China News Service, June 7th. According to the US "World Journal" report, in the United States, discrimination, harassment, injury and attacks against Asians are frequent. In addition to buying guns and pepper spray and other self-protection tools, many people have also begun to learn to defend themselves. Major martial arts schools, training institutions, and gyms have launched related online and offline courses. Women who are vulnerable to crimes such as hate crimes are more likely to sign up for participation.
The community also continues to have self-defense seminars, demonstrations and trainings to teach everyone how to better protect themselves when their personal safety is threatened.
Self-defense course enrollment surges fourfold
The "China-Hawaii Boxing Law Academy" in New York has quadrupled the number of people who have come to consult and sign up for self-defense courses recently.
The project director said that as hate crimes against Asians continue to increase, more and more people want to learn self-defense skills.
In order to teach everyone how to deal with possible dangers, they specially launched free lectures, "Self-protection is not actually to learn how to hurt others, but to know how to escape from danger and when to escape from danger when danger occurs." If necessary, Many things at hand, such as water bottles, can be used for oneself and become a tool for self-defense.
"G3 Academy of Martial Arts" is a martial arts school in California. The person in charge not only opened online courses during the epidemic, but also taught in outdoor places such as parks to teach everyone the skills of self-defense.
The youngest student is four years old and the oldest is in his 70s.
"Although the need for self-defense has always been there, there is no doubt that more and more people are interested in self-defense and want to feel more secure."
Ms. Chen, a Chinese office worker in New York, is one who urgently needs to improve her sense of security. "I have been very nervous before. After coming to the United States for so many years, I never thought that one day would be the target of attack until the outbreak occurred."
She said that because of the endless hate crimes against Asian Americans, the environment has forced her to change another person. “I used to meet someone asking for money on the subway. I never paid attention to it. Let him go. Now let’s not talk about asking for money. It means that ordinary people get close to themselves, and their nerves are too tense."
She also said that after the outbreak, the number of "strange people" on the subway has indeed increased. "I often see them yelling and I am very worried about whether they are cursing myself." For safety reasons, she now takes the subway. I would never go to a carriage with few people. "I used to think about finding a carriage with a relatively empty seat, but now I would rather stand all the way to the carriage with a lot of people." After arriving at the station, if my boyfriend has time, Everyone will pick them up at the subway entrance. "Although the place to live is considered safe, and the street from the subway station to home is also a commercial street, you never know when and where the attacker will appear. It is safer to be accompanied by someone."
Recently, Ms. Chen has changed her dressing style, "I no longer wear the red or pink that I liked before, but replaced it with inconspicuous black, white and gray. I don't want to attract any extra attention."
She is also actively learning self-defense knowledge, watching technical guidance online, and even gesturing with her boyfriend at home. “Even if you don’t need it for the time being, you still want to learn more and experience it, because you don’t know when these will become life-saving tools.”
Community organization Multilingual teaching self-defense
In order to help Asians to better respond to harassment and attacks under the epidemic, the non-profit organization "Anti-Violence Education Center" not only teaches self-defense for free, but also joins hands with community organizations such as the "Asia-American Alliance" to produce personal protection video teaching. Take everyone to learn simple and effective self-defense skills, and launch multilingual versions such as Chinese, English, Japanese, Korean, etc., to explain in detail the ways to cope with danger in different situations such as sitting, walking, standing, and in subway cars and streets.
"Asia-American Alliance" CEO Yao Jiuan said that Asian Americans have always been the target group of hate crimes for many years. Many victims often swallow their anger and refuse to report to the police after being attacked by verbal or violent attacks.
Since the outbreak of the epidemic, Asians have become victims of crimes. It is important to learn to recognize personal threats and how to protect themselves.
The project manager of the “Anti-Violence Education Center” stated that self-defense does not refer to a physical conflict with the opponent, but a self-protection method that takes the protection of one's own safety as the primary prerequisite.
"Of course, we hope to prevent violence before it happens, and encourage everyone to prevent it if possible. Rather than judging the situation wisely and wisely, using language to ease the stalemate between the two sides, not being humble or arrogant, and avoiding verbal conflicts from escalating into physical conflicts. "
But if there is a physical conflict, you should also know how to knock down the opponent simply and efficiently in order to escape safely, or at least be able to keep a safe distance from the opponent.
Items such as carry-on bags, umbrellas, etc. can be fully utilized, and sound can be used to deter the other party and attract the attention of people around, so as to further seek help.
Raise a safe distance in case of conflict
"My female friend was walking down the street and was stopped by two African Americans asking for money. She said no, and the other party grabbed her hair and spit at her. I myself encountered provocations on the subway." The chairman and self-defense expert Amy Zhou introduced that during the epidemic, she took the subway from Flushing, Queens to Manhattan Times Square to work. On the way, she met three African-American men who sat opposite her, pointed at the newspaper and shouted at her: "You Look, the virus is all because of you."
"There were very few people in the carriage at the time. I felt their unfriendliness, so I turned my head aside, deliberately improperly, and then moved to the next seat." Unexpectedly, two of the three people also moved with her. Come over, continue to point at the newspaper, yell at her, and continue to provoke.
Seeing that the subway was about to reach the station, she stuffed everything she carried with her, including a lunch box, into her backpack, zips it up, and threw her bag from the bottom to the face of one of them.
"I have practiced. I know where to work hard. When the subway arrives at the station, I ran out as soon as the door opened. I was really worried about them chasing it out." After arriving at the office, she angrily shared this experience with her colleagues, "Colleagues They all felt thrilling, saying what should they do if they have a gun."
Zhou Aiming believes that if you encounter provocations, it is best not to respond. Instead, avoid the opponent and walk around the opponent. "The more you respond, the greater the opponent's reaction may be." But you must stay vigilant and always observe and pay attention to your surroundings. Don’t always look down at your phone or wear headphones to listen to music.
"If you didn't have the habit of observing and paying attention to your surroundings before, then you have the consciousness to cultivate this habit now."
Experts teach you a few simple ways to defend yourself
In addition, in different scenarios, there are different ways to deal with dangers.
Zhou Aiming introduced that the most common attacks are pushing and beating. "Whether it is an open or a confined space, if someone comes oncoming and wants to push you or hit you, you can run away as soon as you can, and shout loudly, make noises, and move around. People ask for help."
If you can’t do it and you have to fight back, try to protect your face and head with one hand to avoid more injuries, and hit the opponent’s eyes with the other hand, blur his vision, and kick the opponent’s at the same time. Crotch and other key parts, or control of the neck meridians, hand joints and other key parts, the inner side of the calf is also very fragile, you can kick it with your toes.
If the opponent is attacking yourself from behind, you can take advantage of the opponent’s strength to grab the collar or grab the hand and twist the joints of your hands, then trip the opponent’s feet with your feet, and hit the opponent’s chest with your head at the same time. After the series of actions, you can throw the opponent from behind to the front or even far in front, completely eliminating the danger, but this requires a certain degree of self-defense skills and training to do it."
Since many attacks have occurred in elevators, Zhou Aiming reminded that if strangers follow up after entering the elevator alone, "Unless you are an elderly person, if you feel a little uneasy, you should get out of the elevator immediately. Don't be alone with the other person. "In addition, you should also use your belongings to protect yourself. For example, women can bring pepper spray. "A metal thermos and an umbrella can also be used as a self-defense tool in an emergency."
Backpack used to fight back when attacked
She suggested that women should carry backpacks instead of shoulder bags during the epidemic, so that they can completely let go of their hands and be ready to respond to emergencies at any time.
The bag should be smaller and have a zipper. Not only can you safely store your belongings, it can also gather strength when it is full. "If you are attacked, you can use the bag to counterattack."
When you counterattack, don’t raise the bag, but go lower. "Especially women are usually petite, and the opponent may be taller than yourself. If you raise the bag and hit it, you can easily be intercepted by the opponent with one hand. It’s safer to go down. The place is also more flexible than the opponent, and you can even find a chance to escape from the opponent's crotch."
Zhou Aiming said that although the safest and safest way to avoid being attacked or harassed, whether indoors or outdoors, you must be psychologically prepared to deal with it, and you must not appear to be weak.
"We don't cause trouble, but we're not afraid of trouble. The more you behave, the more they feel that you are better bullied." In addition, Hua's body is inherently weak and not strong enough, so we must consciously improve our self-protection ability.
"I have noticed that there are more and more self-defense courses and trainings recently. This is a good thing, but learning self-defense skills does not happen overnight. After learning self-defense skills, you must practice and ponder more, otherwise it will be difficult to play at critical moments." Zhou Aiming said, The most important thing for self-defense is actual combat. In private, you can compare with relatives, friends, and colleagues around you, and consciously practice more and experience more.
You can also buy some fitness equipment and tools at home, as long as they help improve flexibility, strength and speed, you can use them.
Self-defense security expert Zhang Yong reminded that whether it is learning self-defense techniques or carrying protective equipment, the main purpose is to gain time and opportunity for yourself to escape in dangerous situations, not to defeat the opponent.
This is why the police often emphasize avoiding confrontation with the opponent.
Experts remind to stay alert when going out
Under normal circumstances, the elderly and women with weak mobility are often the targets of attacks. Zhang Yong said, "Bullying the soft and fearing the hard" also happens to the attackers, and they often choose to start based on a person's appearance and body language. Goal, if a person always walks with his head down, or with his hands in his pockets, or playing with his mobile phone while wearing headphones, he is easy to be caught.
"So everyone should keep their heads up when walking and watch the six paths, so that the other person feels that you are very vigilant and may counterattack, which can reduce the possibility of danger." Some people are afraid of making eye contact with strangers. Or worry about being impolite to look at each other. In fact, this kind of mentality is unnecessary.
"You don't need to stare at someone, but a brief eye contact can send a signal, let the other person realize that you have noticed him, and he will shrink instead."
In addition, instead of worrying about what to do when encountering danger, it is better to use some basic awareness of prevention to minimize the possibility of danger.
For example, you should always pay attention to the surrounding environment and people when walking, and try to avoid placing orders or going out late at night; unless it is a very familiar and safe environment, do not use mobile phones or earphones while walking; if you take public transportation, you should always observe your surroundings. , If you encounter suspicious persons, try to avoid them.
(Liu Daqi)