important life skills

last night, i attended a free women's self-defense class with a few of my girls and my mom.  overall there were many good tips on attacking men and tips on avoiding the situation, but my favorite part was the drills that we got to practice on the men who volunteered to teach the class.  poor guys.  it felt great to be able to take a 250 lb man to the ground, but also scary to think that i may have to use this someday.  our instructor told us that 1 in 3 women is attacked during their lifetime.  

our instructor also made another valid point:  that this is one of the most important things you can do for yourself. many women carry mace or a taser, but don't know how to use these properly, especially when their adrenaline is through the roof. there is a high possibility that these weapons would actually be used against the women as they fumble around trying to figure out the mechanics of them.  so, while carrying a taser may seem sensible to avoid an attack, the fact is that same taser may actually be used against you.  scary.  

on my way to teach class this morning, i passed the latest "student-designed bulletin board" in my office building.  how ironic that the board's latest topic is a hypothetical program called "all around woman" designed for the boys and girls club.  here is a summary of the program, taken directly from the bulletin board:

"this program has been designed to target different aspects of a girls life that are helpful to know while growing up and becoming a more independent woman.  the different sections of our program include:  sewing, cooking, nutrition, hair & makeup, body image, laundry, and ironing." 

yes, sewing is a VERY important life skill.  personally, i attribute my high level of independence to my knowledge of sewing.  are you kidding me?  the only valid program highlights i see in that last sentence are nutrition and body image.  where is women's self defense?  here are some interesting statistics:

In 2005, 1,181 women were murdered by an intimate partner.  That's an average of three women every day.  Of all the women murdered in the U.S., about one-third were killed by an intimate partner.

17.6 % of women in the United States have survived a completed or attempted rape.

Every two minutes, somewhere in America, someone is sexually assaulted.

More than half of all rapes of women occur before age 18.

Almost two-thirds of all rapes are committed by someone who is known to the victim. 

Somewhere in America a woman is battered, usually by her intimate partner, every 15 seconds. 

More than one million women are stalked annually in the United States.

Of female murder victims in 2005, 33.4% were killed by their husbands or boyfriends. In contrast, 2.4% of the male victims were murdered by their wives or girlfriends.

yes, it does appear that sewing is an important life skill to learn about while preparing to become a woman.  aaaaahhhhhhh!  if i ever decide to raise a child, and if one or more of them are girls, i do solemnly swear to get them some kind of self-defense training.  THAT, my friends, is one of the greatest gifts i will give my children.  screw the nice car or the latest mp3 trend, the ability to save your own life outweighs all this stuff.  a few months ago i blogged about jodi sanderholm, a former co-worker and friend who was raped and murdered.  she is gone now, and the car she drove or the possessions she had are no longer of importance.  

please, if you are a woman i urge you to take this seriously.  get educated on the facts.  prepare yourself for an assault before it is too late.

listen to:  Fever Fever by Melody Club..."she's in your mind and you are blinded and she put a spell on you"