Social Experiment: How an Untrained Woman Would Defend Herself Against an Attacker

Apr 14, 2020BJJEEArticles, Videos

This social experiment was conducted by Nick Drossos:

“This video is part of a self-defense social experiment we are conducting. We are looking to see how women will react to various attacks such as ground fighting, hair pulling and even kidnapping attempts. You will learn simple but effective self defense techniques that you can use to stay safe.

Catiana is the next braveheart that decided to volunteer.

We asked her what she would do if a male attacker’s objective was to grab her against her will and bring her to a secluded area wanting to harm her. She said that one of her first instincts would be to scream if someone grabbed her. It’s true, you would probably scream if someone attempted to harm you. Screaming is good, since it creates attention and someone could hear you and come to help you. Another instinct of Catiana was to hit her attacker in the face or any other part of the body, to escape.

What you need to take into account is that as a woman, most attackers will probably not expect you to fight back if they attacked you. This gives you the opportunity to defend yourself without him expecting it.

If your attacker approaches you while trying to talk to you, you must stay calm, act natural, and be prepared to strike and escape at all times.

But, let’s say your attacker has managed to mount you and pin you to the ground, how can you escape? If he’s pinned you down and is putting pressure on your hands, you can perform a buck and roll and get him off of you. Once he’s off, you can strike him to incapacitate him. You can strike him with your palm, your elbow and your fist. You can even try eye-gouging him, crushing his throat or hitting his groin.

If he has pinned you down and starts reaching for your pants, you can strike him once he has left one of your arms free. As you strike him, perform a buck and roll to get him off of you. Afterwards, start defending yourself by striking him using palm strikes and elbows. You can go as far as grabbing his hair and smashing his head against the ground, or even biting him somewhere on his face.

The worst possible thing you could do in these situations is turn your back on him while on the ground. If he has mounted you, and you turn to the side, you could end up with him on you while you’re lying on the floor on your stomach, which you don’t want. Instead, focus on bucking and rolling and striking at the proper moments, and most importantly, getting out.

An important part of women’s self-defense is to remember to do whatever it takes in order to survive!”