Hello sister friend. Im Weed. And we need to talk.

Its time to get truthy. (new word alert) Ready? Here goes: YOU. ARE. AWESOME.
Aint no joke, sweet thang. You are an incredibly strong, resilient and spirited soul who is fully capable of physically fighting back some really sketchy shiznit. Hard to believe? Understandable. As females, weve been raised to assume that our safety is someone elses responsibility.

We walk through the world praying that our daddy, our boyfriend or our knight in shining armor will rescue us if something bad happens. We clutch our cell phones, poised to dial 911 if a creepy weirdo grabs our ponytail on the street. We are trained to believe that someone else will save us. I have a crazy idea. What if we stopped relying on others, and just saved ourselves instead? Thats why I started Girls Fight Back because violence is happening now. We dont choose to be a victim, but we can choose how we respond to freaky situations. Its time to reclaim our power, our confidence and our right to live the badass existence we were intended! Now before we throw down here, first lets make an attitude adjustment. Many women dont believe they can physically fight back against a man successfully. It probably has a lot to do with growing up female in America. We were playing with Barbies while our brothers were beating the crap out of each other at the playground. But my dangerous damsel, please know you are fierce. Men are not the only ones capable of defending themselves and others. In fact, there is nothing more dangerous than an angry woman! Seriously, think about a time in your life where you were so mad, you could have done some serious physical damage to someone/something. Maybe your roomie borrowed your favorite sweater without asking, then barfed on it. Understandably this hurled you into a fit of pre-menstrual rage. Anger makes us freakishly Hulk-ishly strong. Lets use it wisely. This Sassy Self-Defense Guide is intended to help you conquer anxiety, increase confidence, teach you some tricky fight moves and inspire help you grab life by the cajones using rad ninja moves! Youll learn how to find a good self-defense class and get answers the 6 most common FAQs about womens safety. A nd soon well be launching GFB TV with self-defense VIDEOS!

Sound good? Alrighty then, lets get this party started

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Q1: How can I find a great, local womens self-defense class?

When seeking out training, look for a vibe thats woman-friendly. Instructors should never speak to you in a condescending way or use sexist language (I dont care how many black belts they have) and the website should give a woman-friendly vibe. Learning self-defense is about confronting our worst fears, so this experience is best had in an environment where you feel safe and respected. I recommend taking a class that offers scenario-based training against a guy in a padded suit. Having this full contact experience means youll have adrenaline rushing through your veins. Doing the moves while in this state trains your body to respond (as opposed to freezing) under violent and scary circumstances. That said, its not mandatory you do a full-contact class. You can learn a ton from much lower impact experiences as well. Before taking any sort of self-defense, make sure you are ready for it, both physically and emotionally. Survivors of violence may have a difficult time with some scenarios, and can be triggered to have flashbacks. Discuss self-defense with a counselor before signing up. Learning to fight has helped many survivors heal, but you have to be ready for it. My favorite national self-defense programs are FAST Defense and IMPACT Personal Safety. They have amazing instructors who have taken great precautions to make sure the classes are safe and sensitive to women from all backgrounds. That said, there are a ton more excellent programs out there too many to list here! Do your research on the Google machine and see what feels right for YOU.

Q2: Should a woman always fight back if attacked?

Although I believe that all women should know how to fight, these skills should only be whipped out in an emergency in which you have no other safe choice. There are situations where immediately fighting back is not physically possible. For example, if you woke up in the middle of the night to a man pinning you to your bed, its better to take a few moments to wake up and assess the situation instead of just thrashing while pinned. This can waste valuable energy you will need later. In a self-defense class, they should teach you about finding your moment to fight back and how to unleash mega-force when the right time comes. So how can you tell if fighting is the right way to react? By learning to trust your intuition and having the skills to properly defend yourself, you will be amazed at how simple the choice may become. In fact, many women report going into auto pilot mode when attacked after taking a self-defense class. Learning the techniques create muscle memory, triggering your brain to remember them, even under stress. Regardless how you respond, remember that violence IS NEVER YOUR FAULT. No matter what you do or how you respond, no one deserves to be victimized.

Q3: Can a small woman defend herself against a large man?

Am I big enough to fight off a rapist? Im only five feet tall and 100 pounds. Could I possibly fight back and win against a guy bigger and taller than me? Ive heard this a gazillion times, especially from the vertically challenged girls. The answer is YES, you can. Heres the thing: Women do not fight men with strength. We fight with strategy. I once spoke at a college in Washington, and was approached afterward by a young woman named Laine who lost one leg in a car accident. She had a prosthetic leg, so this fact wasnt visible to most of the world. She had anxiety about her disability, but I told her we must always focus on our strengths - not our weaknesses. I asked her, Maybe you cant use your right leg, but what body parts would be useful in a self- defense situation? She thought for a moment, and then started listing her other strengths. She had the other leg, arms, hands, a head, fingers and teeth at her disposal. Then Laines face lit up and she said, Hey, I can take off my prosthetic leg off and beat the guy with it! Now thats what Im sayin. She walked out feeling a bit more dangerous that night, and no longer viewed her amputation as a handicap.

Q4: What are some basic self-defense rules?

BELIEVE We must always believe we will survive a violent confrontation. Its got to be our most steadfast thought, even in the midst of a horrible situation. In many self-defense courses, you will take the time to discuss what in your life is worth fighting for. Why do you need to live? Why do you need to fight? BREATHE Breathing is one of the hardest things to do during a fight - but is also the most important. Sometimes a response to fear is the sucking in of breath and holding it in. For example, have you ever been in a near- miss car accident? Right after you realize youre not actually going to hit someone, you let out an enormous sigh of relief. Hold the breath long enough and you will surely pass out. (I dont teach unconscious ass whoopin, sorry.) Yelling no with every strike while using self-defense techniques will keep the air flowing and remind you to breathe as well as throwin down some great verbal defense. EMBRACE FEAR Remember that adrenaline is power. It helps you feel no pain and become capable of strength you never knew possible. Harness your fear and it will make you stronger and faster. Fear is your friend. Rock it.

RESPOND The first few moments of any violent confrontation tend to set the tone for how the situation will go down. If your immediate reaction is one of intolerance, boundary setting and physical resistance, you will spend less time thinking and more time reacting. Learning self-defense has been proven to shorten the freeze response, making it possible to act as soon as possible. ESCAPE Your responsibility in a self-defense scenario is to defend yourself until the bad guy is no longer a threat. No need to stick around any longer than that. If someone attacks you, the safest thing to do is execute techniques necessary to open up an opportunity to get the hell away from this person.

Q5: Where are the best places to strike an attacker?

The secret to winning a fight against a bad guy is using your strengths against his weaknesses. If we look at the whole man, it can be a bit intimidating to try and take him down. However, when we break him down into teensy-weensy pieces and tackle those vulnerable targets singularly, its less overwhelming. Our number one objective is NOT to cause pain to an attacker, but to incite DISABILITY. Recently I spoke at a university in Oklahoma and a girl approached me after the program. She said, I loved the techniques you discussed, but if some guy attacks me, Im just gonna pinch him in the armpit. Ummm, okay. Free country, I suppose. But putting myself in the position of an attacker, if some girl pinched my armpit while I was attacking her, it wouldnt stop me from punching her in the face (or worse). Thats why its so important to create injuries that induce disability so that he cannot physically keep assaulting you. So lets brainstorm where a guy is vulnerable There are other spots you can shoot for but those listed will give you a bigger bang for your buck. You always want to shoot for the spot that will create the most damage in the least amount of time. Remember, youre not here for a drawn-out sparring match. Your ultimate goal is to escape as safely and quickly as possible. Forehead Temple Eye Nose Ear Throat Finger Groin Knee Ankle/Instep Foot/Shin Spine

Now that we know where to strike a bad guy, lets identify where we are strong: My fave powerful body part is definitely Booty. Thats right - the rear-end, the caboose. Like it or not, this is where nature has stacked our physical power. Many women (myself included) have cursed Booty at some point in their lives. Maybe she was too big or flabby or had way too many dimples. We rarely stop to think that maybe there is a reason for all the bulk that loves to congregate near Booty. It has a lot to do with the fact that were the gender that was selected to bear children. Thus our lower body has to protect baby and thats why we have more junk in our trunk than men do. This makes our lower body very strong, especially while ground fighting. Let me ask you this: if you had the choice, would you rather hit someone or kick them? Most women say KICK. Dude, thats totally Booty talking! Shes like, Hey lady, Im strong and stacked and awesome use me! A good self-defense class will show you why you are so powerful on the ground, teach you great ways to use your legs and Booty to protect yourself and how to escape from foot grabs and pinning situations. Head Teeth Hands Elbows Booty Feet/Knees

Q6: What are the best self-defense techniques?

Oh, let me count the ways! Nevermind there are too many. Here are some of my personal favoritesand its hard to explain in words, so check out the video demos at GIRLSFIGHTBACK.com. Palm Strike Using the hard bone located at the heel of the hand, pull back your fingers to expose the area entirely. With a swift upward motion, use the heel of the hand to upwardly strike the attackers nose or forehead. After someone has been effectively palm-stricken, possible outcomes include a broken nose, difficulty breathing, decreased vision due to watery eyes and a sensation of being off-balance. Plus, they will most likely not be thinking about your next target Groin Strike Kicking or knee striking a guy between the legs is serious business and can cause debilitating injuries. Using the strong area of the lower thigh right above your knee, drive beneath and upwards into the attackers groin. This causes lots o pain, and simultaneously knocks the wind out of a person. One of my guy friends calls this move Man Death.

Eye Jab While some people become instantly nauseated at the idea of poking someones eye out, others are more than happy to do so if they are being attacked. Regardless, injuries to the eye pack a wallop of a punch when it comes to the psychological trauma. Lets face it. Nobody wants their eye poked out. Its a creepy and painful idea. To do an effective eye jab, I recommend using all the fingers on one hand and making a point, like a shadow puppet on a wall with an overhead projector. Using the tips of all five fingers, you can poke at the eye area. Remember, it doesnt matter how big and strong a bad guy is our eyes are equally vulnerable to injury and we all have built-in reflexes to flinch and defend them.

Kicks from the ground As previously discussed, our booties are supremely powerful. As a result, we need to get into positions where we can use that force. Ground fighting is especially feared among women, many believing that ground fighting leads to pinning which leads to defeat and rape. This is often not the case, since once on the ground, we can use our best ASSetBooty! Assume a strong kicking position, execute the kicks swiftly and always end up by reloading (bringing the leg back into the original position for another kick if necessary). Again, dont assume just one kick will disable your attacker.

You are worth fighting for. Dont forget that.

Thanks for reading, and feel free to share this sassiness with your friends! And hey, lets keep in touch via Facebook or Twitter okay?

badass love,

Erin Weed :: Founder, Girls Fight Back!