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From: mgflax@phoenix.princeton.edu (Marshall G. Flax)
Newsgroups: misc.handicap
Subject: Re: blind self defense
Message-ID: <16461@handicap.news>
Date: 27 Jun 91 20:07:44 GMT
References: <16429@handicap.news>
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Reply-To: mgflax@phoenix.princeton.edu (Marshall G. Flax)
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Fidonet: Blink Talk Conference

Index Number: 16461

In article <16429@handicap.news> Nancy.Feldman@p0.f605.n105.z1.fidonet.org
writes:
>Index Number: 16429
>
>pointed out:  "I can teach you what a block should look like, or a good
>kick or punch, but if you can't see your attacker's blow coming, how
>much good will it do you?  If you can grapple someone you could do some
>serious damage, but otherwise you are at a serious disadvantage."
>

I recently sat-in on a series of women's self-defence classes taught by
Sensei Linda Ranson (of NYC).  [I was there as a training partner for a 
blind friend of mine.]  I also have been studying Aikido for one and a
half years.  I hope I can give you some realistic advice about
self-defence.  I'll try to be blunt.

First of all, if someone wants to come up behind you and swing a
baseball bat into the back of your skull, there's not much you're going
be able to do about it in most cases.  This is true for blind and
sighted alike.  Fortunately, that's not the typical scenario.

One typical scenario is someone might come along and push you to the
pavement.  Martial Arts like ju-jitsu or aikido certainly can teach you
how to fall without hurting yourself too badly.  (Example: if you are
pushed backwards, bend your knees, try to roll from your backside onto
your back, slap the ground with your arms relaxed and away from your
sides, and, above all, keep your head bent forward so it doesn't hit the
cement and scramble your brains.  This was a terrible description, but
if you take a good self-defence course they'll teach it right.)  And
once you're on the ground, very effective techniques exist to stop a man
from raping you.

[Note: there are two basic principles in the ground techniques.  One is
that if he is sitting (or lying) on top of you, then he is depending
upon you for his balance, and so it is possible to surprise him and
cause him to lose his balance.  The second is that for him to actually
rape you, he has to use his hands (to unzip his fly, remove your
clothing, etc.), during which time you will have a free hand to get him
off.  Of course, things are more complicated than this very brief
summary, which is why taking a course is such a good idea.  You'll learn
such things as the vital targets (eyes, ears, bridge of the nose,
throat, and, of course, the groin) and some very useful "shocking"
techniques (such as biting and pinching) that will cause him to lose
control just long enough for you to do something.]

A second likely scenario is someone coming up from behind and grabbing
you.  A course will show you all the ways that such an attacker is
vulnerable to heel stomps, elbow jabs, hands subtly reaching down to his
groin and squeezing, etc.  More importantly, such courses will teach you
how to remain calm in such nasty circumstances, so you can use all of
your intelligence and strength.

Here's a single data point: at the end of the aforementioned course, the
instructor had a dozen-or-so men come in and attack the members of the
class.  (Many of them were wrestlers, strong martial artists, etc.)  My
friend (the blind one) was faster at getting the attackers off than
anyone else in the class.  If it were a real circumstance, I'm sure that
some of them would still be hurting (this was several months ago.)

Of course, not all martial arts are equally useful for people with
difficulty seeing.  Archery is not the best choice [joke.]  I don't wish
to knock long-range styles like Tae-Kwon-Do or karate, but they are more
visual styles than others.  Probably your best choice is Ju-jitssu or a
Women's self-defence course based on ju-jitsu.  Aikido (my style, so I'm
not exactly objective) is also a choice if you have the time -- it's
much gentler, but probably takes more time before it is really
effective.

I'm not guaranteeing results or anything -- Sensei Ransom always
emphaized that the choice whether to submit or fight is a personal one
and should never be judged by another -- but it is important for you to
know that you do have to power to defend yourself in many circumstance.

In summary, most self-defense styles probably wont do you much good in a
bar-room brawl with people throwing punches at each other.  But given
the incidence of rape (perpetuated by both strangers and acquaintances)
in this country, self-defence is both logical and reasonable.  Good
luck.

marshall
-- 
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/* Marshall Gene Flax '89       (609)258-6739  mgflax@phoenix.Princeton.EDU */
/* c/o Jack Gelfand|Psychology Dept|Princeton University|Princeton NJ 08544 */
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