[Vision2020] fighting for girls, too
Sharon Sullivan
herbals@moscow.com
Thu, 06 Mar 2003 01:33:11 -0800
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Visionaries,
This may shock some of you who may know me as an advocate of non-violence.
I don't believe in offensive fighting. But, in terms of self-defense, we
should be teaching our girls, not our boys, to fight!
Girls and women should know how to defend themselves. If any segment of
the population is more likely to be assaulted, it is FEMALES, not males,
and it is usually in the form of sexual persuasion, date rape, incest,
domestic violence, etc. What are the current figures? 1 in 3 women is
forced to have sex against their will. I've also heard 1 in 6? As
females, we are conditioned to freeze in fear and often even lose the voice
or courage to shout, scream or yell 'NO!' How many times do we see the
image of the helpless female in the media?
88% of all rapes occur without any resistance on the part of the victim,
less than 10% of rapists have any weapon, and convicted rapists have
completed on average 45 sexual assaults before they are even caught as
suspects, let alone the paltry conviction rate.
A program called MODEL MUGGING teaches self-defense from a female
perspective in an emotionally supportive environment. It is safe, done in
a padded environment, and the "assailant" is padded up like the Michelin
Man and also holds a martial arts black belt. It is FULL FORCE CONTACT
FIGHTING, at full decibels, where females can find their voice to shout NO
at the top of their lungs. The point is not to hurt the attacker, but to
get away. Females learn that you can't win a fight 'guy style' with upper
body swinging...they almost always have longer arms. We learned that our
strength is in the hips and on the ground, and in staying calm, breathing,
and waiting for an opening... You have to experience it to understand. It
is a repetitve training for the body so that you are training your
reflexes, not your mind to be violent. It does not work in an offensive
situation. It is using the expectation of most attackers that you will not
fight and will freeze like we are conditioned to do. It is trying to make
the world safer for women, one woman at a time.
I took Model Mugging 14 years ago and I believe it still serves me as I go
out into the world in peace, knowing that I don't have to be afraid, that
my instincts will serve me in a pinch... (Note, this is not a challenge,
and I hope I'll never have to put it to the test). Model Mugging also
helped me find my voice to say NO! in other non-violent instances where I
might be cajoled or expected to acquiesce.
I believe that all girls should have the opportunity to take the Model
Mugging program in high school, if they so desire. Since the legal and
social system doesn't protect sexual assault victims, another remedy must
be tried. There are programs throughout the U.S., though none in Idaho
that I know of. Contact Model Mugging 1-800-345-KICK or at www.bamm.org
for more info.
Unfortunately, the world is still a savage place, regardless of lofty
notions of humans 'dominion over animals'. These days, with slaughter and
dismemberment discussed daily by our society, we are showing our common
nature with animals in primitive predatorial style. Perhaps some day
humans will remember their frontal lobes before their instincts, but until
then, TEACH THE GIRLS TO RESIST & ESCAPE!
Respectfully,
Sharon Sullivan
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<font face=3D"Garamond">Visionaries,<br><br>
This may shock some of you who may know me as an advocate of
non-violence. I don't believe in offensive fighting. But, in terms
of self-defense, we should be teaching our girls, not our boys, to
fight!<br><br>
Girls and women should know how to defend themselves. If any
segment of the population is more likely to be assaulted, it is FEMALES,
not males, and it is usually in the form of sexual persuasion, date rape,
incest, domestic violence, etc. What are the current figures?
1 in 3 women is forced to have sex against their will. I've also
heard 1 in 6? As females, we are conditioned to freeze in fear and
often even lose the voice or courage to shout, scream or yell 'NO!'
How many times do we see the image of the helpless female in the
media?<br>
88% of all rapes occur without any resistance on the part of the
victim, less than 10% of rapists have any weapon, and convicted rapists
have completed on average 45 sexual assaults before they are even caught
as suspects, let alone the paltry conviction rate.<br><br>
A program called MODEL MUGGING teaches self-defense from a female
perspective in an emotionally supportive environment. It is safe,
done in a padded environment, and the "assailant" is padded up
like the Michelin Man and also holds a martial arts black belt. It
is FULL FORCE CONTACT FIGHTING, at full decibels, where females can find
their voice to shout NO at the top of their lungs. The point is not
to hurt the attacker, but to get away. Females learn that you can't
win a fight 'guy style' with upper body swinging...they almost always
have longer arms. We learned that our strength is in the hips and
on the ground, and in staying calm, breathing, and waiting for an
opening... You have to experience it to understand. It is a
repetitve training for the body so that you are training your reflexes,
not your mind to be violent. It does not work in an offensive
situation. It is using the expectation of most attackers that you
will not fight and will freeze like we are conditioned to do. It is
trying to make the world safer for women, one woman at a time.<br><br>
I took Model Mugging 14 years ago and I believe it still serves me as I
go out into the world in peace, knowing that I don't have to be afraid,
that my instincts will serve me in a pinch... (Note, this is not a
challenge, and I hope I'll never have to put it to the test). Model
Mugging also helped me find my voice to say NO! in other non-violent
instances where I might be cajoled or expected to acquiesce.<br><br>
I believe that all girls should have the opportunity to take the Model
Mugging program in high school, if they so desire. Since the legal
and social system doesn't protect sexual assault victims, another
remedy must be tried. There are programs throughout the U.S.,
though none in Idaho that I know of. Contact Model Mugging
1-800-345-KICK or at
<a href=3D"http://www.bamm.org/" eudora=3D"autourl">www.bamm.org</a> for mor=
e
info.<br><br>
Unfortunately, the world is still a savage place, regardless of lofty
notions of humans 'dominion over animals'. These days, with
slaughter and dismemberment discussed daily by our society, we are
showing our common nature with animals in primitive predatorial
style. Perhaps some day humans will remember their frontal lobes
before their instincts, but until then, TEACH THE GIRLS TO RESIST &
ESCAPE!<br><br>
Respectfully,<br>
Sharon Sullivan<br><br>
</font><br>
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