Self-Defense for Women ft. an Interview with Jiu-Jitsu Purple Belt Emma

Emma Haci: a Jiu-Jitsu Purple Belt in action. Photo is grabbed with permission from her FB profile.

I took Kenjutsu classes for two semesters way back in college. The reason why I did such was because I wanted to look cool. Needless to say, I didn't take these classes seriously. I'd say part of the reason was my shallow appreciation for the sport and another part was because I wasn't good at it.

Last February 27, I'd heard of a Basic Self Defense Seminar that was to be held by Pato Studio Cebu Jiu-Jitsu at Alicia Hotel. I wanted to give it a shot because I was looking for a physical activity that'll work for me. Registration was free anyway, so I went in with no reservations.

I was told that Pato Studio Cebu Jiu-Jitsu was hosting this event because a Purple Belt from Croatia wanted to impart her knowledge and skills about self-defense for women. "Wow, this is starting to turn into a meaningful class," I thought to myself.

As I went inside the spacious gym with hopes that the event will make a great impact in my life, a person caught my attention. "Excuse me miss," a guy exclaimed. I turned to face where the voice was coming from, I was almost certain that the guy was somebody who knew me. "Please remove your shoes."

Great. So much for making a good impression on this meaningful class, right?

That slight mistake of not removing my shoes - insignificant to some - tipped me off in the wrong direction. I wasn't feeling all perky to learn the techniques already. I was awkward, shy and did I mention I was awkward? The vigor that took me to this place waned and I wanted to go home.

But there was Emma.

She stood in front of all of us and led the warm-up exercises. I shut off the thoughts that were stopping me and just went on with it. We were to learn basic self-defense techniques in response to common attacker positions of arm grabbing, choking, head locking and other disadvantageous positions.

General Concepts of Self-Defense

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While I'm not going to discuss the step-by-step procedure of how we did such, I was too busy internalizing the steps, I will be listing down some of the principles with which most of the techniques are based on. Please note that I'm writing these concepts down in the light of self-defense and I am in no way, an expert nor a trained professional. Please take these concepts as the opinions of a beginner.

As a starting point, have a stable base.

Most of the moves taught to us by Emma emphasized having a stable base. In my own words, a stable base is characterized by your weight being balanced so that you'd not easily fall off when pushed. I did this by bending my knees and having my upper body slightly leaned forward. Emma said that the base will allow you to stand your ground especially when the attacker carries or moves you.

According to grapplearts.com, a base is defined as a platform from which to apply and absorb force. Furthermore, a good base will make it hard for your attacker to push or pull you around. It's also a good position with which to move your attacker. This allows for the application of maximum force with minimum effort - one of the core principles of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu.

Focus on the weak points.

When an attacker grabs your arm with one hand, break free from the grab in the direction of their thumb. Emma said that the thumb in a grabbing arm has a weaker grip compared to the other four fingers. It'll be easier to escape from the grab when you exploit the weak points of your opponent. She also said that when you've broken free from the attacker, you can attack them in the nose, groin, eyes and other weak points to give yourself a headstart when you run away. But she says that it's not necessary to inflict an attack. The most important thing to prioritize is your safety.

Another concept taught in Gracie Jiu-Jitsu is the assumption that the attacker will always be larger and more athletic than you. With this, the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu philosophy of patience comes in. According to gracieacademy.com, one of the keys to success against a larger opponent is patience. This refers to the perfect timing. A perfectly executed technique will fail if done at a wrong time. In light of self-defense though, Emma said that it's important to act quickly, to catch your attacker off-guard.

Don't feel sorry for your attacker, they certainly didn't feel sorry for you.

After we executed all of the stunts, Emma sat us all down with a few reminders. She told us of a woman who came to her class with a horrifying story of how she was attacked. The attack happened in a bar. The attacker pulled the woman's hair and in her reach were ash trays and glasses that she could've just easily thrown at him. But the woman was worried that she might badly hurt or even kill the attacker that's why she didn't do anything. The woman was lucky that a bouncer came to her rescue.

Emma told us that we must not feel sorry for our attackers. They didn't feel sorry when they attacked us, why should we extend that courtesy to them?

Interview with Emma

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Emma with her hard-earned medal. Photo is grabbed with permission from her FB profile.

As I listened to Emma, I grew more curious of her background. I wanted to get to know her more, to figure out how her passion for Jiu-Jitsu came to be. I reached her on Facebook and she was kind enough to allow me to ask her for an interview. Here are some of the things that we've talked about:

Gail: First of all, I'd like to know if it's okay to feature your full name on the post. Is Emma Morena your full name?

Emma: Yes. It is Emma Haci but I'm just very known as Emma Morena.

Gail: Nice, thanks. You mentioned that you started training for Jiu-Jitsu at the age of 14. What made you decide to learn it?

Emma: No. I said that I was involved with martial arts since I was 14. But Jiu-Jitsu I have been doing for the past six and a half years. I wanted to try something new and BJJ (Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu) was familiar to me because of the UFC and Pride scene that was becoming a big deal. I was fascinated by the efficiency of the sport.

Gail: Oh, my apologies.

Emma: No problem 🙂

Gail: How did you become involved with martial arts at 14?

Emma: I always liked martial arts and the philosophy behind it. Also, I grew up with an older brother and we always "fought", played Mortal Combat, pretended to be cops. We were crazy about Van Damme movies and wrestlemania haha so you know... things like that got stuck to me 🙂

Gail: Hahaha, I remember my own childhood as well. We used to make shirts out of plastic bags and I grew up loving fashion. Anyway, what was the first martial arts that you learned? And aside from BJJ, what other forms do you practice?

Emma: Fashion is fun too 🙂 I do weightlifting from time to time. Mostly during some competition preparation. And I do yoga for stretching and keeping a balance.

Gail: Woah, you are amazing Emma.

Emma: No, not really. But tnx.

Gail: I see in your FB profile that you are an instructor at Lotus Club Jiu-Jitsu. Is this in Croatia?

Emma: Lotus Club Jiu-Jitsu is a team around the world. I am the instructor in Rijeka, the city I live in which is in Croatia.

Gail: Oh, I see.

Emma: I run the school there.

Gail: Woah, a school for learning BJJ?

Emma: Yeah. I teach classes.

Gail: Neat! Apart from childhood influence, what made you stay in this line of sport? Is it perhaps, a part of your advocacy? To teach women how to defend themselves?

Emma: The efficiency, breaking the barriers, the drive to be better, getting outside your comfort zone, the confidence it gave me, self love, self trust. Jiu-Jitsu is the most humbling sport I have ever been involved in. This too. I think everyone should know how to defend. Whether you want to defend yourself, your beliefs, your friends, family, pets... whatever. But still, BJJ is mostly men dominating sport even though the women's scene is getting huge day by day. Some women still don't wanna have anything to do with BJJ because they think it is a men's sport and it looks tough and women will get ugly and manly... etc. I wanna help them see the other side of it. But also, I love competing so this is also one of the things that made me stay. And at the end, it just makes me feel good. I like doing it and I like studying it, working on new moves... it is a never ending process. Eventually it has become my job too. So I also find joy in seeing my students progress.

Gail: Woah, I'm glad that you found passion and work that incorporates to that passion of yours.

Emma: Tnx 🙂

Gail: Do you have any long-term vision for BJJ in the future?

Emma: I don't know what the future holds but I know that I will definitely still be involved with Jiu-Jitsu. I wanna get my black belt, I want my students to be a black belt one day, I want to compete more, travel the world, teach... Maybe even make my Jiu-Jitsu clothing line... We will see. So many things I have on my mind 😉

Gail: I wish you well on all your plans Ms. Emma! I have a good feeling that the future will be bright for you. Have a great day ahead 😁 And thank you for taking the time to do this.

If you guys ever want to reach this amazing woman through FB click here, through IG here.

Violence Against Women

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My initial gut feel was actually right. The experience was meaningful for me. It may have gotten a bit awkward in the middle but I went home that night feeling empowered.

As I wrote this piece of mine I did a little research about the cases of violence against women here in the Philippines. According to the Philippine Commission on Women, one of the country's pervasive social problems is violence against women. According to a research done by the National Statistics Office in 2008, 1 in 5 Filipino women aged 15-49 has experienced physical violence since age 15. The Commission cited these reasons of the persistence of the problem:

Unequal power relationship

This concept is linked to societal norms and traditions that stereotype men to take on dominant roles in society while women take on subordinate roles. Among these dominant roles are leaders, providers and pursuers; the subordinate roles include nurturers, companions and supporters. With this, it is perceived that men are more powerful than women. To control and retain this power, men take to exerting violence.

Blaming women for their own misery

"She deserved it because she nags her husband too much," "That girl was a flirt, she was definitely asking for it." These are just some of the common expressions that illustrate this point. But just because they're common, doesn't mean they're true. It is not the woman's fault that she was violated, nor did she ask for the bad that happened to her.

Women's culture of silence

Because of shame, fear or even severe psychological problems, women tend not to speak up. It is sad that they feel the need to keep quiet because they think that their plights would be dismissed. Some would even be held responsible for the horrible things done on them. It's a vicious circle.

It takes more than just us women working together to create a difference. To effect great change, we must involve a lot of people including good men as well.

The women who joined the Basic Self-Defense Seminar hosted by Pato Studio Jiu-Jitsu Cebu. Photo is grabbed from their FB page with permission.

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_{Pato Studio Cebu Jiu-Jitsu holds classes at Alicia Hotel Gym across the Banilad Town Center everyday. For more details, check out their website at www.cebujiujitsu.com.}