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 woman’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 unfortuna ..read more

 Carrying guns or any self-defense tools is impractical and, in some countries, even illegal. There is an old saying in my community that the greatest woman’s weapon is her charm?. Who would disagree but not very useful in a self-defense situation, is it? However, there are some other weapons that we often wear or carry without even realizing. One day Linda surprised us at the end of the class with an unusual announcement. “Next class we are going to have a party, so come adequately dressed. It applies to you two as well, she pointed at surprised Bob and Peter.” We all were already accust ..read more

I got a feeling there was nothing more controversial than when I wrote that during the course Linda allowed us to test our freshly obtained self defense skills on Bob and Peter not wearing any protection, leading to an unfortunate accident when my knee ‘met’ Bob’s testicles in a quite unpleasant way. Linda sought to provide us with the unique possibility of getting as much realism in our training as possible, which is simply impossible with heavy groin guards and padding. It wasn't a piece of cake for either of us, but luckily nobody sustained any real injury, although sometimes it was a close ..read more

 A couple of weeks ago one commenter submitted a very interesting video about some crazy accident that happened in Peru. It was not that clear what was going on, but apparently, it was some kind of bet or rock-paper-scissors game between a young guy and a lady. The guy lost, and the lady immediately kicked him in the testicles with a perfectly placed and strong front kick. The reporter mentioned she was an expert in karate. The guy went down instantly and was in great pain; a nice example of proper kicking BTW. From what I understood he ended up in urology ER and one testicle had to be re ..read more

The tables turned for the guys. While Bob showed signs of relief, Peter became increasingly anxious. Death pinch sounded horrific, yet it sparked our curiosity. We all instinctively surrounded him so he could not ‘escape’ but at the same time, we felt for him. By showing affection and being kind to him we tried to mitigate his worries. Before getting to the real demonstration, Linda fetched a small chair and a thick textbook with the title Human Anatomy from the shelf in the corner of our dojo. Peter was understandably worried but we tried to make him comfortable. When she returned, s ..read more

At some point, I realized that one self defense technique I have rarely mentioned is the front testicle kick commonly known as the groin kick. Well, this is definitely not because I do not consider it useful, but this blog mainly focuses on overlooked last-resort self defense methods and kicking is rather a first-response move suitable mainly for the initial stages of an attack. However, I think all of you agree, it would be a big mistake not to discuss it thoroughly. Although regarded as a staple classical technique of female self defense, it is again associated with many controversies and mi ..read more

Some of you asked me lately why I do not post more often. Well, it is always a busy time for me before the summer holiday, plus English is not my native language so writing and replying to comments consumes a decent piece of my free time. Nevertheless, it has been a long time since the last installment of the series about kneeing so I thought I should continue with this highly interesting topic. We  had to go through some awkward situations Quite hesitant, despite the tall tents pitched on the boy’s shorts, we continued with the exercise according to Linda’s instructions. When it ..read more

David and his testicles  It was springtime and it means time for the annual spring cleaning! Not only cleaning our apartment which was, after all the lockdowns, in a total mess but also cleaning the mind. While I was removing dust from some old things in cupboards I came across a small replica of David from Michelangelo. It was a gift from my aunt when she was traveling to Italy, sadly she passed away a couple of years ago. I used to have it on display, but it always triggered some giggles and female banter on penis sizes causing some awkward situations especially when male visit ..read more

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 ..read more

“You attended that weird self defense course, didn’t you?” asked Teresa, one of my former university classmates when we went for a chat at a local café. The question surprised me because she always avoided this topic. I replied “Yes, but it was not weird at all, maybe let’s say 'special', but quite useful actually. Pity you missed it, you could do something for your safety.” I added as I sipped from my espresso. She was curious “I heard that lady…what is her name… Linda… used some young lads from the physical education department to demonstrate some nasty techniques, is it true you touche ..read more