appreciate there is a mindset difference between passive-"victim" (body language/attitude/what one says/emotion/etc) and passive-defense; sorry for the crude terminology regarding victim but from my experience many violent thugs are triggered by their targets that project a certain manner/deemed weak enough to attack, or thug need to build themselves up to the point to trigger.
Maybe a bit controversial but regarding the brutal moves do you try to convey how/when they should be taken?
Such as striking the throat/eyes that can go wrong, or a lock that can break the arm/dislocates a joint if applied too much energy/movement; some moves have a high risk that they could create more damage than one intends so I assume part of any training must involve situation risk assessment and level of response?

Just curious, you ever read Go Rin No Sho (Book of Five Rings)?
Not for basic students (or those not interested in real fights) but definitely found it good myself and got a feeling you might had read it with your experience.
Thanks for an interesting forum section - I am enjoying reading it.
Orb