# Self-defense course syllabus for young girls



## shesulsa (Feb 7, 2006)

I hold seminars for girls in another volunteer organization and I break down the skills according to age groups, really.  Though I haven't outlined (yet) what I like to show these girls physically, I have some general guidelines as to what I teach the girls in my seminars.

Young girls ages 5-8:  There's not a lot they can physically do besides run, use their voice, avoid situations and kick, bite, scratch and scream.  They learn about stranger danger, good and bad touching, phone and front door protocol - all the general safety stuff we like to teach every young child.

Young girls ages 9-12: About the same, but I like to teach these girls how to use their feet if they're on their backs, vital point targets.  We also discuss what sexual harassment is, define rape, cel phone protocol, internet safety, etc.  Also using day-to-day items as weapons.

Girls 12+: I teach these girls about the same as I teach adult women, but they need a little more education than the average adult female - like, what exactly constitutes rape, what heavy petting is ( I know women who don't know what that is ) and how/when to draw the line, "no" meaning "no" and how to move on from that point.  We talk about the legalities, consequences, and dangers of carrying weapons, how to find out more about the laws of carriage, etcetera.

I emphasize the buddy system with all females of all ages, posture and confidence, use of voice, recognizing rage and potential threats, etcetera.  We cover a lot.

What I'd like to do here is open up the discussion for what else you who teach seminars include in your syllabus as to natural awareness, verbal judo, specifics on physical techniques, etcetera.

It's all open, gang. Let's get it out there.


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## terryl965 (Feb 7, 2006)

Sound like you are doing a wonderful job helping these young ladys become aware of there surrounding and helping them be a better person.
Great work Shesulsa
Terry

I will have my wife put down what she teaches for th ladys of are school and after I get done I'll write down my views also.
Terry


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## Drac (Feb 7, 2006)

I must agree with* terryl965 *sounds like you are doing an excellent job..Add escapes from wrist grabs..Even the 9-12 can perform these without difficulty...


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## Andrew Green (Feb 7, 2006)

How to hit people.

I think that is the hardest thing for some people to learn when it comes to physical stuff.  Girls more so as the chances they grew up wrestling with each other, playing contact sports and punching each other in the arm until one gives up is a lot lower.

Result is they have no idea how much damage they can do, or how much damage getting hit does do.  Generally leading to overestimating both greatly and almost a fear response about hitting or getting hit.

And until a person can mentally deal with getting hit and thrown around enough to hit back with intent to damage any physical training apart from running away is a waste.


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## shesulsa (Feb 7, 2006)

Drac said:
			
		

> I must agree with* terryl965 *sounds like you are doing an excellent job..Add escapes from wrist grabs..Even the 9-12 can perform these without difficulty...



Yes, we do show quick releases, finger locks, etc.


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## shesulsa (Feb 7, 2006)

Andrew Green said:
			
		

> How to hit people.


This is a good sub-discussion: How do you teach that, Andrew?  I personally don't advocate young girls punching with a closed fist unless they're really strong girls. I favor showing heel palms and hammerfists myself.


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## Martial Tucker (Feb 7, 2006)

Just a few random thoughts:

I really believe awareness is 90% of the battle. I'll give a few rather random examples that are by no means all-inclusive of what I like to see covered, but a decent overview, and if I think of more stuff, I'll try to comeback and add:

1. Things like just walking down the sidewalk in the street. Do you walk near
the building along the street, so that someone could reach out from a doorway or alley and easily grab you? Or, do you walk near the curb, where someone could open a sliding van door and grab you? As you are walking, are you looking down at the ground, or looking at what is approaching you? When a person that you perceive to be a potential threat walks toward you on the sidewalk, do you make brief eye contact and let him know you are aware of his presence, or do you look away and hope for the best? After that person has passed you on the sidewalk, do you discreetly pay attention to him until he is a safe distance away? You don't have to turn and stare at him, but you can glance over your shoulder, or better yet, look into the window of the store you are walking by as if you are shopping, while watching him in your peripheral vision. 
2. As you approach a parked car in a parking lot, do you glance underneath while still far enough away to 
have a good, easy view. If you return to your car in a parking lot and find that a van has parked next to you on the driver's side of your car, do you get in on the passenger side and slide across? Do you look in the back seat of your car before you get in? Once inside, do you immediately lock the doors FIRST THING? As for cell phones, many people advise against talking on them while walking in a parking lot, as it has been speculated that this will attract an attacker on the notion that you are not paying attention to your surroundings, and are therfore vulnerable. LEO's that we have talked to indicate just the opposite. If you are walking with a cell phone held to your ear, make it obvious that you are aware of what is happening around you and it becomes a deterrant, since you can IMMEDIATELY ask someone to send help if you are attacked.

3. Don't forget the increasing threat of date-rape drugs. If you go to a party, never drink anything that you didnt get yourself, or open yourself.
You can buy coasters that will detect most date rape drugs, and change colors on contact.


Just a few off-the-cuff thoughts on awareness. You probably cover this, but just more food for thought.


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## arnisador (Feb 7, 2006)

See also:
http://www.martialtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=24900
http://www.martialtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1981

One thing emphasized in the latter thread is that a very common scenario has a male assailant "working his way in" over a period of time, each time pressing further and further into her personal space...standing a bit too close one day, a casual pat on the shoulder the next, and on and on, until, by inches, he's made the person accustomed to his being "allowed" to stand so close and make contact. Recognizing this danger and being willing to insist that one's personal space be respected (including having ready a comment to deflect the "Hey, don't be rude!" response), is important.

*Martial Tucker* makes very good points, and I emphasize those with _all _students.


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## Lisa (Feb 7, 2006)

Emphasis on the buddy system as you already mentioned in conjunction with why it is so important that someone know the who, what, where, when and why of what they are doing.  The importance of changing your routine.  I know one woman who rides her bike to work everyday (weather permitting) and changes up the routine so she is not predictable.  Knowing and recognizing "safe" places to go if you are in trouble or feel uncomfortable.  Mentioning to your teen and preteen that if you are walking home and someone or something is bothering you that they can recognize block parents or neighbours or friends homes and use them if need be.


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## Zepp (Feb 7, 2006)

This is all good stuff.

I think the 5-8 age group is old enough to learn to slip out of simple grabs, and reach around when being held and drive a finger into someone's eye.  (At least the 8 year-olds are.)  Of course, I can see not wanting them to abuse it by practicing on their parents.


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## Kacey (Feb 7, 2006)

I agree with everything that's been posted so far.  When I teach classes of this type, I emphasize where to go if you're worried about something - and when to be worried.  What to look for that should worry you - being followed, someone who asks you to go somewhere or help look for something, someone who waits until you're alone - anything that makes you nervous.  Go anywhere there are lots of people, where the 'safe kids' sign is, or to an adult (the latter being based on the theory that a randomly approached adult is safer than an adult who is approaching you in a fashion that makes you nervous).

I also talk about having a family password - a word the child can remember that is not obvious based on the child's general appearance and is not in the child's school or birth records (so, no middle names, birthdays, no pets' names because neighbors would know, etc.) - grandparent's first name, favorite color, book, TV show or movie - a word without which a child knows not to go with a person.

Children MUST know their home address and phone number.

Do NOT wear clothing that identifies you by name unless you with the group it identifies (e.g. team apparel); do NOT have your name (especially first and last name) anywhere it can be seen by strangers.

Limited use cell phones can be a great tool for a child to have.

There are other tips, of course, but these are the ones that most parents listening to/participating in the class say "oh... I never thought of that" to - especially the complete home address; the parents will ask their kids and find out they DON'T know, and the parents thought they did.


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## jdinca (Feb 8, 2006)

Looks great! On the physical side, do you teach ear slaps? Our first technique for the six and under crowd is somebody picking them up from the front. All the technique is is a snap kick to the groin and double ear slaps. The ear slap is also something taught in our womens self defense seminars.


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## Drac (Feb 8, 2006)

shesulsa said:
			
		

> Yes, we do show quick releases, finger locks, etc.


 
Very Good..Keep up the good work...


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## Martial Tucker (Feb 8, 2006)

I also believe that for a woman to be able to defend herself against a man, the "mental" side of training must be addressed and given much thought.
As an example of what I mean, I have "cut and pasted" text from a post referring to a women's self defense seminar that I made over a year ago in a thread similar to this one:


_I have noticed that there always seem to be a few women in the group that, when shown a technique attacking vital points, e.g., an eye gouge, respond by saying "Oh, I don't think I can DO that to someone."

I bring this up, because to me there's no such thing as "I can't".
"I CAN'T" translates to "I WON'T". At this point, I tell them that if they are not willing to gouge a man's eyes. or whatever, then they are making a conscious decision that injuring the man would bother them more than enduring whatever he has in mind for them. I ask them if that's what they mean to say, and they say "no!".

Here's my point: The typical women is at a significant power disadvantage if/when attacked by a man. Certainly, if the woman has had decent martial arts or self defense training, that power disadvantage can be negated.
BUT, survival may require the woman to do something(s) to the man the she would normally consider to be unthinkable in terms of violence or vulgarity. IMHO, a lot of the women I have seen train don't think about this enough, as they put all of their mental effort into memorizing the techniques. *What I am saying is that women also need to be mentally prepared IN ADVANCE to do WHATEVER it takes to survive, and make the decision before they leave the house that they will do this without hesitation. If they don't go through this thought process in advance, then if/when the time comes to actually defend themselves they will hesitate, which may cost them their lives.*

When we practice in class, and I am working with a woman who seems hesitant, I tell her to stop, close her eyes, and imagine for a moment that she just caught me molesting her child. At that point, I usually get the living crap kicked out of me, and I am happy, because THAT'S the intensity level I want to see a woman have when defending herself. But it's a decision that MUST be thought about and made BEFORE the need arises._


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## shesulsa (Feb 8, 2006)

_*


			
				Martial Tucker said:
			
		


			What I am saying is that women also need to be mentally prepared IN ADVANCE to do WHATEVER it takes to survive, and make the decision before they leave the house that they will do this without hesitation. If they don't go through this thought process in advance, then if/when the time comes to actually defend themselves they will hesitate, which may cost them their lives.
		
Click to expand...


*_I couldn't agree more.

I have assisted my instructor at some seminars at churches and I've heard more than once, "I just don't think I could _hurt_ anybody."  My response is, perhaps you don't, but there are plenty of people out there who are more than willing to hurt you ... thinking about it, fantasizing about it, planning for it. I guarantee if you are not willing to hurt them to protect yourself, you are the helpless prey and nothing more.

That usually gets gaping mouths, pie eyes and stunned silence.


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## shesulsa (Feb 8, 2006)

How many of you include hand-outs in your seminars? What do you include in them?

I have mostly included hints and tips for awareness and safety.  For the older girls and women, I like to include some material my instructor uses outlining some vital points and a little anatomy.

What I want to include for older girls and women is some local statistics, however, my biggest concern for the younger crowd is twofold:  1) information overload and 2)Supergirl syndrome (not gonna happen to me).

I'm thinking statistics for their age group might be applicable and is certainly important, but too much talking and not enough doing usually turns them off.

thoughts?


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## Rich Parsons (Feb 8, 2006)

shesulsa said:
			
		

> This is a good sub-discussion: How do you teach that, Andrew? I personally don't advocate young girls punching with a closed fist unless they're really strong girls. I favor showing heel palms and hammerfists myself.



I recommend this as well and also make sure they understand the gross motor skills of how to strike. Simple up and down striking, versus trying to pinpoint a specific part.


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## Rich Parsons (Feb 8, 2006)

shesulsa said:
			
		

> I couldn't agree more.
> 
> I have assisted my instructor at some seminars at churches and I've heard more than once, "I just don't think I could _hurt_ anybody." My response is, perhaps you don't, but there are plenty of people out there who are more than willing to hurt you ... thinking about it, fantasizing about it, planning for it. I guarantee if you are not willing to hurt them to protect yourself, you are the helpless prey and nothing more.
> 
> That usually gets gaping mouths, pie eyes and stunned silence.



I did a demo at a church ofr mothers as well. One woman talked to me about this issue and how come most of the women were not listening or practicing. I explained that she was not a target and she herself would be less likely for attack as the women who did not pay attention or cared enough to worry about their safety other than to say they had gone to a self defense seminar, so now they were safe.


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## Rich Parsons (Feb 8, 2006)

shesulsa said:
			
		

> How many of you include hand-outs in your seminars? What do you include in them?
> 
> I have mostly included hints and tips for awareness and safety. For the older girls and women, I like to include some material my instructor uses outlining some vital points and a little anatomy.
> 
> ...



I like the hand outs. 

Local laws about assault and also domestic violence are good. 

As to the Super Girl Syndrome I tell a story about how tow young women at a nearby college were attacked. They used their Green belt technqiues (* Art omitted as not relevent *) to kcik the guy down and he was out either from a kick or hitting his head on the ground. One woman ran for help, the other staid to gloat over her victory. When the first woman got back they found the second woman had been raped. This get their attention, for those willing to open thier minds.

Also if you have a newa by college, get their stats, as in Michigan colleges report their numbers separate from the local city.

I like the talk, practice, talk learn and practice some more, and then finish with a quick talk. If you need be handouts can cover things you may not ave had time to talk about or may be part of the material as covered.


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## shesulsa (Feb 8, 2006)

Rich Parsons said:
			
		

> I recommend this as well and also make sure they understand the gross motor skills of how to strike. Simple up and down striking, versus trying to pinpoint a specific part.



Elbows can work pretty well, too.  My biggest issue with teaching some girls and women how to strike is they just don't generate much power - even going full-boar.


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## shesulsa (Feb 8, 2006)

Rich Parsons said:
			
		

> Local laws about assault and also domestic violence are good.


Excellent suggestion.  



> As to the Super Girl Syndrome I tell a story about how tow young women at a nearby college were attacked. They used their Green belt technqiues (* Art omitted as not relevent *) to kcik the guy down and he was out either from a kick or hitting his head on the ground. One woman ran for help, the other staid to gloat over her victory. When the first woman got back they found the second woman had been raped. This get their attention, for those willing to open thier minds.


Good story.



> I like the talk, practice, talk learn and practice some more, and then finish with a quick talk. If you need be handouts can cover things you may not ave had time to talk about or may be part of the material as covered.


Yeah, I like to give them bathroom breaks and water/snack break and try to chit-chat over the water/snack. Can't do that while they're in the potty, tho.


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## Lisa (Feb 8, 2006)

I work at the local university.  They offer a simple "sensible" self defence course that I try really hard to encourage our female residence to take.  They also have hand outs on local statistics and common sense things to do when walking alone, etc.  Most don't participate or won't.  One girl told me it scares her too much to think about it.  I asked her how much it would scare her when it happened to her.  :idunno: that attitude, I found, more frightening then anything.  Ostrich syndrome (head in the sand), if I don't think about it, it won't happen.

The whole attitude freaks me out, so I spend lunch hours with them encouraging participation and trying to get them to at least be more aware of their surroundings.  It amazes me that these young women live with their heads in the sand.


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## Rich Parsons (Feb 8, 2006)

Lisa said:
			
		

> I work at the local university. They offer a simple "sensible" self defence course that I try really hard to encourage our female residence to take. They also have hand outs on local statistics and common sense things to do when walking alone, etc. Most don't participate or won't. One girl told me it scares her too much to think about it. I asked her how much it would scare her when it happened to her. :idunno: that attitude, I found, more frightening then anything. Ostrich syndrome (head in the sand), if I don't think about it, it won't happen.
> 
> The whole attitude freaks me out, so I spend lunch hours with them encouraging participation and trying to get them to at least be more aware of their surroundings. It amazes me that these young women live with their heads in the sand.



U of Mich - Ann Arbor had a student escort program to help against assault and sexual assaults. They always sent a woman for the escort. Either tow women or man and woman. They had ID's, and wore "U" shirts identifying them as escorts. This helped with the travel in group mentality for safety.

While the U of Mich - Flint has an escort system supplied by the safety officers. Sometimes though these safety officers are just another female college student, the issue is that their is a dispatch / communications officer who knows where they are, and the escort also carries a radio.

Sorry for the off topic discussion.


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## Jonathan Randall (Feb 8, 2006)

shesulsa said:
			
		

> 2)Supergirl syndrome (not gonna happen to me).
> 
> thoughts?


 
What my Kenpo instructor did was require his students to go shooting with him at least once. During the session, the students were able to see what a firearm can actually do compared to empty-hand techniques. One other option, although it's a ROUGH one, would be to download that awful clip from another thread (forgot which) where this poor convenience store clerk (a large, older man) is robbed and than shot three times when the lowlifes see that his till is empty. It is very horrible because you can hear his screams and groans. However, one viewing of this or similiar real-life violent crime incidents caught on tape should kill any Super Girl syndrome that pops up. You would have to find a way to do it super respectfully, though, as the victim deserves as much dignity as possible.


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## Devin (Feb 18, 2006)

"...other option, although it's a ROUGH one, would be to download that awful clip from another thread (forgot which) where this poor convenience store clerk (a large, older man) is robbed and than shot three times when the lowlifes see that his till is empty."

Does anyone know where I can find this clip?

(Sorry for the highjack)


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## Xequat (Feb 18, 2006)

Just a couple of things to add...I heard a guest on a radio talk show a few days talking about what she teaches in her classes for women, and the biggest point she made about reacting is that even though you are taken off guardm you can recover quickly if you remember to breathe.  She asks a lot of her participants what they'd do if someone attacked them and too many say things like "Oh, I'd probably panic or faint or lose my breath until it's too late."  Then she asks them what they'd do if someone tried to take their child.  Their response is typically along the lines of "I'd kill, maim, break, mangle, etc him."  So why not react that way if someone tries to take your kid's mom, being you?  I thought that was a pretty good way to put things into perspective and help bring out the fight or flight mechanism in the women.

The other thing is, don't be afraid of the punches being too weak.  This is one thing that I've seen taught a lot that I disagree with.  I've seen classes do push-ups to help with punching muscles, etc., but that doesn't necessarily help.  I believe that the secret to a good punch is speed, not power.  Power is for pushing, shoving, lifting, etc, but speed is for damage.  My teacher and I came up a with a good analogy for this...Have you ever hit a baseball or golf ball or softball, etc, and it went forever, but you really didn't feel like you got all of it?  Thought to yourself "Man, if I had hit that thing as hard as I could have, I probably would have set a record.  I really wasn't trying on that one and it went pretty far."  Well, the reason is that when muscles are tight, you are more pushing the ball than you are swinging at it because tight muscles create tension and resistance along the bones, other muscles, etc, and actually can serve to slow down the punch.  A good, loose punch will come out noticably faster than a tense one, so in a way, I might rather take a punch from Arnold Schwarzenegger than from a 12-year-old girl.  Keep loose, and just sling your fist out there.  To practice, throw one as tense as you can, then throw one easy and see which hurts more.  It takes a bit of practice to see what I'm talking about, but try it on pads, heavy bags, each other's arms, whatever, and after a few tries, you should notice a difference.


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## TigerWoman (Feb 18, 2006)

Since 1 out of 5 attacks/rapes are from strangers, the rest are from people known, so you should address those scenarios. Kids are very trusting usually so we need to get it into their head to never trust just anyone. So I would go over basic protection awareness first. Personal, pick your friends well, alone in buildings, the internet, social settings, appropriate behavior by adults, their rights and where they can go for support. For the 12 year olds - also social circumstances, sleepovers and dates. Then walking alone scenarios, shopping place, elevator, and eventually workplace. Those 12 year olds grow up to be 16-18 fast and this may be their last information on the subject.  I sent my teen off to college with pepper spray even though it was a private college that had escort service w/radios. After all, they don't always stay on campus. She got close to using it once.

I'm always ordering new tapes for my SD/Kickboxing/Women's class and found a DVD by Barbara Hale and Robert Ferguson called "Rape Awareness and Prevention for Women". I got it from Century. It has a good presentation to large groups.  It fires off alot of tips and scenarios, mostly for women, but those 12 year olds listen now and at 16-18, don't want to hear it then.  Ingrained now, as most attacks happen at a very young age.  The first part is tips and what ifs and the second part are techniques and demonstrations of attacks/defenses so you could leave off the second part as you show defenses. 40 min. total./20 each

For self-defense, I would keep it very simple.  I'm not so sure a young girl can get out of a one arm grab from a man.  I know I can't get out of my master's grip when its a straight vertical grip, not the horizontal one, without a strike to the wrist or an elbow break. On breaking the elbow, I don't think an eight year old can usually do that.

They _can_ break a knee with a sidekick though as it only takes about 15 lbs of pressure. Practice that with partners just showing how and where they should place their foot without pressure. They can kick to the groin, pop ears with palms, put fingers into eyes, knifehand to throat. They can hammerfist - nose, throat, groin, knee. Punching not as good without training. Not sure about a stomp when most kids just wear rubber soled shoes and not hard heeled shoes. A 12 yr. old could use elbow strikes to face, head but I think would have to be trained more. 12 yr. olds could knee to the groin.

For kids, I think it is better to just stick to sidekicks to knee, ear pops, finger strikes, groin strikes, and knife/hammerfist to throat and of course to RUN!  TW


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## shesulsa (Feb 18, 2006)

TW - when I told my girl scouts (11-14) about the 1-in-5 statistic, they were all amazed.  And like you said, there is the doubt level in young women, so I'm having a couselor from the YWCA come to talk to them as well as a police officer about statistics.

Honestly, though, I tell my girls to stay away from finger strikes as opposed to gouging and flesh tears, open palm strikes and hammerfists.  Most girls' fingers just aren't strong enough to handle a finger strike the way folks who have trained to do it are - their delicate little fingers are playing flutes and violins, not breaking boards and gripping gis. 

Also, I want to address the side kick to the knee.  I have seen girls demonstrate a stomp kick like they're putting the kick-stand on their bike down - just as delicately, too.  So, I've been showing to stomp like you're gonna stomp a cockroach or ants or poprocks.  They understand that and are generally more likely to put their weight behind the stomp.  Then we take the angle up a bit.  Fun, Fun Fun!!  Once they get the idea of putting power behind a kick and what that really means, they really start to feel more powerful in taking charge.


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## beau_safken (Feb 18, 2006)

I think that for those ladies 18+, you should suggest finding a larger martial art's friend to chill with.  Preferably one with brown hair, blue eyes and that likes cooking and long walks on the beach 

Seriously, I am a big fan of the awareness of situations and always having a plan of checking in with.  Having a parent, another adult and your friends know where you are at all times as well as who your with increases their chances of being safe.  Avoiding obvious ones like keggers and the like...but then again i dont know too many of those happening now that I can legally drink.  

Eye gouging, heel to the testicles, stabbing to the face with a pen, sharp rings and no necklace, not dressing like a whore and knowing some basic grab release techniques.  And tell them that cheating is only for the those that lose to complain about


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## TigerWoman (Feb 18, 2006)

shesulsa said:
			
		

> Honestly, though, I tell my girls to stay away from finger strikes as opposed to gouging and flesh tears, open palm strikes and hammerfists.  Most girls' fingers just aren't strong enough to handle a finger strike the way folks who have trained to do it are - their delicate little fingers are playing flutes and violins, not breaking boards and gripping gis.



A finger strike/claw hand to the eyes for a 12 yr. old is still pretty devastating, call it a gouge whatever but no finger strikes for any other area. 

If the girls practice on each other, no stomping or even hard pressure as they might not know when to stop!   You could put boards up on a couple of low blocks though--those 5x12" size or a rebreakable and they could practice with shoes on. TW


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## shesulsa (Feb 18, 2006)

OH yes, we don't have them stomp on each other, that's just common sense, but thank you.   Fingers to the eyes is fine, prolly gripping the trachea too.


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