The Defend University and Women’s Self-Defense Institute Newsletter for
April 2001.
 
In this issue:
 
Teen’s Abduction Highlights Dangers of Parking Lots
The Elusive Pressure Point
Intruder Rapes, Robs 84-Year-Old: Crime Reinforces Important Point
Law Blocking Earnhardt Autopsy Photos Might Let Rapist Walk
Weapons Disarming for the Untrained?
Two accused of smuggling date-rape drug at border 
Two Techniques from Rape Escape!
 
 _______________________________________
 
 Teen’s Abduction Highlights Dangers of Parking Lots  
 
The abduction of Anne Sluti, 17, of Kearney, Neb., this month highlights
two important points to remember for women.

Sluti was abducted from a shopping mall parking lot by Anthony Zappa and
taken on a wild, week-long, multi-state ordeal.  Although Sluti heroically
negotiated her own release to police in Montana, her plight points out:

1. Parking lots (and parking garages) are very common locations for
abductions.  Abductions DO happen in parking lots (ask Wall-Mart about
their legal difficulties stemming from a number of abductions/rapes from
their lots).  This is the first principle of defense at WSDI: Stay aware
of people around you.
2. Don’t let yourself be taken anywhere else.  That’s WSDI’s second
self-defense principle: Stay with people, go to people.  In other words,
there is relative safety in the parking lot with the chance that other
people could discover the rapist and come to your aid.

Unfortunately for Anne, it was reported that Zappa may have hit her over
the head with some sort of stick before dragging her into a stolen Chevy
Suburban.  Her visible black eye would also indicate that she was punched
in the face at least once (in the Rape Escape program you are always
taught to anticipate a punch or a slap as you begin your escapes).

Ironically, it appears that another teenaged girl in the same parking lot
the day before avoided an attempted abduction by Zappa.  As she was
preparing to leave the lot, she noticed that her tire was slashed.  A man
in a Chevy Suburban conveniently drove up and offered to help.  The girl
retreated back into the mall – an action which no doubt saved her from
suffering like Anne. 
 
 _________________________

The Elusive Pressure Point

“Sometimes you just can’t hit that small nerve, point or sweet spot on a
moving, rabid target.  Pressure points do not always pay off in the real
word.”

Hock Hochheim

_________________________

Intruder Rapes, Robs 84-Year-Old: Crime Reinforces Important Point
Police are investigating the rape and robbery of an 84-year-old woman that
happened early Monday morning, Apr. 19.  Police said that the intruder
attacked the woman near 1:15 a.m. Monday morning while she slept.
Authorities think that the intruder slipped the lock on the apartment
building door, and went up into her apartment. The man raped the woman,
stole nearly $60 and some jewelry, and beat the woman. 
 
 The reason I brought this up is to remind you to remember that you – yes,
YOU! – are a potential victim.  And I want to counter some of the
incredibly stupid and bogus information that is currently making its way
around the Internet.
 
 Some of you might have seen the e-mail.  It claims to be from someone who
has spoken to a self-defense expert who has recently concluded thousands
of interviews with rapists in prisons across the country.  The e-mail said
this research has revealed some startling findings: rapists prefer to
attack women with long hair and they prefer to attack women who wear the
bib-overall type of shorts because they can simply cut the straps with a
knife or razor blade.
 
 The first tip-off that this is a load of baloney is revealed when the
e-mail says the expert currently studies with Steven Seagal.  No
disrespect here, Mr. Seagal, but I don’t think your name by itself
warrants a blanket endorsement concerning women’s self-defense.
 
 The fact is that women of every age, size, color, shape, manner of dress
or hairstyle is at risk.  
 
 ______________________________________
 
 Law Blocking Earnhardt Autopsy Photos Might Let Rapist Walk
 
It looks like the highly-publicized law blocking of the autopsy photos of
NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt has unintended consequences for a rape and
murder victim.

Assistant Public Defender Bill Laswell has filed a motion in the Florida
case of Lucious Boyd, 42, who is accused of raping and murdering a woman
who ran out of gas on her way home from church. 

Laswell said the law, which bars the public from examining autopsy photos
unless a judge approves their release, also applies to juries, the South
Florida Sun-Sentinel reported. 

Boyd was charged in the rape and murder of Dawnia Dacosta, 21. The autopsy
photos are a key piece of evidence because they show bite marks that a
prosecution expert intends to show the jury, comparing them to a plaster
reconstruction of Boyd's mouth.

________________________________________

Weapons Disarming for the Untrained?

You know that we get tons of questions at the Defend U. site.  Here’s one
of the latest: What about disarming tactics? Are these wise for the layman
without training to attempt? 

You can check out suggested solutions at:
http://www.defendu.com/quest14.htm

_____________________________________

Two accused of smuggling date-rape drug at border 

U.S. Customs agents arrested two American men entering from Mexico on
charges of trying to smuggle so-called "date rape" drugs into the country.

Inspectors on Sunday, Apr. 18 found 297 units of the powerful sedative
Rohypnol hidden in a plastic bag in Paul E. Wesselman's groin area and two
grams of the anesthetic Ketamine in John J. Heidel III's shoe, port
director Joe Lafata said.
 
 Don’t think that this is not a real threat nor a real phenomenon here in
the U.S.  These are just two morons who got caught.  For more information
on date rape drugs, go to the article on the Women’s Self-Defensive
Institute site at: http://www.defendu.com/wsdi/daterapedrug.htm
 
 ____________________________
 
 Two Techniques from Rape Escape!
 
 A rape happens in the U.S. every six minutes.  One out of every four
women you see are statistically likely to be attacked in their lifetime. 
 
The Rape Escape system has allowed hundreds of women to learn how to
realistically and effectively defend themselves.  The program puts an
emphasis on giving women and girls a system that can REALLY work against a
man.  

Some women’s self-defense programs are solely based on awareness and
avoidance – two important parts of your personal protection program, but
they don’t deal with the reality of being forced into a position for
sexual assault.  Other courses rely on complex martial arts techniques
that are difficult to learn and unreliable when used by an unskilled
person.  Still other programs teach tricks like scratching the attacker
with car keys held between the fingers or kicking a man where it counts. 

The Rape Escape system has been formulated over a seven-year period and
contains a simple, but effective, method that gives the average woman a
platform on which she can even the playing field when faced with a rapist.

Below are two techniques taken directly from the Rape Escape Level 1
program.   They address two of your worst nightmares: a man is on top of
you – between your thighs – and rape is imminent; the other is the man has
forced you to kneel in front of him and is holding your hair as he
prepares to rape you orally.


Rape Escape Technique #1: The Rape Mount Position

The attacker has you on the ground and is between your legs.  We are going
to show you how to get out so no matter what else happens, you will know
how to get out of the worst possible position.

Most likely you will not be able to move your attacker, he will probably
be heavier and stronger than you.

1. So you are going to move yourself by putting your hands on his
shoulders and pushing yourself back until you can get your feet up onto
his hips;
2. Now push with your feet, scooting yourself from side to side to get
distance away from him;
3. You are going to use your feet to kick him backwards.  You alternate
kicks like you are pedaling a bicycle.  Start at his stomach, go up to his
chest and finally kick him in his face.  

Your legs are strong, so you can kick with enough force to launch any man
backwards.  You can even knock him out with the kicks to his face. (Ask me
sometime how I know this is possible!)

Rape Escape Technique #2: Forced to Kneel

The attacker has grabbed your hair and forced you to kneel in front of him
in order to rape you orally.

1. Take both hands and clamp them down over his hand tight to your head
(to keep him from pulling your hair);
2. Bow forward from the waist while keeping your hands clamped (this puts
pressure on his wrist);
3. Move both your feet to one side which allows you to roll backwards onto
your back;
4. Begin kicking upward at the opponent like we did in technique #1.


Yes, both are very simplistic, for a good reason!  We have found that in a
short time, we have average women able to control and injure the
instructors (sometimes right through the specially-padded suits we wear).
And I mean average…all ages, all athletic abilities, all levels of
conditioning.  

You’ll notice that both also allow you to honor the STAY WITH PEOPLE
principle that we discussed earlier because he can’t very well pick you up
from here.  You have adopted a strong defensive position which allows you
to keep your most valuable asset (your head) out of the way of his punches
and keeps your strongest weapons (your kicks) aimed at some of his weakest
targets (knees, groin, stomach, face).  

These techniques are from the Rape Escape Level 1 class which includes
solutions to nine common sexual assault scenarios you are likely to face.
The Rape Escape Level 2 class features some date rape scenarios and adds
strikes to some techniques to make them more effective.  The Rape Escape
Level 3 class teaches solutions to the rapist who is armed with a  knife
or a handgun.

All three of these classes are now being put on video tape for the first
time.  They are shot with two beautiful professional digital cameras
giving students the best angles from which to view the techniques.

You only have one life, fight for it!

Brad Parker
Women’s Self-Defense Institute
Defend University
www.defendu.com