Take Me Haiyya!

Some days back a friend and I were out for a walk. Some time later we were ambushed by two chubby eight year olds who politely asked if they could join us for a walk. "Aww!wannabes!" we thought and allowed them , equally politely, to accompany us. Possibly ten minutes into the "walk" we started to regret the benevolence we had shown as the girls went chattering about all the trials and tribulations of junior school. And of course, the greatest of these trials were BOYS! The kids went on and yawn about how the boys were rude and smelly and rowdy. We more or less blocked our ears against their voices until we realized a change in their tone. One of them completed the sentence with "and then he said the F-Word!". My friend and I exchanged scandalized glances. Surely they could not have meant THE F-Word! WE didn't know the F-Word till we were 13(at least!)! I asked the kid how she reacted to such behavior. "I hit 'em" she answered straight back and proud!

No, I am in no way claiming young boys are slimy slugs who need to be busted, nor am I advocating violence. I am merely pointing out the kind of world kids these days are living in. And from that comes the point of this post- the importance of self defense.

The age eight was important for me. I was eight, travelling with my mother in a packed public bus. There was no place to sit and we were sort of wedged. That is when a man behind me chose to feel up my vagina. I was eight, and I had no idea what to do and how to react. I was eight, when I first knew there was a part of me that felt good when touched. I was eight, and I did NOT like it. Of course, I didn't tell my mother. I felt too scared and confused. I just cried a little when I got back home.

Years later while talking about it to my friends in college, I discovered that we had all had such an incident, in fact, many such incidents, in our lives. I had often scoffed at some of my friends who have traveled all their lives in air conditioned private cars and  never known the hazards to be faced in the "real" world! I felt sadly blessed that I was, if nothing else, better equipped to face perverts than they were. I am not over rating myself. Men who feel lucky can't get away so easily with me now! I would shout, or pinch, or kick or something make sure they get what they deserve. Nevertheless I wish I did not have to have so many experiences to end up street smart!

The case need not be so with kids of today.They are much more worldly wise. They talk and hear of things we weren't exposed to till our late teenage years. They also possibly face a lot more harassment than we did. Or maybe it seems that way because the harassment actually is brought out in the open these days! So I have a MAJOR request to the parents- I know you want to keep your child's innocence intact.But please face facts here, the world is NOT the greatest place right now. Anything that your child does not know is ignorance rather than innocence. Talk to them about things that can happen to them and how they should deal with it. and please, NEVER EVER EVER make them feel as though it was their fault. there is nothing thaht can break a child's heart and faith more! And no matter how much they scream shout and protest, enroll them into karate classes. ASAP.

For us "fortunate" ones who escaped breaking bricks with our heads, here's a link I found extremely useful!-

http://www.karate-made-easy.com/self-defense-techniques-women.html