Interview with Tina

Tina is a busy young female academic doing
controversial but important research. 

In some of my previous posts, I mentioned that Linda is not just a female self-defense trainer, she has a faculty position at the Faculty of Physical Education and besides teaching several courses, and coaching a women’s football team, she also does cutting-edge research in the relatively new but also controversial field of experimental female self-defense. I have been always intrigued and wanted to learn more and make a blog post about it. When I contacted her recently, Linda told me that unfortunately she is going through some medical treatment soon, and the best would be to interview Tina, a recently graduated Ph.D. student in her group, whom I already briefly met once when I was interviewing Linda. I thought it was an excellent idea, so I immediately wrote her an email and arranged a meeting. I was very excited when I met her in her office at the university. She offered me a cup of coffee, I made myself comfortable in an armchair and looked around. Her office looked like a typical working place of a busy young academic; shelves were filled with various books, and on the walls were hanging pictures from meetings and conferences as well as snapshots of training sessions and successful experiments and some medical posters and art. On her desk, she had the most special piece, a detailed plastic anatomy model of male genitals in real size.

One of Tina's office wall decorations.
This art signifies she has to deal with different
penis and testicle types.

It was very enjoyable to meet such an ambitious and knowledgeable young female scientist. Tina is very passionate about her work, and I especially appreciate her openness and transparency about some sensitive topics. The interview with her was an eye-opening experience, and I am sure you will enjoy it as well.

Thank you very much Tina for agreeing to this interview, I think what you and Linda do is quite fascinating but a bit shrouded in mystery. Can you tell us a bit about your research field?

The field I and Linda work in is now called experimental gyneaftoamynology from the Greek words gynaíka - female and aftoámyna - self-defense as a newly established branch of physical education. Its primary aim is to make female self-defense systems most effective through empirical investigations. It means that instead of relying on some anecdotal evidence or unproven theories and assumptions, we put the theories to the test. It is a multidisciplinary discipline, and it combines different aspects from human anatomy and physiology, to psychology, and physical education.

Interesting, so what does your workday look like?

Like all scientists, I am busy from early morning to late afternoon. Basically, I run on coffee… there is always a lot of new literature to read, then I am often occupied with writing manuscripts and reports, filing, and submitting applications for grants and ethics commission approvals, recruiting test subjects, planning, and then, of course doing the experiments…this is what I and Linda like the most. But nothing is easy, and it requires a great amount of commitment and hard work. In the end, it is always so rewarding to get the hard-earned results. Sometimes we must go down the rabbit hole with unexpected outcomes popping up…can be quite thrilling.

What attracted you to this research field and how you made up your decision to do a PhD?

Initially, I wanted to become a high school physical education teacher. In the second year of my study, I was so amazed by Linda’s lectures. She was talking about things I had never heard before, I realized that this is the research that saves lives but hardly makes headlines. As an undergraduate student, I learned about two cases of a sex attack on campus. One sadly ended in rape, and the other one failed as the girl, trained in Karate successfully defended herself.  The ‘poor’ attacker was left with multiple serious injuries including a ruptured testicle after a well-executed Kin Geri. I too was harassed during my first year by a guy and did not know how to properly react. I realized the outcome of a sex attack does not need to be predetermined; a girl can win if she is provided with the right knowledge and skills. To help to drive a paradigm shift in society I embarked on a mission to help Linda use science to equip women with the best knowledge and tools to accomplish their safety in this dangerous world.

What do you think about Linda? How is it to work with her?

I admire her a lot, she is an outstanding scholar, a great supervisor, and a role model for the generation of young female scientists like me. She is a fountain of unconventional ideas. You probably know her, a little bit special personality from the course, she is strict and very demanding but also focused and goal-oriented. One might argue that she occasionally crosses the line or maybe she is too uncompromised when it comes to male test subjects, but it is necessary to reach the desired goal. Not only is the research topic difficult, but she also must cope with many criticisms and obstacles. It is commendable how she can materialize her real-life experience including the time she worked for the SIREN program and that she is not afraid of directly, without any euphemisms to address any awkward topics. She can talk nonchalantly about the details of testicular injuries and eye gouging the same way as about gardening and cake cooking…squeamishness is definitely not in her dictionary. But I guess you know that from the course (Tina was smiling).

You recently defended your doctoral thesis. What is the title and topic?

My thesis has the title Evaluating physical last resort strategies to prevent rape. It covers a thorough investigation and evaluation of the techniques and finding the best strategies for incapacitation the attacker and enabling the victim to flee. We evaluated the effectiveness in targeting all vulnerable points on the male body: eyes, Adam's apple, penis, and testicles. To some extent, I investigated almost all of them, but I mainly focused on my and Linda’s favorite, testicles. As you know there has always been a lot of controversy surrounding these sensitive male organs. You can hear so many conflicting arguments and different pieces of advice, so we wanted to settle this debate once and for all. We wanted to address issues such as: How incapacitating it is, which techniques should be used to a level a woman can cause an injury, and even what is the best method to apply the most secure grasp even when the man has pants on. Now, we can confidently claim, that the success of targeting testicles is much higher than previously admitted, we have solid proof and evidence it simply works in many different situations and is highly incapacitating. I hope with our outcomes we put the long-standing debate to an end. However, we found out that, to achieve success, women must be taught these things properly without any reservation, and they must practice regularly as the automatic, correct, and right-moment execution of the techniques is crucial.

How did you find out? Can you tell us about your experiments?

Well, there were many, but I can tell you about one very interesting experiment in which we had two groups of female students. The control group was not taught any physical techniques, and the other test group was provided with detailed comprehensive information on the male anatomy and the vulnerable points of the male body, and how to injure those. Pretty much they were taught the same things as you were in the course. They could even practice some techniques on silicone testicles (We will talk about it later).

Many female participants report an empowering experience that they
share with their peers and express willingness to come back

We arranged a simulated scenario when they had to subdue a man attacking her. The first group's success rate was app. 20%, quite low in comparison to the second group for which the success rate went through the roof, reaching 70%. It was hilarious to see all those young guys on the floor clutching their anguished groins. We even had some medical emergencies, but luckily no permanent injuries, just some bruising and swelling of the scrotums. Sometimes we even had to step in to stop overenthusiastic women in their rage to prevent harm to male subjects. We calculated we could reduce the incidence the rape by at least half if we properly teach young women these techniques. This shows the barriers are not that difficult to break, we just need to find a better way how to empower women instead of saying: You are weak sex, live with it…and all that bullshit…excuse my language. It was amazing to see the ladies leaving the room with great confidence, evidently empowered, bragging about their new skills and ‘injuries’ they were able to cause on male organs when chatting with the other group…and the knowledge of newly gained power was transferred.

That’s quite fascinating. Any other experiment?

Part of my thesis was to find the best way to attack testicles with a hand in different situations on clothed or naked attackers. A serious issue, but I cannot recall having other times such great fun. We had two guys, with distinct types of scrotum: tight and loose. They exchanged different underwear and pants and of course, at some point, they had to undress completely. We had to cope with frequent unwanted erections, faints, intermittent screams, importantly also ‘Eureka’ moments. One female participant satisfied she finally managed to apply a secured lock on a tight scrotum, exclaimed: ‘Now is the time to test the best method for testicular rupture!’ The other girls around laughed, and the poor boys cringed. Well, it could be an interesting activity, but we cannot afford to put their delicate reproductive organs at such risk. Sometimes, the screams combined with loud laughter from our lab can be heard in the hallways, and we have people knocking on the door, being horrified, and asking what’s going on…Well, that’s the price of doing such innovative research. Now Linda can go to the course and teach you confidently what should you do when a filthy scrotum appears close to your hand.  

I would expect it to be difficult to get volunteers for your experiments, isn’t it? How do you attract them?

We recruit both female and male test subjects among faculty students; male subjects are usually semi-professional athletes. We prefer young fit men, with a good physique. It is telling to see their strength is in vain when applying the right techniques to the core of their masculinity. Before admission, they have to go through a rigorous selection process and we do not accept everybody. We look at the size and type of their pressure points including their genitals to account for as many variables as possible.

Male participants are selected from faculty students
based on different parameters. Muscular physique and
types of their genitals are some of them. 

And what does attract them? Surprisingly, there is no shortage of volunteers. Linda made several funny recruitment ads (Tina pointed at the posters on the wall with interesting graphics and text ‘We need your balls’), but I don’t think this is the reason. The motivations of the participants are diverse and differ between males and females. They usually get some ECTS points for volunteering and some small monetary compensation. I think many of them come out of curiosity and sometimes guys make a bet with their pals, or they are convinced it is just a prank and at the end, they are often unpleasantly surprised. The shock often comes the moment we ask them to expose themselves for genital evaluation. But that’s the game we play. They must sign a waiver and we brief them about what kind of participation we expect. Surprisingly many come back and want to participate again, even without any reward. Female participants often in the final questionnaire account for how empowering experience it was to participate in the project, and whether there is an opportunity to help more. Interestingly, since we started our research, we noticed fewer rape attempts reported here than other faculties. 

What is the most difficult part of doing the experiments?

Sometimes the experimental part is very demanding and not a piece of cake for the experimenter as well as a female, or male participant. First, we must break common barriers such as squeamishness, prudence, and shyness but we also must consider safety. The experimental setup inevitably involves handling bare genitals and causing pain, which can't be avoided. We often must repeat an experiment several times, even if we see the male subject cannot take it anymore. Simply we need enough repetitions to make a solid statistical conclusion. But how else would you answer the question of whether a particular technique is effective or not, without actually performing it in real? Some interesting questions were posted by your blog readers, regarding for instance the type of testicles and different situations that need to be investigated. But we always weigh the benefits and possible risks. Nevertheless, I admit some experiments can be fun and bring a lot of satisfaction in case of positive outcomes.

I heard from Linda about one unfortunate experiment when a volunteer ended up in the hospital can you tell us more about it?

So-called freezing is often considered a common problem in female self-defense. We wanted to investigate this phenomenon closely, so we simulated an unexpected hyperrealistic attack on me. I did not know when and where it was going to happen. One of our volunteers Mike, played out an attacker in the dark parking lot when I was leaving the campus. Maybe because I undertook training I did not freeze and reacted the best I could. A sharp elbow rear jab and a swift back kick with my heel did the ‘intended job’. The ‘attacker’ unfortunately…well if in real life fortunately…ended up in hospital with a broken rib and contusion in his left testicle. He recovered through but did not want to participate in our research anymore, which was a pity. I liked Mike a lot, he was a very useful male test subject.

I admit it was enjoyable when we trained with Bob and Peter. However, many women cannot train male partners. What is for example the best simulant of testicles or eyes? You already mentioned the silicone model...

Training self-defense and proper targeting of vulnerable points such as testicles or eyes is undoubtedly difficult. Of course, a real set of testicles is the best, but not always available so some realistic models help. In a small project, we tested different everyday objects and compared them to testicles, on all parameters including the texture and pressure necessary to cause rupture. We can recommend lemons and limes. These fruits are readily available in all grocery stores and when squeezing all the juice out, is a good exercise for gaining finger strength… of course, they are also a great source of vitamins as well. Plums and small apricots are also suitable analogs because of their right texture, shape, and size. As for the eyes, the gooseberries are excellent but sometimes hard to get. We sought to develop something more durable and nondisposable so we recently collaborated with a urologist from a nearby clinic Dr. Lane, and developed a prototype of a very true-to-life durable simulant of male genitals for some hardcore training. She provided us with critical parameters and valuable advice on anatomy and variables. No one knows better male genitals than someone handling them every day (Tina reached for the peculiar object and handed it to me for inspection. It was indeed almost like the real piece).

Realistic silicone models are being developed
for female self-defense training.

This thing is made from high-quality durable silicone and contains hard rubber testes with the same resistance as real glands with detailed plumbing attached including epididymis and spermatic cord. No death pinch will ever fail! With this strap, it can be easily fastened to common leather-kicking dummies and is perfectly sanitizable so can be used for training biting techniques as well. Linda has a pair of these and is going to use them in her course. We contacted some silicone molding companies for mass production, but all showed no interest, luckily, we found one with a female CEO who was very enthusiastic and wanted to help even without any financial profit, so I hope we can get it on the market soon.

I guess you need some ethics approval and what about funding such research?

That’s right, we have to apply for the ethics commission approvals, and it is always a pain in the ass. In the last couple of years, we have been lucky because of our female dean, who has been very supportive of our cause and not afraid to accommodate controversial research topics and ideas at the faculty. She clearly understands the significance and impact of the field and that the path to the results is challenging and not well-trodden. Without her, I have a doubt we could continue our work.

Not only ethics approvals, but it is also extremely difficult to get sufficient funding because of the contentious and neglected topic. We regularly receive a lot of harsh criticism, mainly from male management and application reviewers. We even get a type of response: Why does she need funding, all she does is squeeze testicles all day long, what kind of research is that? Damn, how ignorant! (Tina was visibly upset)

I heard you also gather and evaluate the data from real-life situations...

Testicles can swell to the size of oranges
after some proper 'treatment'.

Indeed, experiments are just part of our activities and medical and police reports are a very valuable source of data. We gather and review those and critically evaluate and statistically process all cases, both successful and unsuccessful. We also perform interviews with women with experience in such situations. It is interesting how many success cases go unnoticed by the press and media, which is a pity. Dr. Lane provided us with some valuable data from the emergency cases she encountered while working at the urology ER. I have seen pictures of attackers' genitals significantly ‘modified’ as a result of a successful counterattack. Not for the fainthearted, but quite telling. I did not know a scrotum could swell to the size of an orange. Dr. Lane said the best rapist deterrent would be to post them everywhere.

What are you working on right now and what are your plans for the future?

At the moment, I am writing a paper with a tentative title Glands and Glans - from neglect to focus.  It will be a more sociological/historical study of how perceptions of male genitals in the context of female self-defense have changed throughout history and what were the implications for the era. I would like to stay in academia and continue researching some novel innovative techniques Linda proposed; they all sound brutal and effective but at the same time very exciting to explore. I also have ideas about some unconventional methods for distraction and deception, which we can develop and evaluate on volunteers. But it all depends on the funding and whether we continue to receive positive support from our dean.

Thank you, Tina, for this interesting interview, I wish you a lot of success in your scientific endeavors!

Interview with Linda (part 3)

For the last couple of days, I have been working on the translation of Linda’s interview. In this part, we will learn more about Linda’s principles and philosophy in teaching self defense to young women. It is a very enlightening reading. 

Linda, what do you think makes your course different than the others?

I think you are going to be surprised by the answer. My course is free of charge and is led by a woman, and this makes a whole lot of difference. There are many different courses out there, the dojo owners all brag about how great a job they do, they do not teach any bullshit like the others, they are realistic, simple, etc. However, keep in mind that these are commercial projects with money-making as their prime focus. Women’s actual needs are not on the top of the list of priorities. How a course can be called ‘reality based’ if you use a heavily padded model attacker with restricted movement hardly reacting to any hits.

Karate is a nice martial art but impractical
for female self defense 

The course responsible are often practitioners of martial arts, they always think that just adapting the martial art they are familiar with is enough and can be taught to women.  Although few ‘experts’ would still argue that learning Judo or Karate is sufficient self defense training, this type of thinking unfortunately remains. My system is not based on any martial art, just the research I and my peers have done with a strong focus on simplicity and effectiveness.

In other systems, there is also too much emphasis on basic or first response techniques and very little, if anything, on last resort self defense. This is maybe appropriate when teaching men but is poor when teaching tactical strategies to young women. Female self defense is not a contest but rather a fight for survival in which one of the opponents is limited by a smaller size and weaker strength and this must be taken into account and balanced out. In my opinion, many courses provide just a false sense of security rather than true empowerment which is absolutely needed.

Can you tell us more about why teaching last resort self defense is important?

There is this flawed idea that the scope of a self defense course should not go beyond wrist lock releases, punches to the nose, or elbow to the stomach. It somehow implies telling: “So, the wrist lock release did not work, now expect to be raped, we did not teach you what to do next.” An attacker with his pants down and his genitals exposed is much more vulnerable and defeatable than the moment he just jumped out of bushes doped with adrenaline. A state-of-the-art course should cover all the situations and stages of a sex attack and should focus on techniques and strategies, even a petite girl can do before the worst happens.

Many trainers feel uncomfortable going into more sensitive and touchy subjects. For a male teacher, it might be awkward to talk about his own male parts and how vulnerable they are. For this reason, the best is when a female teaches other females, this way one can also avoid any unwanted sexual backdrops.

Lastly, I often read a very stupid argument that learning self defense is worthless because women are in majority attacked by someone they know. The self defense techniques I teach can be used in different situations and against anybody, including an abusive husband or boyfriend. All men have Adam’s apple and testicles.

Can you explain to the readers what are the main principles of your system?

Deception is an important element 
of last resort self defense

My system is based on simple principles in both learning and execution. If in a sticky situation a woman should follow the ‘4D’ principle which comes in sequence: decision, deterrence, deception, and determination.  The ‘decision’ means to learn to make the right decision at a given moment. For instance, running away can be the best option in some instances. Freezing can be a problem, but I also teach how to overcome this through some mental training.

If immediate escape or alerting the crowd is not possible a woman might decide on deterrence at different levels. Depending on the seriousness of the situation she can use some psychological tools or less serious techniques such as ‘fire quenchers’. A deception should follow if everything failed so far, the aim is to make the attacker off guard and his targets exposed. Using trickery is key in manipulating the attacker to a position he becomes vulnerable and creating a window of opportunity for the execution of a debilitating counterstrike. Momentary cooperating, making him remove his pants, and gently touching his genitals can be a prelude to the most serious no-fail techniques. This should be done with a determination which is an important component when resorting to physical resistance; it has to be done with full force, violently, and without hesitation. 

The aim is to subdue the attacker till he is no threat to you. The attack should be targeted at the three most sensitive targets: his eyes, Adam’s apple, and testicles, the best in a sequence BCD: ‘Blind him, choke him, desex him!’ Sometimes it is necessary to make him pass out. This can be done for instance by stomping sharply between the attacker’s splayed legs so there is no doubt he will stay down, and you can make your way out to safety. This is rarely taught in any other courses.

However, there has been a controversy about how you teach these techniques…

How would one expect women to learn something when they cannot try it out during training? Nobody ever learned a new language just by listening.  So why should we, for instance, teach a lifesaving technique such as GTP just by saying You know, BTW you can also grab his groin? And the only time a would-be victim would execute or at least try it is in the most stressful life-threatening situation. It is then too late to figure out how it is actually done properly. I understand that the readers have some concerns about our male assistants. Pain and occasional embarrassment are a small price they have to pay. There are higher stakes than that for women not provided with the ability to defend themselves.

Once you told us that the female self defense training should involve both psychological and physical aspects. What are the psychological aspects?

The road to mastering the art of self defense starts in the head. Women are naturally non-violent lenient creatures; they do not want to hurt anybody. The psychological component of my training is to change their mindset to find inner aggression and unleash it when needed. I aim to accomplish true female empowerment and to build self-confidence. That’s why I insist any woman should try out the techniques as close to reality as possible, including those that are normally taught just orally such as attacks on testicles. Not only does a woman memorize it well, but she can more easily repeat it when really needed. It leaves a deep imprint in her mind: “I managed to take down a training assistant, I can do it again in real life and it works.” 

But still, I often have difficulties convincing some girls to go full force. I often hear “Linda, but this might permanently maim the attacker! I don’t want to castrate him!” I explain to them, that in this horrible situation they should not worry if they injure him, even if they castrate him. Their goal is to get away from the situation using whatever it takes, even if it means castration.  I tell them “Think for a moment, you are not only saving yourself but potentially any other girl in the future.” I wish the girls leave my course not just as course graduates but as true female warriors.

And what about the physical aspect of self defense?

Some exercises can be done
during other daily activities 

The self defense training is not only about mastering the techniques and getting the appropriate knowledge and skills. It should not end after a lesson or after a course. I always tell my students that staying fit and physically active is not only healthy and for good looks but increases your chances of a successful encounter with a violent dangerous man. I suggest building a dummy out of pillows with attached testicles made from a sock with rubber balls and keep practicing daily at home things that you have learned in the course. 

Doing punches, kicks, knees, gouging eyes, and grabbing testicles regularly increase movement memory and are a good workout improving physical capabilities. Too lazy or tired for a day? Use the time to keep your grip strong by squeezing stress balls or fake testicles while watching Netflix or reading the news. You can also involve your partner in these activities. But be careful with his eyes and testicles, thou.  

I really liked the lectures and theory classes, how important are these?

We had a lot of fun during the classes

I am glad you liked it. Success stories, examples, and videos are another important part of my training; it makes self defense training less abstract and more relatable. Although I aim to rather keep a serious tone, it makes a lot of fun, girls love it. It is not uncommon that girls starting applauding when I read a story from a newspaper about a young girl who sent her attacker to a hospital with a ruptured testicle. A home video or an MMA match of some accidents involving men’s most sensitive parts is sometimes more convincing than 1000 words and helps with overcoming the psychological barriers I talked about before.

I have to say I learned a lot about male anatomy in the course. Can you explain why is it important?

Knowledge of the male anatomy is
 another important element of learning 
self defense

Yes, girls are really surprised by how much emphasis I put on the knowledge of the anatomy of the male body and particularly its most vulnerable spots. “Know your enemy from head to toe!” is another essential principle of my system. Physically but also psychologically. It means not only weak points on his body but also in his mind!  Girls say they learned more on this topic than in their sex-ed and biology classes. They are university freshwomen, not that sexually experienced yet, so it really counts. Most are amazed at how fragile and also variable male genitals are, and they learn what is the significance for self defense. Again, this topic should not be taught only theoretically but practically as well. That is why Bob and Peter and other male assistants come in so handy…

 to be continued….

Interview with Linda (part 2)

In the first part we already learned about Linda’s occupation, how she got into self defense and about her interesting research. In this instalment we will discuss male volunteers, how she found Bob and Peter and get them involved. I also hope she will satisfactorily rebut some of the concerns about their treatment during the course.

Linda maybe we can now talk about the course you lead. How long have you been teaching the course?

This year it is already the fifth season.

You mentioned that you received some backlash from the management. What happened?

The new dean gave the Linda's course a green light

When I was setting up the course, I knew that my style of the teaching will not be everyone’s cup of tea, but to be honest I was not expecting such a resistance. Apparently, there have been some anonymous reports—I don’t know from who—to the departmental management that I promote violence and I ‘misuse’ the male volunteers. I was told that I must ‘readjust the curriculum to follow the university moral codex and protect the dignity of all participants immediately.’ 

However, the atmosphere changed with the election of our new dean. One of her goals is to cope with epidemics of sexual misconduct and to increase safety on campuses. I had a brief meeting with her, and she told me she alone was a victim during her studies. She supported me in everything I do, and said to me, “I do not care if it is offensive or what your methods are, if it works, teach it! Linda, I need you to teach those girls proper self defense. If I had more time I would love to join and learn how to properly kick balls.” The allocated budget is also quite generous so I could buy some new equipment and give some small cash to Bob and Peter, so they have another reason to stay. It would be a pity to lose them.

I remember all the rumors about your unconventional approach. Some of us girls were afraid to participate, one of my classmates called me crazy because I did. Do you know you even got a nickname?

Not really, what is it?

‘Cruelinda’

(We both laughed). Well, I do not force anybody. Those not afraid to join my course—usually 5 to 8 students—are very committed and motivated and even thou maybe having some initial doubts and qualms, they soon realize why I do things the way I do. My mission is to teach self defense to young women properly, not to be politically correct.

Let’s talk a little bit about our two ‘darling attackers’, Bob and Peter. Have you had any volunteers before?

Yes, the course volunteers are usually the same I use for my research. Because Mike and Felix decided to leave due to that accident, I had to find new ones. I was very lucky I got Bob and Peter.

So how did you find them?

Linda recruits male volunteers 
among university students

They are our master students at the department. I was looking for the replacement of the two lost volunteers to be able to continue with my research and the course. At first, I thought I will make an advertising poster and stick it in a hallway, but one of my colleagues came to me that she already has two good candidates. She told me both were too focused on their training and forgot to take some theoretical courses and now they are missing some ECTS credits and whether participation in the experiments and the course can earn them some. So, I invited them to an interview to my office.

How did the interview go? How did you convince them?

Both were quite shy from the beginning. I think I explained them in all honesty what the goals and methods of my research are and what the course is about. I stressed that the training is very realistic, as will be their role as model attackers. I told them that I am looking for someone comfortable to get naked in front of the girls and not being afraid of direct physical contact. This also means they should expect some trashing and pain, including the testicular pain. This cannot be completely avoided when teaching female self defense. I told them this is just a small price to pay if they are dedicated to make their female fellows safe. I promised them that I will arrange those ECTS points and such a volunteering activity will look good on their CVs.

How did they react?

They gazed at me in surprise first, then at themselves, but finally nodded in agreement. I guess they really needed those ECTS points. But then I said “All right, show me your true commitment and drop your pants!” You should have seen they surprised faces. Peter asked, “You mean like right now?” I insisted, “Yes, I am serious, I need to see your genitals.” Reluctantly, with a blushing face, but they did. This wasn’t just to test their true commitment—they passed—I also wanted to see if they are suitable for the purpose of the particular research objectives and to be able to demonstrate variability in one of the most important targets. As you could also notice, they have a bit different testicles and penises.

Are you satisfied with them?

So far yes. I was glad we are going to have assistants in the same age group as the female participants. Statistics are clear, most university-aged women will be attacked by an attacker of their age, often classmates or dates. It does not only add to the realism of the training, but it also helps in bonding. Surely it can get quite intimate sometimes. Their athletic body type and stamina is also a plus. One of my philosophies is that girls should always go through that important empowering step of taking down a man regardless of their height, size or muscle mass. I always ensure this experience happens for every girl during the course.

How would you react to those accusations that you did not treat them well?

Linda arranged sperm count for
Bob and Peter to rebut any concerns 

Those boys are not from sugar. Both do sports on a semi-professional level. This means they must obey an authority and submit to a strict discipline. They train and workout daily, so they are used not to be treated with kids gloves. Last but not least, they were informed and agreed to help with the class with all it takes. Importantly, they also signed a waiver. When there was a problem I or Susanne took a good care of them. By the way she would be a perfect andrologist as well. She could be very empathetic with guys and also gentle with her hands. I admit that occasionally they left the dojo limping, with some bruises and they might have had to skip sex from time to time, but I am sure they have not sustained any permanent injury. However, once they earned those ECTS points to keep them for the next round I remunerate them with some pocket money. So technically they are not volunteering anymore. 

There has been a heated discussion in the comments, whether they got ‘harmed’ or not.

I always try to find a good balance between the realism and effectiveness of the training and the risk of permanent injury of our dear assistants. You can confirm that in some instances, when a serious injury would be imminent, I insisted they wore a cup and a head protector. However, full force, ‘no punches pulled’ sparing is an integral part of my teaching and accidents cannot be completely avoided. So yes, from time to time we had to deal with bruises, black eyes, limps, and a swollen scrotum. Luckily, neither of those have required any medical assistance.

Nevertheless, some of you, especially Laura and Susanne were concerned about long-term effect on their reproductive health. To comfort them, I arranged a sperm count check at a fertility clinic where one of my friends works as a clinician. I also saw some anti-doping screening results so I can reassure everybody that their sperm count and the level of testosterone is perfectly normal for boys of their age. Their role was to play attackers so one can expect they got beaten and be harmed in the same way as one can expect they fall from a bike from time to time getting some nasty bruises. I am pretty sure if they did MMA they would be at higher risk of serious injury. 

Doing any kind of sport puts a male at
risk of testicular injury

This is what I would say to all my critics. If you have serious concerns about men’s ‘testicular health and safety’, advocate for mandatory cups not only in MMA fights but also in other sports such as soccer. Occasionally we do a mixed match between our female and the male soccer team, and I could never understand that strange carelessness when it comes to wearing cups. It is so tiring to deal all the time with a male player writhing on the playground in horrible pain. And it is also so heart-wrenching to see those young men anxiously protecting their genitals when making a wall during the free kicks. So who is a sadist here me or the coaches of the male team?

To be continued...

Interview with Linda (part 1)

When I started this blog some of you were outraged by Linda’s unconventional approach in teaching self defense to female university students. To me the course was an eye-opener, I really learned a lot and I consider Linda one of my role models. She is a smart, top fit lady in her mid-30s, and she really knows her stuff. I have been planning an interview with her for a long time, but due to covid restrictions it had to be postponed. Luckily, I have been in contact with her lately. I told her about my blog and that some aspects of the course stirred controversy, and it would be very helpful if she would address those issues and explain her standpoint. I was so glad she agreed to an interview, and she invited me to her office at the university where we could have a friendly chat. I also met there her PhD student Tina. We even went through some of the comments, and we had a very interesting discussion. 

So I really hope with this long-awaited interview she will satisfactorily rebut the concerns and answer the questions of the readers of this blog. However, at some point I realized it would be too long for one post, so I divided it into several parts. In this part we will discuss Linda’s career path, how she got into self defense and we will learn about her extremely interesting ground-breaking research.

Linda is an accomplished scholar in the area
of experimental female self defense.

Linda thank you so much for agreeing to do this interview. Let’s start with a question what do you do for living?

I am a tenured assistant professor at the department of physical education. I do research in a new subject - experimental female self defense and I teach two master courses and one PhD course. Hopefully I will finish the first comprehensive textbook on this subject soon. Besides organizing and leading the student self defense course I also co-train the university female football team. In my free time I do gardening and take care about my two cats.

So how did you become interested in self defense?

Honestly, this topic has never been of much interest to me till my early 20s. After the high school I decided to study medicine. My aspiration was to help people and it appeared to me the best way possible to do it is to become a doctor. In the second year of my studies my best friend got raped by her date. I saw how devastating it was for her. The same year I thwarted a similar attempt. In my case a sharp well-placed knee to his testicles did the job. Just one knee strike and a muscular aggressive thug was on the floor incapacitated. I have not had any prior training; it just came very instinctively. After this incident I realized that instead of medicine I should educate myself in self defense and to spread this knowledge among young women as another, often neglected way to save lives. So I left the medical school and enrolled the police academy.

Why exactly the police academy?

They just opened a new study program in pedagogy of personal safety. This program was intended to prepare a new generation of self defense instructors, particularly females. After graduation I entered the governmental project SIREN to combat the rape epidemics in some parts of the country. A major part of this project is still classified, so I cannot talk much about it. Later I did my PhD in physical education and got a tenure here at the department.

What does the experimental self defense mean?

It is a scientific discipline which seeks answers to basic questions: What is the best approach to female self defense. What are the most effective techniques and how should we teach them to women? For years, self defense systems have been based on a principle ‘one said/I believe/I read, this should work’ or have been constructed as a modified martial art. That’s why you would always stumble across so many conflicting advices, either during courses, in books or online. This just confuses and demotivates women when they want to educate themselves in the area. It is not uncommon that in one book you would read: ‘The best technique is to kick him in the groin’, in another ‘You should never kick him in the groin because…’ Which advice should they follow, where is the truth? How can we find out? My approach is to make the subject more scientific and evidence-based, by both performing experiments and by collecting and integrating already available data to develop a simple but highly functional system.

It sounds very interesting. How does such a research look like?

It consists of both a theoretical and practical part. In the theoretical part we do a metanalysis of available data such as police reports or news articles. In simple terms, we collect and analyze cases in which the self defense was successful but also those in which not. In addition, we try to make interviews with women who have been previously assaulted as well as with convinced offenders.  In the experimental part we simply test different techniques and tactics. For instance, we arrange realistic scenarios when a woman is attacked and has to defend from a male attacker. You have to understand, when I say realistic it is absolutely realistic. No padding, no protection and full force. It is a high risk, high gain research, and not surprisingly it was very difficult to get an approval from our ethics commission. Usually, I have two male and two female volunteer participants and my PhD student Tina. I avoid directly participating because I am already well-trained, and it would create a bias. 

An experiment went wrong?

You already told me that one of the experiments went wrong, what happened?

We wanted to simulate a common real-life scenario, a surprise attack from the back. The rational was to test the theory of the effect of freezing. The idea was that Mike, one of our volunteers, would ‘attack’ Tina unexpectedly anytime time and any place. He attacked her at night in a parking lot when she was leaving the campus. Unfortunately, he ended up in a hospital with a severe contusion in his left testicle from a back kick and a fractured rib from an elbow jab. Luckily, he recovered in a couple of days with no permanent damage.

So actually, the experiment was successful!

In a sense yes (Linda was smiling). But I was afraid they are going to shut down the whole research program. But fortunately, the atmosphere changed with the new female dean. I got a green light to continue and even got some more material resources. However, as you can imagine I lost two dedicated volunteers. I have to say the dean also supported me in setting up the self defense classes the way I wanted.

What are some of the outcomes of your research so far?

Ooh there are many over the years. I would like to mention a comprehensive paper before submission I wrote with Tina about the testicles as a target. We managed to debunk some of the long-perpetuated misconceptions and myths. Particularly, we busted the myth, that the GTP move should never be performed when an attacker has pants on. How else would we found out without actually performing experiments?

To be continued...