Most kids have grown up reading the Goldilocks and the Three Bears and the Three Pigs but do you remember Little Red Riding Hood? I was trying to remember how it ended and was surprised to learn there are different versions of the tale. The one I remember has a wood cutter saving the grandma and Little Red Riding Hood by chopping the wolf’s head off. In any event, whatever versions of the story you remember, don’t you wonder how this story might have changed if Little Red Riding Hood knew karate? We here at My Self-Defense Blog have scoured the ends of the earth to find an answer to just that question in this youtube video.

I would say that girl is assertive! I kind of like the violence of the attacks on the wolf because he has it coming! Bravo I say.

One a more serious note I would like to talk about some brave girls that decided not to be victims. Today’s girls many times are sent mixed messages such as listen to adults, teachers, and police but I would argue that in today’s enviornment one cannot simply tell their children to trust anyone. I applaud parents and groups that talk about boundaries and behaviours as the deciding factor for children to decide how to react. 

In this post I will give examples of girls fighting back as well as commentary to echo what I believe was good and bad in each case. I found a good video of Noel Gyro giving girls some self-defense tips and I will inject a more modern-day Little Red Riding Hood video of how a martial arts girl might respond to an attack! As you read this post, please think of ways your family can increase their skills and awareness to improve their chances of a good outcome in the event of an attack!

A sixth-grade girl  went out to the store to buy her mom a mothers-day gift and noticed someone following her. She ran to her apartments and made it up the stairs, almost to her door. The 6′ 2″ attacker grabbed her mouth and pulled her down the stairs. The girl escaped when her attacker loosened his grip and she pushed the call buttons of the apartments and screamed for help! She got away!

What she did right was come up with a plan and execute it. She also perceived danger and reacted to it. I think this went well for the girl because she was able to make it to her apartments and get help before she was dragged away. I think the shock of what was happening almost kept her from reacting. The main area I would have consoled her to do different would have been to react quicker – bite the hand on her mouth and scream and fight when she was first grabbed. Still the girl kept her wits about her and did escape as well as help apprehind the perpatrator. Well done!

This last video has some good advice for getting out of the grips of an attacker! The next story a Sidney girl was approached by a guy trying to offer her a ride home. She refused and the guy got out of the car and grabbed her! She was able to fight back and escape!

This girl did everything right as far as I can tell from this story. She refused the ride and fought back and got away! The only thing I can suggest is maybe running when the guy parked the car but there are not enough details to make that judgement. This another example of a brave girl escaping a kidnapping attempt!

A UK teenage woman was attacked after being whistled at and followed. The woman was walking home alone after a night out. She was grabbed from behind and fought back striking her attacker. She broke free and ran to a friends house!

This woman was able to successfully fight her attacker off and get away! Wow – this is a great outcome considering she was walking alone at night. My hats off to her keeping her wits, fighting back and getting away! Had her attacker punched her instead of grabbing her, this outcome may not been as good. My advice for women in this situation is either walk home in groups or take a taxi. It is unfortunate that women have to consider their saftey from preditors like this but being realistic – it is far better to be safe. I really like the fact that this woman was able to hit her attacker and get away!

This next video is what I envision the mortal combat version of the Little Red Riding Hood story would be if the wolf attacked a martial artist.

The last story I will examine is of a 16 year-old-girl walking home at night. She was grabbed by a guy on a bike but was able to pull away and keep walking. The guy followed and pushed her into some bushes to attack! The girl was able to fight him off and get away! Wow – talking about a close call, this girl got away twice!

The thing I think the girl did right was to fight back! She was able to get away twice and not be intimated into submission! There is ample room for improvement here starting with getting a parent to drive her home, taking a taxi or walking home in groups of kids if there is no other option. Another thing that may have helped out was if the girl ran after the first encounter. This girl was brave and fought back so she is to be commended for that!

In closing I would like to draw attention to safty first as I highlited in my post entitled, “Kids attacked, how they got away!” post here. Girls ought to think of saftey first, trust their instincts and always fight back! Had Little Red Riding Hood been more suspicious in the original tale – she might have had better luck!