Self-Defense Advice for Elderly Mirrors Rape Escape Strategy

I came across some old and interesting self-defense advice to the elderly from the late Bill Langlois, a former San Francisco decoy cop that worked to take muggers off the streets. (Langlois died in Oct. of 2000).

He tells seniors to:

1. Have a plan of action for a variety of scenarios;
2. Include your companion in your plans. Discuss what you both should do in case of an attack.
3. If you are alone and attacked, he advocates feigning a heart attack.

He offers this last piece of advice for two reasons:

The attacker is most likely a fairly experienced criminal and probably does not want to hang around while his victim potentially dies, turning a simple robbery into a homicide;

By falling to the ground, the elderly victim does so in a controlled fashion rather than being hit or knocked to the ground while offering the chance to kick at the attacker. “Chances are that people will say, I don’t want to fall down and expose myself to attack like that; but the chances are high that this predator, having gotten to this point in his hunt, will knock you down anyway. When you do down this time however, it will be on his terms – disoriented and possibly severely injured – at that moment you’re at the mercy of a man who is now electrified by the thrill of his lopsided victory and the hatred he has for his victims”.

This is the same advice that supports the defensive position used in the Rape Escape method taught to girls and women.

We get the same sort of argument from certain circles that Longlois has here – “Never, never, even go to the ground! Only death and dustbunnies await you there!”

Yet, we’ve taught thousands of women that they can avoid being hit and avoid being taken to a secondary crime scene by adopting the defensive position on the ground. Their strongest weapons (their kicks) are in between them and the attacker’s weakest targets (knees, groin, throat, face). And they finally have a way to protect themselves while carrying a baby or small child.