Staying in the Fight

While in the Rape Escape curriculum the primary emphasis is on escaping, getting away from the rapist or attacker. But sometimes that is not an option because for whatever reason he may have you cornered, trapped or your already injured, or maybe your children are nearby. In this case you have to stay in the fight, you have to bring all your weapons to bear and you must do everything you can to stay alive - you also have to make one of the toughest decisions of your life; and that's to determine that you must inflict significant bodily injury on your attacker. The techniques in Rape Escape if done even moderately well are more than effective, they can be deadly. But you have to be willing to make the decision to intentionally harm your attacker (that means multiple unceasing strikes). While you may think; "oh I will be able to do that when the time comes"... the topic bears further contemplation than what you may think. Dr. Ignatius Piazza of Front Sight Firearms states; "these are terrible decisions to make, and we would like to avoid them at all costs. However, if you do not make the decision in advance, I guarantee that you will hesitate to make them later and that hesitation may make the difference between you living and dying". To this end I implore you to do some serious soul searching and determine that if you must fight back that you have no qualms of doing it in a devastating manner.

On the flip side of this if you are injured or maimed during an attack you have to consciously make the decision to stay in the fight. That means you don't give up - you continue fighting even through your own pain and tears if need be. While I am sure you are thinking that I have stepped off the deep edge here and your thinking easier said than done. Let me give you a case in point to illustrate my point.

Stacy Lim, an off-duty LAPD Officer, pulled into her driveway after a relaxing evening of softball. When she got out of her car she was immediately surrounded by gangbangers who had followed her home intent on carjacking her. The first thing she did was announce that she was a police officer. The lead gang banger responded by firing a .357 magnum round into her chest, which penetrated her heart and exited leaving a tennis ball sized hole out of her back. Stacy Lim stayed in the fight, she not only returned fire she became the aggressor and pursued her assailant shooting him multiple times. The other gangbangers fled the scene. Stacy then walked to her house, pulled the magazine from her sidearm and threw it into the bushes 9though she does not remember this), dialed 911 and collapsed. Her attacker died. Stacy also died 2 times on the operating table, she required 108 pints of blood and 8 months later she was back in uniform with the LAPD. Her motto is "you must train the mind for where your body must go".
(source: On Combat by Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, p.144)

Stacy's secret weapon - she was Stress Inoculated. That means she was trained to push herself beyond her limits. Ideally in Fight Like A Girl we would train hard but after the first class you need time for the mind digest the training you've had. Although one class should never be considered sufficient, you should practice the techniques often. We did them on mats, but you should see what happens when you go to the defensive position on concrete, if you get hurt doing this... continue! Never stop because you are injured always stay in the fight. Keep Practicing and Stay Safe!