The low-hanging fruits of female self defense

Low-hanging fruits have various
metaphorical meanings 

Sometime in the middle of our course, Peter and Bob had an important training session for a competition and could not come to our class, so Linda arranged for us a midterm round discussion. It was supposed to be a more informal meeting so we could, in a cozy and relaxed atmosphere, wrap up the past sessions, discuss the challenges of our training and to clarify issues for which there was no room during the regular classes. 

 We already knew Linda owns a small summerhouse in the countryside on the outskirts of our city. The house is small but with a large orchard full of fruit trees. She grows quite some varieties; plum, apple, pear, walnut, cherry trees, but she even managed to successfully cultivate some that are normally not that well suitable for the climate of our country like peaches, apricots and even kiwis! So now you know, where all the fruits used at the course come from. We did not mind, sometimes we left the classes with delicious healthy snacks in our pockets. 

We sat down on mats around Linda, got into the most comfortable positions and she initiated the round discussion with a story. “When the time of harvest comes, I go to my orchard with a basket and start picking the ripe fruits, first those being on the lower branches. These I can conveniently reach from the ground, but to get to those hanging higher up in the tree I must fetch a ladder. The higher the fruits hang the more difficult is to get them. However, those upper fruits receive more sunshine and are bigger and sweeter. There is even a saying in English ‘Do not go for the low hanging fruits.’ “Do you know what the expression ‘low-hanging fruits’ mean?” Linda asked the girl audience. “The most easily and quickly achievable task?” replied Susanne. “Exactly,” nodded Linda. “It is mainly used as business jargon, but for female self defense theory it has an important metaphorical meaning as well. Low-hanging fruits is of course a metaphor for testicles. As you already learned, going for testicles when defending from a man is the easiest and the most straightforward way to go. Furthermore, the lowest the testicles hang the more easily the task is achievable. You already learned some of the testicle-targeting techniques and that most of them are much easier to perform on a man with loose than with a tight scrotum.”

 

Jockstrap was invented in 19th century
to avoid injuries of low-hanging testicles 

Linda then highlighted this issue with a historical inside, “To circumvent this male vulnerability there was even a protective undergarment invented for athletes already in 19th century. A jockstrap is based on a simple principle to lift the male organs closer to his body and keep it all tight and packed to at least partially avoid the possibility of injury. It is effective even if no other hard cup or box is included. But keep in mind, rapists do not wear any protective garments. They are confident they can get away with their intentions. They would anyway have to remove it and expose their genitals at some point of the attack”. 

Linda then switched to biology, “Interestingly, the cremaster muscle does the same thing for a man as a jockstrap during fear, cold, or a sexual intercourse.” “Indeed, a wild sex can be a dangerous activity for testicles,” Linda added humorously. “Our professor of biology at the university used the paradox of testicles hanging outside as an example of an evolutionary trait for which evolutionary biologists are having hard time to find an explanation. She said that the theory about the low temperature sperm production is now disputed by many scientists. It is rather the sperm production being adapted on lower temperatures than other way around. For instance, some mammals do have internal testes. Imagine a dolphin with a flapping scrotum as he jumps out of the water or an elephant with two giant wrecking balls between his legs!” That wild imagination gave us some laughs. Linda then continued, “One theory says it might balance the differences between men and women in terms of physical fighting abilities. It is simply an anatomical weakness of which men must be extremely cautious and careful about. Nevertheless, we do not know yet everything about male sexual physiology and many things remain quite mysterious for science.” 

It was clear that the topic grabbed the girls’ attention and sparked a very intensive debate. Ana said that her boyfriend has low hanging testicles, and she loves it. Before she thought that only older guys have such saggy balls, but her boyfriend is only 22 and according to her, he hangs lower than her granddad! She finds it funny and cute when his ‘bolas’ swing erratically when he walks around the apartment naked. Once he was stealing from her portion of the sweets they received from her grandma, so she flicked him there. “Well, his mistake,” she said. “I got then all the sweets just for me!” Rebeca said that all the guys she dated so far have had rather a tight scrotum. “But I have never cared or thought much about it; I have been more interested in their penises anyway.” Emma reacted immediately to this, “I envy you Rebeca, I have not been that lucky. Too saggy, hairy and wrinkled balls simply gross me out; they also tend to be sweatier and smellier.” Susanne was the medical student at the time and the oldest of us, so she was more interested in the fertility aspect than aesthetics. She said that her boyfriend always gets from her a pack of nice loose shorts for the Valentine’s day so his testicles have enough room and the right temperature for the sperm production. She said she does not like the current trend of tight boxers and briefs; she has to always order her present online because airy shorts are normally difficult to get. She finished with a statement “Those sperm factories simply need a good ventilation!” 

I continued the discussion with my observation that my boyfriend’s testicles react a lot to temperature. I also noticed when they hang low, they are really in danger of various accidents. I told the girls a story when he squished his left testicle between his thigh and a chair during our romantic dinner. “The first moment I thought he screamed because the food was too hot!” Laura added, that once she read a story in a tabloid magazine about a humorous but at the same time serious accident. A man trapped one of his testicles between a toilet seat and bowl. He had to have a surgery done and he had to stay in a hospital for a couple of days, luckily, they saved his ball eventually. The man told the interviewer it was the worst pain imaginable. Tania was the only lesbian in our group and she just nailed this debate with an ironic comment, “Thanks God, I do not have to deal with such oddities!” 

The smile on Linda’s face revealed she is happy that the discussion got nicely initiated, girls lost their shyness and could talk openly about some touchy topics of male physiology so we can get into more serious aspects of female self defense…

P.S.

Now I allowed the anonymous comments again but so far still  moderated. I ask you do not misuse it as it happened week ago. I want to allow open discussion on sensitive subjects. We do not have to agree on everything and you can be critical, but I will not tolerate spamming with just offensive comments and hatred. 

The maple syrup on female self defense

I was so  surprised to find out that a single post describing a legit self defense technique on my little blog, which even does not appear on Google search, got tens of comments just in a couple of days. A great anger suddenly flooded my blog. Many, apparently male commenters, were accusing me of sadism, of being a supporter of gender double standards, promoter of violence against men, domestic abuse criminal, a violator of sensitive medical data and a hopeless mental health case. Well, at least the accusation of witchcraft was missing. Thanks God we are not living in the 16th century anymore, but I had a feeling that I appeared and whatever I would say, it will be twisted, and I will be just yelled at: ‘Confess to the sins of sadism and men hatred, otherwise you will burn on the stake!’ Listen, noble well-educated gentlemen, using a sophisticated langue does not make you automatically right.

Female self defense is not a piece of cake to be
 covered by a thick layer of sweet maple syrup

Based on the traffic data, one can easily estimate that app. 90% of the commenters come from Canada. I do understand that Canadian society is more similar to the EU than to the US, the gender societal issues might be a hot topic of debates there, but I doubt that was the true reason. Therefore, I ask here again for an explanation of the reason if anybody knows.

Maple syrup is a great traditional product of Canada. On pancakes it is a delicacy but putting it on salty dishes in excessive amounts would just spoil them. Most commenters would be happy if the touchy topic of female self defense is covered by a thick layer of maple syrup so we do not reach the possible bitter taste inside which might disgrace us. I acknowledge that many men might be distressed by my blog (I wanted to use the word ‘triggered’ but I didn’t because one commenter would be deeply triggered 😊). However, I will not sugar-coat this extremely important aspect of women’s safety by dumping it into a sweet maple syrup as others do, to mitigate any male anxiety and their qualms of potential misuse. This has been done for decades and the results are meetoo movement, sexual abuse, avoidable rape cases as well as some other adverse gender-related societal issues we are currently experiencing, and the commenters are not fond of. Me neither.

There was a comment which basically summarizes my stand on these issues. It got completely ignored so I am pasting it again now and I thank the commenter again for formulating it for me:

I've been following your "debate" and really don't understand where your detractors are coming from. Placing limits on your response to an attack would simply be playing into the predator's hands. The truth is that if you are going to go for the balls, you have to seriously go for the balls - setting a limit could prove to be a fatal mistake. Also, these moves have to be practised if you're to stand any chance of making them work. The practice needs to be as realistic as possible. Being squeamish could be a serious drawback. Finally, it's not your fault that the male anatomy includes such a vulnerability.

Self defense is on the periphery of interests of women worldwide and I want to change it. Please do not jump on me now again with your evergreen hypocrisy that you fully support that women have a right to defend themselves from rape, but at the same time please do not talk about rupturing testicles ever! It is no no!. A slap to the face should suffice. A rapist will for sure change his mind immediately.

Do not portray women as stupid and immature individuals unable to judge about an appropriate response. Yes, I admit tragic accidents can happen, and women can misbehave the same way, men misbehave (as we learned from one of the commenters). And I regret those instances, but are those the majority? One can be certain that more men suffer and die due to the knife stab wounds inflicted by their partner than by the nutcracker technique. I am pretty sure a movement called ‘ban knives’ would not have that many supporters as a ‘ban testicle self defense techniques’ movement!

Everybody should have an internal compass what is overboard and what is not. What is justified and what is not. Morality and personal judgment are, however not axiomatic. Laws are dynamic and different, personal views are different and human reactions to serious situations are different. My mission is not to preach but to provide self defense information. I do not take the responsibility for misusing the information the same way as knife producers do not take the responsibility for knife-inflicted wounds. You are supporter of men’s right and against double standards fine, but go somewhere else. You wont make much impact here. 

During my University times I attended a self defense course which was, by any standards, a normal self defense course, that is for sure. I wanted to provide a glimpse on such a course and why it was so good. Whatever happened there was consensual and nobody got permanently hurt. Was pain involved? Yes, as in most other type of trainings, e.g. I do not recommend watching a ballet drill. Was there a possibility of serious testicular injury? Yes, as with some other sports. A study found that almost 50% of young lacrosse players experienced a testicular injury! See: https://www.goldjournal.net/article/S0090-4295(14)00984-4/fulltext  

So actually, our course holds quite good statistics in this regard. Well done Linda!😊. Were Bob and Peter psychologically abused? No, at least not to the point they would not handle it as real men. They are not pussies. They got some (cute) balls to serve as our assistants whatever it took.   

I am not a men hater. OK, I admit I am an eccentric person with some sadistic tendencies, and I do use sometime an inappropriate language, but nobody is perfect. Once I lied to my boyfriend and performed a fake testicular cancer check on him and squeezed his epididymis. I already confessed, should I be ashamed for it forever? Am I the only one on this world whoever did this to a loving partner?

I consider testicles odd appendages of male body but also essential for human procreation. As proud, male-defining organs they should be protected and dignified but not always! There are instances, we women can take the full advantage of their vulnerability. I love to fondle my boyfriend’s testicles but at the same time I know how to seriously injure them and I convey that information to other women. Troubling? Maybe for some, but I do not care. Should I rather focus to describe and comprehensively list the situations when self defense is justified. No, I don’t think so. The noble commenting gentlemen can do it on their blogs if they wish, I do not have anything against it.

I hope that now I satisfied the hunger for clarification and explaining my stand. I will keep the comments anonymous and nonmoderated but do not expect I will enroll in another round of non-productive intellectual discourses, especially as I believe I already explained myself enough.  Soon I will post an interview with one of my course mates so we will get another woman’s perspective on the course. I hope I will also manage to make an interview with Linda soon and she might also clarify some things. And I will continue with the techniques and inspirational stories. My warm wishes to the great people of vast cold snowy Canadian lands. Enjoy the maple syrup and make love not ballbusts.

To crack two nuts

We immediately knew we are going to have some fun when Linda brought to our class a bag of walnuts. She gave each of us one and asked us to crack it using only our hands. We all tried hard, putting it in different positions, using different parts of our hands and even using both hands, neither of us managed to do so. Then she gave us second nut. “Try again now”, she said. We all got the idea. By confining both nuts in our palms and by pressing them together one or both cracked relatively easily.

Linda then continued her lesson: “The method I am going to teach you today is called the nutcracker because it uses the same principle. It can be applied when your attacker has a relatively small scrotum and when the GTP technique is not well applicable. Such a situation might for instance arise when he is still clothed but you have the possibility to slip your hand in his underwear. In this case the movement of your hand would be limited, and the pull part is risky or not possible at all as you would not have enough room for executing that. Like GTP, this is another very serious anti-rape technique and is intended to incapacitate your attacker to the point he passes out.”

Now she was pointing to her favorite detailed medical diagram of male reproductive system hanging on the wall: “Human testicles are like these walnuts. Testes are covered by a tough fibrous outer layer called tunica albuginea which protects the inside in a similar way as the walnut shell. The soft tissue of our hands cushions the hardiness of our bones, that is why you were not able to open a single walnut, but with both in a grip you could utilize the stiffness of the shells by pressing against each other”.

She then demonstrated the technique on two walnuts in a sock. “As always, at first you must establish a good secure grip by locking your forefinger and thumb around the top of the scrotum sack (A). Enclose both testicles with your palm and fingers and squeeze with all your might so the two testes are compressed against each other (B). The scrotal skin and the connective tissue are quite thin, so it does not act as an efficient cushion. Normally, you can initiate the move with one hand and to use the other for protection against any possible blows or even better you can use it to attack his eyes applying a single-handed eye gouge. As we discussed before for a man it is extremely difficult to counter two attacks aimed at two of his vital points at the same time. 

In case you have your other hand free use it to wrap it around the first one and squeeze both simultaneously to double the pressure (C). If you feel they cannot be compressed anymore, start to forcefully grind them against each other by pushing the base of your thumb against the opposite movement of your fingers. This should cause the tunica albuginea to tear, and the seminiferous tubules to get extruded”. She then did exactly what she was describing on the scrotum analogue and in no time we all could hear a cracking sound from the sock.

She added: “I know, it all sounds gross but don’t be squeamish, always follow through with full force and determination. It is a highly effective technique to eliminate you attacker. Testicular rupture generates shear unbearable pain and neurogenic shock so at this point he should be unconscious. However, always follow the 10 second rule. Maintain the hold and squeeze at least for 10 seconds from the point he passes out to be sure he is no threat to you anymore. At this point you can consider yourself free” She then took the cracked walnuts out from the sock and ate the kernel with a great satisfaction. We did the same with our nutty reward. While we were snacking, she asked us with some smirk on her face. “You already got quite familiar with Peter’s and Bob’s genitals so who has the most susceptible balls for this technique?” 

“Peter?!”, hastily but with some shyness in her voice replied Laura. I could see she suddenly blushed. We all giggled and looked towards the boys siting aside on a bench still recovering from the previous session. Peter cutely cringed and somehow instinctively crossed his legs. Linda continued: “You are right Laura. He has much smaller testicles than Bob, but still of a normal size for a healthy 19-year-old lad. If he was your attacker, you should be able to contain his whole scrotum in your girly hand”. Linda then raised her open hand in the air so we all could see and added: “Well, my hand is much larger than Laura’s so I could make a number on Bob’s testicles as well". We laughed again and now we looked at Bob who just lost all his pride to be better endowed than Peter.

Linda suddenly clapped her hands loudly, “OK girls, before using the actual living things, grab the model testicles or the rest of nuts and practice the move, I would like to see you all fully understand the principle and you are proficient in it enough before we enact some sex attack scenarios with the boys…”

Adam has got an apple

Before attending the self defense course, I and all my friends considered men to be better fitted for physical confrontation than women. Linda completely changed this false thinking by teaching us that an average man body as such might be stronger, bigger and with more muscle mass but still has several weak and sensitive parts distributed in different places. She promoted a key principle in which women should take full advantage of these male Achille’s heels when defending themselves. She used to relate various striking targets on male body to fruits; eyes to cherry tomatoes or grapes, testicles to plums, kiwis or peaches, penis to a banana, a cucumber, or a carrot. Not only as metaphorical references but sometimes also as real analogues to demonstrate that these objects can be easily squashed, pierced, pinched off, compressed, or broken by even the weakest female hands.

Interestingly, one of the man-specific body parts already has a fruit name for it—the Adam’s apple. It is a protrusion on the thyroidal cartilage which appears as a noticeable bump on the neck during puberty in young men but is almost absent in women. The real biological purpose is not that clear but for sure it makes the male voice more deep sounding. It is also not clear why it is specifically called like this, it might be a bad translation from ancient languages or it is based on a legend about a piece of the forbidden fruit, stuck in the throat of Adam after taking it from Eva and eating it. Nevertheless, together with testicles it is just another awkward part of male anatomy which makes men more vulnerable during a fight. However, I must admit I find a nicely visible, but not overly big Adam’s apple highly attractive on a man. The funny bobbing movement it makes when a man speaks, or eats is so strangely satisfying. I often passionately kiss and suck my boyfriend’s Adam’s apple during a foreplay and I gave him already a few hickeys on this place 😊. A gentle kiss in that place also helped Bob to brush off the pain and mild suffocation after an accidentally strong hit with my fist during one of the classes. 

However, when defending from a real attacker you must put your female kindness aside, no punches should be pulled. Linda show us some brutal strikes we can use to destroy this organ. The best one is a hard jab with a V-shaped hand used together with an element of surprise. The pain and shock from shortness of breath ‘prepares’ the attacker for following incapacitating strike(s) especially those targeting testicles. Linda taught us a highly effective 3-step technique sequence a woman should use for elimination of a face-to-face standing opponent. This can be done in a fast succession: (1) make him blind using an eye gouge, (2) make him to choke using a jab to his exposed Adam’s apple, and finally (2) ‘desex’ him with a powerful and precise knee strike(s). His high balls, low balls and the apple will take a big toll and you are free.

Here the girl used a surprise attack with a jab to the assailant's Adam's apple
followed by a fast and resolute knee strike to his testicles as a final incapacitating move. 

A brave movie star - inspirational story #3

In 2017 the whole world was shocked from numerous allegations which emerged against a film producer Harvey Weinstein. It soon became apparent that sexual abuse stemming from the misuse of power, influence and wealth is a widespread issue in the film industry.

Becoming a glamourous movie star
sometimes comes with a high price 

An online feminist journal, which I read from time to time, published a whole special issue on this topic. Part of it was an interesting account from an actress, who wanted to remain anonymous and did not name anybody involved. However, based on some details, I was actually able to identify her as one of my favorite movie stars. She admitted that sexual misconduct by moguls is indeed common even outside the US and unfortunately, she and many of her female colleagues have had a similar bad experience with many acclaimed directors and producers from my country. However, according to her, she managed to handle one sticky situation, she appeared in at the beginning of her career, differently than women accusing Weinstein. She unveiled her story which happened 15 years ago, at that time she was just a young rising star:

I was just 18 and I felt I am on the right trajectory to achieve my dreams. I was admitted to a drama school and already got a couple of supporting roles. Nothing really big, but for sure not a bad start. I was so thrilled when one day I got a call from my agent that a production team seriously consider me for a major role in a high budget historical movie and I should come for an audition. At the end of the screen test, which went really well, the producer came to me and invited me to his house to join him and his wife for a dinner that evening. He was indeed married to a famous journalist, so it did not raise a suspicion with me. He was a classy, good-looking man in his late 30s. Of course, I said yes with a great excitement.

In that evening I put my best clothes on, and I took a cab to his mansion located in the poshest quarter overseeing the whole city. When inviting me inside he immediately apologized that his wife had to urgently see her elderly mother having some health issue and is not going to join us. Coming from a poor family, I was so amazed, I have not seen such a lavish interior in my life. I was seated on a big leather couch. I asked for a glass of sparkling water.

Knowing how to react when sexually abused by
moguls should be part of the skills of all rising stars 

He went to the kitchen and after a couple of minutes he suddenly appeared in a bathrobe, holding a bottle of champagne and two glasses. He casually sat next to me and looked into my eyes. Then in a sleeky voice he whispered to my ears: “You did so well today, you truly are a great talent. We can now relax and discuss some matters between us”. He leaned closer and started to kiss my neck without my permission. The first moment, I was shocked how naïve I was, but I tried to act professionally and not to embarrass me doing a scene. I said in a tiny innocent voice: “I think you misunderstood something. I have a boyfriend…. and what about your wife?”  He just looked at me with a mischievous smirk on his face and said: “Sweetheart, you still must learn a lot how this business works”. He resumed forcefully kissing me on my cheeks and lips, but this time he also unbuttoned my blouse and painfully groped my tits. I was so disgusted and upset but also scared of him and his power and influence. I wanted to jump out from the couch and run away, but suddenly something snapped inside me. I whispered to his ear back: “I understand, we need to have some joy before doing the hard job, right?” I slowly slipped my hand inside his bathrobe; I fondled his thigh first and then moved it up towards his genitals. I noticed he was naked. For that moment I overcame my disgust, I took hold of his penis, which was like a tiny wiener and stroke it a few times. He moaned in pleasure.

Then I gently took his testicles in my hand. Neither these were up on the size scale, so I was able to wrap my fingers around them and to enclose the whole scrotum in the palm of my hand. I whispered to his ears: “I give you the pleasure you deserve.” I immediately squeezed those balls sharply like I wanted to extract juice from them”. I dug my fingers deep in the tissue.  He straightened up like a spring, draw a horrid grimace and squealed like a pig.  Now I yelled into his ears: “Do not dare to try it on with me again or with any other girl or you are going to play eunuchs in your movies!”. He was in total agony, shaking uncontrollably and screaming something in such a pitch voice I could not understand.  I held his filthy scrotum in a tight grip for almost a minute before I let go.

Once I was done with him, I got up on my feet and went to the bathroom to wash my hands.  When I was leaving the house, I saw him on the couch still whimpering. I finally shouted: “Keep you small dick and your little ballsies in your pants or I guarantee you are going to watch all your movies in jail”.

Well, needless to say, I got the role.

Self defense skills of African girls

During my time at the university I befriended Faizah. She was an Ethiopian girl who came to Europe to study medicine. We used to chat about different things, especially about the life in Africa and once we also touched upon the topic of women’s safety. I told her about the self defense course I have been just taking and asked her whether she would also like to attend. She just smiled and told me: You know I have not taken any self defense courses but do not think women of our country are defenseless. Even in our society a woman has a right to defend herself. Our mothers take care to convey some essential skills to their daughters which are needed when a man is about to disrespect them and tarnish their honor. My mother explained me very early that men are as strong as they are vulnerable in some parts of their body. Once I had to use what she taught me on my classmate behaving indecently. I hope the painful lesson he learned will last for long….

Beautiful Nomadic girls from the
Horn of Africa know how to deal with
both the animal and human predators. 

When I was preparing one of my assignments, I stumbled across an interesting book from Ayaan Hirsi Ali called Infidel. Ayaan fled Somalia in the early 90’s to avoid forced marriage and she got asylum in Netherlands. She became soon one of the most prominent activist and female rights supporters. 

 In the book she recalls the time she spent with her mother and grandmother. They belonged to a Nomadic tribe living a traditional life in the Somalian desert lands. The mothers passed the knowledge and skills to survive in these harsh conditions to next generations. The Nomadic life often meant the girls were left alone in the bush to take care about the herds. And there were predators praying on the goats such as lions and hyenas but also men predators praying on the young girls. When the worst was inevitable, they were told by their mothers what to do. Here is what Ayaan wrote in her book:  

 …my grandmother taught her daughters to run around the man, squat down, reach between his legs under his sarong, and yank his testicles hard. They were not to let go. He might hit or kick, but they were to tug in their heads and take the blows on their back and hope to hang on long enough to cause the attacker to faint. This move is called Qworegoys and the women of my grandmother’s family taught it to their daughters just as they taught them to make thorn-bush fences to protect the huts from hyenas… 

Sarong is a traditional dress of Somali men,
comfortable for a hot climate but also makes the
bad guys highly vulnerable to qworegoys move

   

 After thinking about it, I realized how ingenious this move is. The sarong is a skirt-like men’s clothing and is worn without any underwear. The hot African weather makes the testicles hang loose, which also makes them a great ‘handle’ to grasp and hang on. His possibilities for any counter action against a girl squatting behind him is limited. His sarong partially pulled up in the back makes any movement with his legs almost impossible. He might be able to deliver some blows on her back but that is it. If the girl pulls down using her weight and twists for at least a couple of seconds, he is for sure going to black out. He would be then found unconscious on the ground by his pals wondering what happened. Without present-day medical intervention, a ruptured testicle or both could be a fatal injury. Even if not, he is for sure not going to ride a camel soon. I really like to read about these ethnological and historical accounts of women’s self defense. If you have any tips about some please write them in the comments.  I would be very grateful. 

To scoop nuts

During one of our class we learned different types of kicks. At the beginning Linda asked us: Have you ever been on a beach, standing in the water till your ankles, and suddenly you had that urge to scoop some water with your foot. To take as much of it as possible and bring it up and then to have some joy seeing the water splashing, drops floating and glowing in the air? 

A woman’s foot can be used as an effective

scoop, her leg as a strong handle. This is a principle of a special kick I want to teach you today called the testicle scoop kick, in short, the scoop kick. It comes from a martial art called American Kenpo. Many highly effective moves which can be used by women for self defense were actually originally invented by Kenpo fighters.

This kick can be used when the attacker is neither too close nor in a relatively far distance. This means you can use it when he is slowly approaching you or when you already pushed him from you, for instance after an eye gouge or an Adam’s apple strike and for a knee he is already too far away. The principle is different that the instep front kick in which you want to drive his testicles up and crush them against his pelvis. In this case you kick with the foot in a raised position between the attacker’s thighs (A) so your toes make a hard contact with the sensitive back of the testicles (B) and instead of bringing your leg back on the ground in the same trajectory, you pull it towards yourself scooping the testicles and sharply yanking them with your foot (C). Your foot should make a more circular than a linear movement. Imagine you have a box full of walnuts and you want to get some with a scoop. In this case, the scoop is your foot and the walnuts his testicles. 

Linda then explained us that there are several important aspects which make it such an a highly effective technique. Testicles are to some extend adapted to resist pressure directed in (for instance they are mobile within the scrotum and can slip away from the impact) but not for a sudden and violent yank outwards which causes an incredible sharp pain. Moreover, female toes can pierce between man’s thighs more easily than a full instep and his penis cannot provide any protection or cushion. Finally, the first impact happens at the back of his testicles which, as already discussed, is highly sensitized by the presence of the epididymis. Logically, this kick is more easily performed and the most effective when he is naked, and his scrotum hangs loose, but is still well applicable when he is clothed. As with the other self defense techniques, the precision and mnemonics needs to be properly practiced. Needless to say, but this can be really fun, I remember it was so hilarious to see the silicone testicles flying up and down after some precise ‘scooping’. To finish this post, regardless of his stature, strength, or determination he will drop to his knees after a well-executed scoop kick.

Inspirational story #2

A late night park can be a dangerous place,
sometimes for a rapist 

Once I read a remarkable book, written by a woman who worked her whole life as a medical doctor. It was written as some kind of memoires with a collection of interesting stories from her practice. In the book she recalled a curious case from the time she was finishing her studies and doing a mandatory training term in an emergency room of a large central hospital. I though I share the story as it is very inspiring.

One night they brought in a young guy in his early twenties, in obvious distress and enormous pain. Only a shot of strong painkillers kept him conscious. On the first sight there was no obvious trauma or blood which would indicate the reason for his state. It was only when paramedics reported trauma in the patient's genital region and removed the blanket, she noticed he was naked from the waist down and his scrotum was swollen to the size of a big orange with a dark blue hue. Paramedics did not know any other details or how it happened; they were just called in as somebody called an emergency line after spotting a half-naked unconscious man in bushes of a local park. The man refused to give any information during the transport.

Jane, the author of the book, immediately called in a urology surgeon. As I remember correctly Jane called her Dr. Mia, I do not know if it was her first or last name. She was a chief physician and one of her study tutors. They rushed the guy to the room with an ultrasound scanner. The injured testicles were so sensitive on touch a heavy load of anaesthetics had to be applied first. After a thorough examination with Doppler, Dr. Mia concluded a testicular rupture with multiple tears in tunica albuginea, extrusion of seminiferous tubules accompanied with massive hematoma in his left testis and a moderate contusion in his right testicle. She decided that the unilateral orchiectomy of his left testicle has to be performed immediately in order to avoid gangrene. Jane assisted in the surgery and according to her it was an uncommon experience. She had already assisted with quite some surgeries during her training before. These were usually appendectomies or bladder stones removals, but never an orchiectomy. The story then contains a description of the whole procedure and the accompanied complications as the damage was unusually severe.

Although the book wasn’t an actual educational literature, the medical details and the science behind was sometimes included. The book was intended for young female medics and meant to be rather inspirational with advices for life as a female medical practitioner.

Doppler image of a young man's left testicle
with severe rupture and hematoma,  
similar one seen by Dr. Mia

Nevertheless, they accomplished the surgery, the guy was taken to a recovery room, and she was assigned other tasks that night. Three days after, she met Dr. Mia who impatiently wanted to share some interesting news. The department had a visit from the police and it turned out the guy was a wanted serial rapist. The DNA tests confirmed he was the perpetrator in at least 3 other rape cases. Apparently, this time he encountered a wrong victim ending his raping spree! The Dr. Mia was really amazed that a woman could cause such an injury, adding she has seen a lot of testicular saw trauma usually from sport accidents or falls from a ladder, but this was, in her words ‘impressive’. They both agreed that the guy is tall, a well build muscular type and most likely this was the attacked girl’s best option. Dr. Mia also added humorously: ‘Maybe we should have extracted the right testis as well to finish the job!’.

About 2 months later Jane was finishing her apprenticeship and had a meeting with Dr. Mia to wrap up the whole training and to get a feedback. Their discussion obviously touched upon this case and Dr. Mia suggested they should write a case report for a medical journal. Due the use of medical evidence for filing charges, Dr. Mia was granted access to the rapist files, so she knew all the details about the outcomes of the investigation and made some notes. Interestingly, no girl ever reported the incident and they have never found her. The only account what happened is from the guy himself but there was no reason to disbelieve him. He confessed as there was a strong DNA evidence from other attacks, so he fully cooperated to reduce the sentence.

He admitted that he always used the same modus operandi, as he did in this case. Late nights he hung around the local park and waited for an opportunity. The park is large, poorly lit, full of trees and bushes and is often used by students as a shortcut between the city center, the university campus, and dormitories. He usually did not have to wait long to spot his would-be prey. That day around 12:30 am he picked a girl around 20 years old maybe a student, and based on the dress, probably returning from a party. Despite providing a relatively good description of her the investigators failed to identify her. She was of an average height, slim, with long blond hairs and dark brown eyes. She wore a white blouse, dark blue skirt and black stilettoes. She also had a small black purse with her. When she was passing his hiding, he ambushed her from the back, grabbed her in a bear hug, pull over to the bushes far from the pathway, pushed her to the ground and proceeded with the sex attack.

A girl's hand can cause a
traumatic injury

This is what happened next in his words: 'She wasn’t resisting at all and even helped me to undress her and to pull down my pants and boxers. When I got on top of her I did not realize she left her hand between us. Suddenly a sharp pain shot through my body. She swung her hand upwards, wrapped her fingers tightly around my ball and started to squeeze like hell. I wanted to back off, tried to pull her hand off but she had a good grip and did not release. The pain was killing me, I could not move, yet to fight her. At first, I called her a bitch then I pleaded her to stop and promised to let her go but she just increased the pressure and started to pierce her thumbnail through my ball. After a couple of seconds, I felt it gave. Even then she kept mangling it between her fingers for some time. When she finally let go, I was close to blacking out, I curled to a ball and almost vomited.  I noticed she already got on her feet.  The moment I tried to ease the pain by spreading my legs little bit, she suddenly stepped closer and kicked me there twice with the top of her stiletto (note this is what caused the injury to his right ball). I do not know what happened next, I passed out and I woke up when the paramedics came…'

Jane and Dr. Mia praised the girl’s bravery and the right actions she took, although they did not like her not contacting any authorities. They both agreed that all girls should be taught this to reduce the rape rates. Dr. Mia also added: 'But then, we would need more trained urologists to perform all the orchiectomies!' Jane then wrote that this story and Dr. Mia inspired her and her female friends to attend the self defense classes offered by the university. The story finishes off by Jane’s advice that skills how to fight back sexual predators should be a part of every woman’s wellbeing. She wrote: 'Listening how to rupture a rapist testicle maybe isn’t as satisfying as to learn a new yoga position but it might save your life one day'.

Probably we will never know who the girl was, but obviously she was prepared by a proper training in the last resort self defense techniques. From the description it is clear she effectively used a combination of good judgment, initial compliance and a finishing technique called the testicular rupture which I will describe later on this blog. 

Testicle props

Teaching girls and women techniques of the last resort self defense, and especially those targeting testicles, can be quite challenging. For some obvious reasons it is not always possible to have real male bodies involved. However, there are plenty of possibilities for very good analogues for different human parts which can be a very valuable didactic and training tool. Today I discus the options for testicle props.

One of the most accessible and quick option is to use two half ripe plums, small peaches, tomatoes or avocadoes placed in a sock or a stocking. It is not difficult to make such a prop, so each student can be given at least one. Being attached to any solid support e.g. a doorknob, girls can be, for instance demonstrated that their strength is enough to rupture a testicle quickly or how to make a proper lock with their fingers. However, this is not a full-time solution. One would have to replace the ‘testicle’ each time after squashing and this option is not very practical for training kicks and knees. Lets be honest it can be also quite messy.

So what are the other option? There are very good fake silicone testicles on the fun product market, which are, by their feel, texture and resistance quite similar to the real ones. They come with a long stretchable scrotum base which makes it easy to fasten them to a support and to regulate the looseness of the scrotum. Attached to a kicking dummy, or a protective box of a sparring partner make it an ideal choice for practicing leg strikes (particularly the scoop kick and kneeing) and grabbing them from different positions.

The most expensive props are real medical models. However, these are essential if teaching some of the very technical methods like the death pinch. The high quality ones are made from latex or silicone and have very realistic testes inside a scrotum with palpable cords and epididymis. I admit I used to play a lot with the one we had in our self defense class and I have become very familiar with the fine structure of the delicate organs I do not have. Using testicle props in self defense classes can be a fun way to deal with the serious subject of women’s self defense and at the same time providing the female attendees the best possible training they need.  

To pick a plum

‘Have you ever harvested fruits from trees in an orchard?’ asked Linda during one of our classes. ‘If the fruits are not fully ripe this can be tricky’, she added. ‘You have to hold the fruit firmly, twist it and then pull it till the spur gives, and the reward ends up in your hand.  

This is also the principle of one of the most effective moves of the last resort self defense, sometimes referred to as the grab, twist and pull move or GTP in short’. She explained us that one of the variation she teaches is for  a situation where you have a good access to exposed attacker’s genitals. Unlike general GTP, this move specifically involves grabbing only one testicle. Why only one? There are several reasons for that. Most female hands are not big enough to fully enclose both organs. Attempting this can lead to losing the grip completely. Testes are freely mobile within the scrotum and can slip out from the grip easily, especially if the lock mechanism is not applied correctly. A firm clasp on one testicle allows for more rotation during the twist part and further stretching the connective tissue during the jerking motion. Also, the squeezing power does not dissipate between the two organs but is more focused on one of them causing more pain. 

This move can be performed during different attempted rape scenarios and from different positions: either when you are kneeled and forced to oral sex, in a sitting position, standing face to face or when he is on top of you attempting the penetration. In all cases your hand is within a convenient reach of his testicles. However, there is one limitation to this technique, and that his scrotum sac has to be relatively loose. Once he gets hard and the scrotum become tight there are other techniques which should be used instead and will be discussed in separate posts.

The figure below should guide you through the technique.

(A) The technique should be applied if you encounter an attacker with a loose scrotum like the one depicted in the picture. Note that as in most men the left testicle hangs lower and should become your target. By using fake compliance and play along approach you should be able to gain access to his genitals. It is important that you do not telegraph your intention. The best is to caress his genitals first, stroke his penis gently with your hand to convince him you are into him. Manipulate him to drop his guard. Feel or probe his testicles before striking until you are confident you can go on with the technique. 

If you at any point  find out you cannot follow through with the technique, you can wait for the next opportunity. However, once you initiate the move do not hesitate and continue with full force and determination till the end (until he is unconscious).

(B) The technique starts with putting one of his testicles (usually the left lowest hanging) in a tight lock. Engage your forefinger and thumb tightly around the root of the scrotum above the testis. You should have now the testis trapped in the palm of your hand. If, for any reason, isolating one testicle is not possible, grab both. Also, you should use your stronger hand or the hand which is free enough.

(C) Squeeze the testis in your palm as much as possible and then twist it around at east by 180°. This entangles the connective tissue and entraps the testis so it cannot slip out. Be careful to maintain the tight lock with your fingers.

(D) Instantly, with no hesitation jerk down with a sharp motion. If you are standing or sitting, jerk  outward. This is an extremely important part of the move. Use the whole momentum of your arm or by dropping down, use your weight to add power. Visualize ripping the testicle off his body. You can also place your other hand on his pubes pushing it the other direction to give you more leverage. Keep on pulling and squeezing by pushing the thumb into the center of the testicle against your other fingers. He is going to pass out in a couple of seconds. Release the hold only you are sure he is totally incapacitated and no threat to you anymore.

Why is it so effective? Unlike just squeezing, when it takes longer time for pain to kick in, the injuries here are instant, so is his reaction. A massive pain and shock set in immediately. When executed correctly this should tear his spermatic cord and detach the epididymis from the back of the testis. A damage which usually cannot be repaired. 

Is penis biting a vital strategy against forced oral sex?

In the previous story from Susan’s book the women used a combination of two defensive moves: biting his penis and a testicle twist. Susan stressed that the testicle twist was actually the key move leading to his total incapacitation. I once read an interesting discussion on a women's forum about what to do when a man is forcing oral sex and ‘biting his dick off’ turned out to be one of the most popular option.

So is biting an attackers's penis a good defensive strategy? During my course we were advised that if possible, to always focus on techniques involving testicles which are generally less risky and more likely to succeed. These are preferred in terms of easiness to perform and their incapacitation power. The most serious problem with biting is that it creates a high risk of infection. Also it might be too gruesome for some women and this can inhibit them in performing it effectively. However, biting is sometimes the only option, for instance if you cannot use your hands because are tied or controlled in some way. You can find numerous examples on internet when biting indeed helped women from a dangerous situation. So although this should not be your prime strategy keep this option in your armory.

This technique can be performed either on a flaccid or an erected penis (preferred option) but has to be done with full determination, a light nip would most likely just infuriate the attacker. When executing this move, you need to sink your teeth deep into the neck of the penis, behind the head (glans penis), this is a more softer area and the natural grove makes the grip more secure so he cannot  pull the penis out from your mouth easily. Also use one of your hands to hold the penis and at the same time place the second one around his buttock. This gives you a good control and leverage and prevents him from budging. Bite down as hard as you can and violently shake your head to the either side.

Sink your teeth in the grove 
behind the head of penis to 
get a secure grip and for 
an easier separation.

Your aim is to fully separate the head. When done, spit it out and get out quickly so you do not contaminate yourself with the gushing blood. He should be in a state of shock and totally incapacitated. He might bleed to death if he didn't get a medical attention in time. You can practice this technique using a carrot or a cucumber. But be aware that the penis tissue is more tough and rubbery so some old vibrator could even be a better option. This is just a one of the techniques possible when defending from a fellatio, Some are aiming at his penis like snap a stick and some at his testicles and I will be discussing these later.

How to react when surprised by a flasher

A couple of days ago I read an interesting article in a local newspaper. A girl was walking in a local park when she was suddenly surprised by a young man with his pants down. He shamelessly started to masturbate in front of her. She did not panic and reacted by taking her cell phone and trying to take a picture. Unfortunately, she did not manage to do so, as he immediately pulled up his pants and fled like a rabbit. It is understandable, he did not want to have pictures of his filthy private parts posted all over the interned and maybe to appear in the TV news. She reacted cool headed and it worked for her, the pictures could help to identify him by the police. However, in the discussion there were some controversies if this should be the recommended reaction to such a situation. Some argued that this might made him angry and maybe violently attacking her and harming her. 

A man with his pants down 
is extremely vulnerable. 
Flashers, exhibitionists 
and public onanists 
can be easily eliminated.

The question is, is there a better woman's response action to this? Two years ago, I actually read a very similar story, but the outcome was different. A flasher accosted a young woman in the woods, the unexpected sight of his penis made her to fell down and he approached her closer. When he leaned over her, she suddenly swung her leg and forcefully kicked his exposed freely dangling testicles using her instep. His reaction was predictable. He just cried and folded over in incredible pain. She could get up and run to safety. I have to say that both women should be praised for their actions, but I liked the second approach more. A flasher always exposes his most vulnerable part giving you a chance for quick and easy immobilisation and total elimination of any threat he can pose. And you can take a picture of him then if you want. If you have any thought on this please post them in the comments below

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An inspirational story

This inspirational story from Susan’s book clearly demonstrates how combination of trickery and a properly executed incapacitating technique is a key to success in defending yourself during a sex attack. It is one of the best evidences that any woman can turn the tables on a filthy rapist when necessary.

Faking compliance in giving a
blow job provides a great opportunity
 to apply some of the most effective
techniques of the last resort self defense.

One the woman in my study used her head, in more ways than one, during assault. She reported that she was abducted at gunpoint and taken to a secluded area. The rapist threatened to kill her and brandished his weapon to render his victim helpless. Like many rapists he was unable to get an erection. He dragged her from the car, shoved her down on the desert floor and commanded her to ‘blow’ him. This rapist, like most other attackers who carry weapons put his gun down as he felt in control; his victim quietly ‘went along’ until she could safely react. She complied with the rapist orders long enough to gain his trust and divert his attention, then she took a bite. She bit his penis close to the base, then grabbed a testicle and twisted and squeezed. She did not let go until she was sure the attacker was incapable of retaliation. If she had stopped before this point, she might have not been able to leave him clutching his groin immobilized in the very spot where he might have left her dead. She took the car keys and drove the car safely away.

The legacy of Susan E. Smith

In my last post I heavily criticized the way most self defense instructors and book authors taboo testicles as a self defense target. But it was not always like that. Especially the 80ties broke some kind of social inhibition surrounding this organs. Depiction of male genitalia and their vulnerability became a common theme in popular culture. Traditional martial arts ceased being considered an effective way to win a fight especially when a woman’s dignity and her life is at stake. This also meant that testicles lost their long-lasting privilege of a sacred spot. The self defense systems became geared more towards effectiveness than to sportiness.

During this time one of the truly revolutionary self defense book written by Susan E. Smith ‘Fear or Freedom’ came out in 1986. As a feminist she emphasized that women should not rely on men when it comes to their safety but to take matters into their own hands, sometimes quite literally. She interviewed survivors of sexual attacks and their experience materialized in her own system. Absolutely superb is the chapter about the techniques of the last resort self defense, in which she stresses that initial compliance followed by sudden execution of one of the three drastic incapacitating techniques can be a ticket to freedom. She provides an unprecedented information on testicles as a target. With absolutely no reservation she explains in detail and through some realistic illustrations how  woman under a sexual assault should perform a move she called ‘the testicle twist’ on exposed testicles of an assailant, giving a highly empowering lesson to any female reader: ‘What power  women can have knowing that there is one technical but simple, no-fail defense for rape’. Truly an excellent book, the type we really miss nowadays.  

You can borrow this book via archive.com or buy it on Amazon.I will dive in some of the information in her book in my later posts.

Debunking common myths

One of the major controversies in teaching self defense is whether testicles should be considered a recommended target. Some self defense experts claim women should not be told to attack the assailant's testicles and they list several reasons for that. However, these are old misconceptions, sometimes subconsciously perpetuated due to the reasons mentioned in my previous post. Here I would like to debunk these dangerous myths.

It would just make him angry and more violent. Possibly, if you do not execute it correctly or too lightly. In order to be effective, the techniques have to be practice extensively and when needed, executed without hesitation and with full force. The aim should always be to do the maximal damage and injury possible. This ensures he is either incapacitated by an overwhelming pain, in shock or even unconscious, hence no more a threat to you.

It takes a long time till he registers the pain.  Indeed, it might take some time till the pain signal reaches his brain, however this is usually within a time frame of a few seconds.  Just go to YouTube and watch any MMA match featuring a groin shot. The moment testicles are hit, even the strongest guy goes down almost instantly. Two seconds delay does not matter, this won’t be enough for him to do any harm to you.  

He expects it and protects his testicles. This is partially true, men usually realize their vulnerability sometime during their early age and since then anxiously guard them. This is a logical behavioral phenomenon,  however, it can be easily overcome. I advise to firstly drop his guard by using a distraction method or so-called play along approach for the most brutal last resort techniques.  Importantly, women should be trained not to telegraph their moves. A sudden eye jab or just a slap in the face is usually enough to forget about his vulnerability for a moment. And before he realizes his mistake it’s too late and a good load of pain rushes through his body. One should also keep in mind, it is not that easy for him to protect his testicles due to their awkward position and when his hands are occupied. 

It is generally difficult to attack testicles. Testicles are positioned approximately in the center of the man’s body and depending on his and your position are reachable by your legs, knees, elbows, hands and even your head. It is not easier to attack eyes, ears, Adam's apple or knees. Any woman can be trained to execute the testicle strikes effectively but it requires a teacher's dedication which is unfortunately often  missing. Everything has its pros and cons. In this case the pros clearly overweight the cons.  

It is not that painful.  Well, this young guy probably thinks otherwise.

Groin or testicles?

Whether clothed or not, the actual
target is testicles not the groin

Most instructors of  self defense courses and authors of books about self defense for women refer to the ‘groin’ as one of the primary targets. Accordingly, taught techniques are called kick to the groin,  knee to the groin or groin grab. Maybe the instructors are too shy or their intention is not to embarrass or not to scare the girls out of the classes so they use a more neutral term. However, this is misleading and affecting the girls’  training. Sugar-coating of some of the most important (although maybe cringy for someone) aspects rather than to be specific, exact, and freely open in giving the proper information, even if it is uneasy, is a common negative issue in current self defense programs. Squeamishness and over-carefulness definitely do not help girls to prime for a violent attack.

In my guide I’ll be honest and I won’t hide that the real target women should aim for is actually the testicles. Definition in the dictionary says groin is the ‘the area between the abdomen and the upper thigh on either side of the body’. Clearly too general and vague description. For instance, the penis is also a part of this area, however, quite insensitive to most type of strikes. There are some techniques targeting penis as well but are designed for specific scenarios. Hitting a man’s upper thighs, pubic bone or perineum might cause some discomfort but is not incapacitating.  Instead of instructing ‘knee him in the groin’ one should correctly say: shoot your knee sharply up in a 45 degree angle, deep between his legs so his testicles are hit from below and crushed between your patella and his pelvis. Visualise the target to be around his belly so your knee goes all the way through, and the forceful impact should even lift your attacker from the ground. Repeat in a successive fast sequence and stop once your attacker is non-responsive.

A knee to the testicles can be a devastating move when executed correctly.