While covering the topic of Women’s Self Defense, I thought it would be good to get a female’s perspective on the subject. I reached out to Lauren Edmunds, a.k.a Kick Chick, and she agreed to answer a few questions.

Lauren is highly successful in the martial art world having won multiple World Championships. If you are not familiar with her work, it is worth looking into as her achievements can be quite inspiring. You can look her up on Instagram with the name “KickChick” or subscribe to her YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgxklwRAHcyuSEa6pHxW4Mw.

Interview with Lauren Edmunds

What first inspired you to start learning martial arts?

I used to love watching martial art movies such as Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee They are the ones who inspired me the most and made me want to start a martial art myself.

How old were you when you first started training?

Sometimes an attack can be avoided if the threat is identified early enough. What would you advise women to look out for to prevent an attack?

Sometimes your just in the wrong place at the wrong time. I would say if you do notice any sign of trouble, remove yourself from that situation as soon as possible. Even if you do know how to defend yourself, it is always better to remove yourself rather than having to defend yourself against someone who might be stronger than you. There is also the chance that person may be with a small group.

Many attacks begin with some variation of a grab. Grabbing the neck with both hands from the front is a fairly common one. What is your preferred method of removing this type of attack?

It is hard to describe in an interview as opposed to demonstrating. If someone was strangling you against the wall, the first thing I would do is turn my neck to reduce pressure on the front. I would then raise my arm and then drop my elbow to get them off of me. Another option is to do something called a wedging block followed by a snap kick.

What is your preferred technique for creating space from your opponent?

Special thanks goes out to Lauren for her time contributing to the martial arts community. She post new stories every day on her Instagram page for her fans with motivation tips and advice. She was also the first one Arkansas Wushu chose to ask to do this article, and though many were asked after her, she was the only one willing to step up and contribute to help out women who would like to know more about self defense.

Please let us know what you think below. Did you find the advice helpful?  Were you familiar with this martial artist before? Would you like to contribute any tips of your own? If so let us know in the comments. Thank you for reading!

If you want some self defense gear, you can get yours at http://www.centurymartialarts.com/shop/weapons/self-defense/

For this workout, go through a whole round and then rest 1 minute. Do 2 sets of each round.

If you ever looked at self defense tools, you have probably noticed there is a wide array of options, and very little information on which tool is best for you. This is due in part because self defense situations vary, and different tools handle different situations better. For your tool, you want to try to accurately figure out the type of situations you are likely to end up in based on an educated guess. For example, if you are concentrating on the possibility of being attacked on the way to your car, a key chain accessory makes sense. If you are more focused on a home invasion scenario, keeping a tool on a key chain just doesn’t make much sense as you would most likely have better tools in your house.

Let’s start with a home or perhaps a public living place such as a dorm for a college. You most likely expect to be safe in your place of residence. Unfortunately, that fact also can make it one of the places you are most vulnerable. It is a good idea to keep tools close at hand such as a bat. A bat is a good accessory as it is easy to use and does a lot of damage. Still you may want to practice hitting some sort of target with one that is fairly solid to make sure you are going to be able to hold on to it. Guns are useful too, but know your limits.

A lot of people try to use a large gun thinking the extra power will be more likely to stop an attacker. That power comes with a price though. A louder bang, more fear, more recoil. Those factors can make the gun become less accurate. By moving to a smaller caliber gun you can sometimes get many more bullets off accurately in the same amount of time. If you want a big gun for home defense, a shotgun works well.

The next place you are likely to get attacked is leaving your home on the way to the vehicle. Situational awareness can help you here. See if there are any faces that like unfamiliar or out of place and if so, avoid going anywhere near that person. Try to pay attention to all angles.  Are there people behind you? Beside you? are there stairs nearby allowing someone to watch you? Being aware of these things can save you a lot of trouble.

Now that you are out in the world, there are a few things you can carry to make life easier.  Some of these include:

Pepper Spray

Batons

Yawara Sticks/Ninja Spike

Brass Knuckle Variations

Alarms

Stun Guns

Pepper spray is easy to find, cheap, and a fairly effective at preventing an attack from going to far. The disadvantage is that it has to be used early, usually before any actual attack. It would be useless against a bear hug grab from behind or something of that nature. It is also important to consider clothing. I have seen pepper spray be rendered ineffective due to someone with a hat turning their head a certain way.

Batons are nice. They can be worn on a belt, are fairly compact, and they are easy to use. You do need to be confident with the weapon as if the attacker takes it from you, your situation could be worse. You also need to be aware of legal implications. Certain states consider a baton a weapon and you may not legally be allowed to carry one. You can still buy them in many of these places and they do not tell you that as it is being sold as a self defense accessory and they do not want to lose the sell. However if you can carry one, one good well placed strike is normally all it takes to stop an attacker

Yawara sticks or ninja spikes are basically just hard small sticks that go on your key chain. They are effective because you don’t injure your hand while hitting a person, and it focuses the strike into a smaller point doing more damage. With some practice you can use them for joint locks or pressure point strikes. The only real downfall to them is that they only work at close range, and take some skill to use. You may find them well worth carrying. Knives can also be used in this manner and do more damage through punctures and lacerations.

Brass Knuckles themselves are illegal in many places but the laws get tricky in places. For example it may be legal to wear them as a belt buckle, but not in your pocket. It’s always a good idea to check your local laws before carrying anything. They make a variety of variations that are legal to carry to such as dog ears, cat ears, etc.

(Get your bull dog self defense key chain here)

Alarms are advertised less but effective. There are pocket alarms and other tools that just make noise that draw attention to your location. Sometimes the attacker is just looking for an easy target and this will make them paranoid enough to run away. If the device is loud enough there is also the option of putting as close to their ear as you can. Pain to the ear canal will cause a reaction and that buy you the time you need to get away or initiate your own attack if necessary.

Finally you have stun guns. Again, I would check your local laws before carrying these. There are various stun guns as well. They sell them on flashlights, to look like phones, ones that only work at close range and ones that have projectiles to gain some range. There will most likely be a battery you will need to keep charged. They will have ridiculous voltages written on some like 20,000 volts but ignore that. Voltage is not what matters with electricity, its amperage or current. Think of it like water. Water is fairly safe when it’s still, even if it’s really deep. But when there is a current and it starts moving it can become extremely destructive. Stun guns are fairly effective tools so long as you don’t miss your target.

This concludes my description on some of the self defense tools that are available. I have listed some of the advantages and disadvantages that will hopefully help you make a more informed decision.

If you would like to purchase any of these accessories, you can feel free to do so here