Kickout

7th May (Thursday) - It wasn't a very hectic day, compared to last week where there were many ladies anxious to get their treatment done. After settling my last patient with a chemical peel and giving her strict instructions (SUNBLOCK), I went to attend a self-defense workshop. I have a black belt 1st dan in karate, but deep down, I know it isn't going to help out in the real world, where criminal starts attacking you in a ruthless manner. There are many people who actually are expert in martial arts like kickboxing, taekwando, karate, jujitsu and such, but when someone comes at you with a knife, you tend to freeze.
Well, I signed up for this 2 hour and a half workshop and let me tell you, this organization is good. Seriously. I know we tend to get down fighting back like you usually see in movies, but in real life, you'll end up getting hurt and that's not worth it. The guy who conducted the workshop showed us real life scenes where people fought back to stop the thief from grabbing at their belongings. That's the WORST mistake ever. You end up getting seriously hurt, and all for the sake of trying to keep your belongings. I can see why people often say when someone demands you to hand over all your belongings, you just do it without a second thought. Except nowadays there are types who attempt to take your lives.
One thing that you have to take note is not that all self-defense techniques are foolproof. Self-defense is about keeping yourself aware and on guard. People always jump into the assumption of, "You carry Louis Vuitton, Guccis and Pradas, of course you'll get robbed.", "You are wearing so sexy, of course you'll get targeted." Uh uh. Wrong. So wrong. The organization had actually interviewed former criminals and they all said the exact same thing, they only attack when you least expect it. And worse part, it only takes 3 seconds. We actually counted as we watched real life scenarios. 1,2,3. Poof. Window smashed, items snatched, mission accomplished. Scary.
How to make protect yourself? The only way is by reducing the risks. Most of it is common sense, like don't stay out too late, don't make your daily routines a habit, don't go around bad parts of the town... But in worse case scenario, say you are really cornered, you use your body mechanisms to breakaway and escape. Yes, that's right. No need for fancy martial arts techniques. Just break out and run. Your life is worth it, hold on to it.
We were even tested out one on one, where the speaker assault us like how a real criminal would, grab, choke, corner, all those. Me? I got several chokes, and after the session, my throat hurts and it's sore. The silver lining, we got a real life experience of how it feels so that we will be much more prepared in future, and we got free tea and chocolates. So yeah. The workshop was really worth it.