How strong do you think the average person really is?
Do most of us even know basic self defence?
This article occurred to me after a string of brutal rapes shook my country this past week. Like a bunch of candy balls at a game parlour, the terrifying news of one sexual assault after another just kept rolling in day after day, night after night. At the end of it, there was a chilling post on Instagram which had collated all the stories together to be presented as one horrifying news item with 10 times the shock factor.
This begs the question: How safe does the average person think he or she really is?
Not much, comes the disturbing answer.
Even the most well-trained and skilled martial art experts can only take up to 5–7 able bodied people at a time. Know what happens when the number of opponents crosses that number? They bolt! (which is why most of them are pros at running, and even train to be so along with their regular daily technique practice)
This got me thinking how invested is the average joe in his or her life. Be it that the whopping majority of sexual assault and rape is intended towards women, you’ll notice that in most cases the victims were actually accompanied by a male who could have been in a position to protect them, had he been sufficiently trained in martial art.
Which now brings us to the second set of questions.
What percentage of the population can sufficiently boast off being able to defend themselves from a group of thugs? And you see, knowing martial art and self-defence techniques is one thing. Being an expert who can keep up a fight with 6–7 able bodied men for more than a couple of minutes until help arrives, is another.
So digging further into it, what percentage of people well versed in martial art can boast off the ability to play at this level?
More importantly, what percentage of the female population can boast off being in that 1% bracket? Because you see, when push comes to shove, the level instantly gets bumped up to expert fighter. As long as you put up a mediocre fight, only indulging in defense moves, they’ll keep it right there while trying to dominate you.
But the moment you go all attack mode on them and try to screw them over, out come the knives and machetes! And all of a sudden you’re thrust into the proverbial lions den level of martial art, something you’ve never trained for.
So the real true question here is, how many women can play at this level?
Sorry to break it to you, but its just a tiny handful of people, men and women, who are capable of this. You see, the system was built to oppress you from each and every corner. Most people lack the self-determination and discipline it takes to train for such a fight every single day. Our jobs leave us feeling emotionally empty and mentally frustrated after every day, week and month of toil. The only thing that most people can indulge in after a tiring day of work is some comfort food, or some other form of enjoyment.
Most of us can’t even keep up with our gym subscriptions, duh!
And why is it that we are able to grasp out fragility and vulnerability to such things only when we’re put on the line. Why are we so incapable of preventing such things from happening in the first place? Why can’t we all be fighters ? It might not save us. But it might save that one woman out of the thousands who will get brutally raped that very same day.
The other day, while I was out hiking in the countryside, I bumped into a college buddy of mine. He was the same old lean shredded guy I knew. He was married, and now had two kids as well. His handshake? Even more firm and solid than before. He could have crushed the bones in my hand to a pulp before I even knew it. After the usual chit chat and a timeline exchange of events, I asked him whether he still trains.
“Every single day” came the reply. Just imagine how determined and disciplined the guy must be; the sheer perseverance and will power he must possess.
Training all throughout his life for that one fight that might be the difference between life and death.
Or one that might save a woman from from rape, sexual assault and murder.
How many people in the country do you think are ready for such a fight? Let’s not even talk about men right now. Since the alarming majority of sexual assault is on women, how many women do you think train everyday with with burly guys using knives and machetes to prepare themselves for such an eventuality? I really don’t know, but I’ll go out and take a wild guess here.
Its just a handful of people. Yes, in a country of about a billion people, just a handful of women are capable of standing up straight till the last guy hits the floor. Self defence classes for women have popped up everywhere and they are being attended in large numbers, due to the alarming trend stories of rape and sexual assault dominating the news.
But “self-defence” is woefully insufficient when you’re matched with 6–7 determined rapists. This ain’t your average mugger who’ll take to his heels the moment you throw a block and punch move.
These people will keep at it till they die!
They’ll bring out knives, bottles, or anything they can find nearby to keep at it. Since they now cannot tolerate the fact they’re being thrust to the ground by a girl, they’ll cheat to get whatever they want. As long as a woman doesn’t put up much of a fight, its just the usual hand and leg moves that will come out. But once she does, these beasts turn into bloodthirsty hyenas.
How dare we get taken on by a woman! It’s now no longer a mugger or rapist you’re fighting. Its the male ego with its attending superiority complex towards the opposite sex. And if they take you down from this level, they’ll inflict 10 times the damage that they originally intended to.
Because how dare you!
How dare you know martial art and self-defence?
How dare you fight against me! (fragile male ego kicks in here)You’re after all just a house wife who cooks food and does the dishes. The only time you probably use knives are to cut onions.
You were anyways just born to be sold off for marriage. You see, a lot of the thought process of the rapist has its deep roots in the patriarchal nature of the family system in India which is inherently oppressive, sexist and promotes the objectification of women.
And that’s the root cause of all such regressive animalistic behaviour that’s directed towards women in our country.
