Women taught to avoid violence
Trust your instinct – and if you feel threatened in a situation, leave.
This is the advice of karate sensei Mark Grobbelaar, who conducted a self-defence course at a Women INpowerment workshop, together with the Reeva Rebecca Steenkamp Foundation, on Saturday.
More than 150 women in training gear attended.
Grobbelaar devised the course after his friend Alison Botha was abducted, raped and left for dead in 1994.
“After I heard that Alison had survived, I wrote a thesis for my 5th Dan grading on selfdefence for women in 1994.”
“This is not self-defence in its truest form. That takes extensive hours of training [for the rest of your life].
“We show you something that is really simple, that you don’t need to practise, that can immobilise any human being,” Grobbelaar said. The key points, he said, that should be looked for in avoiding an attack were intent, ability and opportunity.
“There are five stages in a violent crime. Attack is the fourth stage.
“What people tend to do is make themselves small and inconspicuous: ‘If I don’t see him, he won’t see me’.”
“If you’re running and you come across a group of guys, turn back or cross the road to avoid positioning yourself for [an] attack,” Grobbelaar said.
Women attending the workshop received theoretical insight on how to approach a potentially dangerous situation, and a physical demonstration in which they had to break a board.
“It’s not just about breaking the board. It’s about showing women they can do other things.
“Women are always told they can’t do this. That’s nonsense,” Grobbelaar said.