Attack 1966

You have just seen a woman and robbed on the street. She may be badly injured. She may even be dead. These attacks occur dozens of times each day on the streets of America. Adults are injury, rape, or murder. The least consequence of such attack is loss of personal property. But that is serious enough. Some attacks on women are so surprising, so brutal, so suddenly completed nothing could be done at the time. But many attacks on women can be repulsed if only the victim knows one or two simple means to defend herself. During the following minutes, we intend to look at the problem of attacks on lone women and a few of the ways to defend oneself. As the International Association of Chiefs of Police and the Taft Broadcasting Company show how women can defend themselves from attack. More and more the newspapers and news programs contain stories of assaults on women. We all know the various results of such attacks. We hear and read about them every day. An alarming fact is that these crimes are on the increase. And assaults on women, robbery, rape, murder, are not limited to the hours after dark. True, most attacks take place then. But some daring or more insane attackers strike in broad daylight. I'm Glenn Ryle. I don't pretend to be an expert on how a woman can defend herself. But during the research and study for this program, we've learned many simple ways for women to ward off attackers. I don't think you'll like what we suggest. We suggest you be violent. We suggest you try to injure another person. Specifically, your attacker. To most of us, inflicting injury is distasteful, but if you are attacked and do not defend yourself, you will become a victim. A victim of injury or death. We have enlisted the aid of women who are experts in this field. And with their help, we'll show you a few defense tricks that any woman can easily do. Let's go back to the beginning of our program. The woman walking along the street is Mrs. Barbara Demetric, married and mother of two children. She's 5 ft 5 and weighs a scant 100 lb. Mrs. Demetric is a brown belt karate student and along with her husband, a Covington, Kentucky police officer and recognized self-defense expert, she has been active in demonstrating and training women to defend themselves. It's important to point out here that the moves we are about to see are not karate or judo. These are simple actions intended to ward off or disable an attacker and require no high degree of skill or training. During the first scene, Mrs. Demetric did nothing to defend herself. This is all too often what women do. This time, she'll take action. That's much different than the first time. Let's see it once more and have Barbara tell us what she's doing. When the man grabs me from behind, I kick back with my foot to his leg, then down, trying to rake his shin with my shoe or heel. By pushing down hard, his leg will guide my foot directly to his instep. And whether the heel is spike or flat, a hard blow to the instep will almost always force a man to let go. When he does let go, I can run or scream or hit him with something. A purse is very good for this. A large woman's purse is usually quite heavy, and a good roundhouse blow with one will knock down most men. That's an easy but effective action to take against assault. Don't practice it on your husband, but keep it in mind. And above all, don't forget the scream. The one thing that most sneak attackers want is silence. A good, long, ear-piercing scream will frighten many away. Are there other ways to fight an attack from behind? A sharp jab with the elbow is painful and causes an involuntary reaction on the part of the one who receives it. The main trouble women have when they try some physical action is that they don't put enough into it. With the elbow jab, put every ounce of weight and bit of muscle you can muster behind it. Make the blow quick and hard, and as often as not, you'll break some ribs. That really puts a man out of action. Then scream for help and run. Barbara says a woman should scream if she's attacked. We can't put too much emphasis on this one simple defense. Scream, scream, scream. It might bring help. And help for you puts an end to your attacker. Every human being has a number of vulnerable areas. One of the tenderest is the eyes. Now, you may think you couldn't intentionally try to harm someone's eyes, but remember, you may be fighting for your life, and anything goes when your life is at stake. Whenever anybody comes at you from behind, it's always best if you can turn to meet him face to face. From the front, it's very hard for a man to get his hand over your mouth. You can scream, and you're in position to use your best natural woman's weapon, the fingernails. That catty expression, "I'll scratch your eyes out," should be literally true in this situation. Use those fingernails and go for the eyes. Scratch and dig in hard. Scratch and scream. Two natural actions for women. Unfortunately, far too few women do either when they're molested or attacked. Now, the scratching takes a little effort, but what about the scream? What if the man has his hand over your mouth? Bite. That's the best. Bite just as hard as you can. The thought of it may bring a smile to some lips, but I guarantee the man you bite won't think it's funny. If you bite hard, he'll pull his hand away. Then, you can scream as loud and as long as you wish. We've been discussing ways to ward off an attack if one occurs. The best thing, of course, is to never be attacked. The answer to that is easy. Never go anyplace. At least, never go anyplace alone. Whenever possible, travel with a friend. Even if it's a trip of only a few blocks to the grocery. Now, this is especially true at night. Practically never will two women be attacked by a lone man. If you must go out alone at night, try to be prepared. Avoid dark streets, even if it takes you some distance out of your way. If you're in a car, keep the windows up and the doors locked. And don't park in some out-of-the-way, dark place. You still have to get to and from your car. In strange or rough neighborhoods, equip yourself with some weapon that you can use if you are assaulted. A weapon in the hand that might be seen by some would-be attacker will often scare him off. He knows you're prepared. You'll be harder to surprise, and surprise is one of his weapons. When it comes to weapons, just look in your purse. The average woman's purse is full of good tools for fighting off an attacker. First and foremost, a nail file. Sharp and strong, it can be used like a knife. A jab or two with this is not only painful, but can be disabling. A lipstick. Grind it into his eyes. A comb. Raked across the eyes and nose, it acts like a saw. A pencil or a pen. Anything with a sharp point that you can poke or jab with. Or you might even want to prepare an envelope of cayenne pepper. Thrown in the eyes, it burns and causes temporary blindness. Remembering any of these things might save your life. Sometimes a man will attack from the front. When this happens, a woman has a much better chance of fighting back. If someone grabs you from the front, get your hands and arms up. This gives you more leverage, and you can wedge them in between you and push away. Get those fingernails working, and scream. If a man does succeed in grabbing you from the front, use your knee. Pull your knee up into his stomach or groin. Use all the force you can gather. It's a bit more difficult in a tight skirt, and the skirt might get torn, but this is no time to be lady-like and delicate. So, use force, all you can. Assaults by men on unsuspecting women are on the increase. Uh this is a crime that is very difficult for the police to prevent. There are rarely advance indications that such crimes will take place, and it's impossible for any police force, understaffed as they are, to be everywhere at the same time. One point we must impress on you is your ability to defend yourself. If only you will make the effort. Too often a woman considers her situation hopeless and makes no move or sound to defeat her attacker. Remembering that none of these moves we have shown require any high degree of skill, let's take another look at them. This time in slow motion. The first move Mrs. Demetrick showed us was kicking back, raking the shin with her shoe or heel, and then down onto the instep. Simple, painful to the attacker, and more than likely will get you free. The second was the elbow jab. Don't forget Barbara's advice about put everything you have into any action. Make the blow quick and sharp. You'll probably break a few of the man's ribs. That may not sound nice, but it's all the better for you. She advises you to turn and face your attacker. A twisting motion is hard to stop, and when you're face-to-face with a man, you're in position to use that natural woman's weapon, the fingernails. Scratch and dig in hard. And don't forget the Scratch and scream. If his hand goes over your mouth, bite just as hard as you can. We showed you some weapons, weapons that can be found in the purse of most women. The nail file. Use it like a knife to stab with. A pencil or a pen. Anything with a sharp point. Use it the same way. A comb right across the eyes or an envelope of pepper to throw in his eyes. Any of these things might save your life. Finally, Mrs. Demetrick demonstrated a knee in the groin. This is especially disabling to a man and once again, be violent. Use all the force you can muster. And with this, as with any other defense action, scream, scream. Any or all of these actions may be unpleasant to you because they inflict harm to another. But in cases of attack, there is no action too violent for a woman to use in defense. We must repeat, women, you can defend yourselves. If nothing else, you can scream. It's our hope that the examples of self-defense seen on this program will be a help to any woman who might be assaulted in the future. If you can remember only a small part of what we've shown here, it might save you from much agony. It might even save your life. We urge you to consider what we've shown and said and to look further into what you might do to protect yourself and others from the perils of robbery, rape, or murder. Ah.