Attacks on women highlight need for situational awareness and self-defense

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Two high-profile attacks on women in major cities are sparking a conversation about personal safety and the importance of situational awareness.

In Philadelphia, surveillance video captured a man wearing a Chucky-style mask following a female jogger who was wearing headphones.

Philadelphia woman Jameka attempted to warn the jogger, but the assailant turned his attention toward her. She kicked him in the chest, and he ran away.

In the Charlotte area, a man recorded himself attacking and chasing women in the Dilworth neighborhood and posted the video online. Di-Quan Hunt was arrested and denied bail.

The disturbing incidents are putting a spotlight on the importance of knowing your surroundings and having basic self-defense skills.

Brandon Pettijohn, a local attorney, former Marine, and Brazilian jujutsu brown belt, says something as simple as looking up from your phone can help people recognize a potential threat.

“If you’re aware of your surroundings, you can see threats before they even happen or even just see that you’re in a situation that you might not want to be,” said Pettijohn.

Pettijohn demonstrated a technique he described as “engage enough to disengage,” showing how someone can break free if an attacker grabs their arm.

“If I pull away, you’re going to just pull with me right, but what I can do is I can take my hand, grab my fist, and then pull my elbow parallel, and then rip it away. So, grab here, here, and pull it away. So if I grab your wrist here and I’m trying to pull you with me, because you’re breaking that grip. I can hold on to this as tight as I want, but if you just give it a really good yank, you can get away from the situation.”

If someone approaches while walking, John Maynard, owner of Champion Martial Arts, says creating distance can be one of the simplest ways to avoid a potentially dangerous situation.

“Someone’s coming forward down the road at you; you and him are the only person there, go to the other side of the road, go the other direction,” said Maynard.

Pettijohn also demonstrated how someone can break free from a hair grab, pointing out that hair can be used by an attacker to control someone’s movement.

“Hair is, unfortunately, a tool that someone can grab, and it is a vulnerability because you can be manipulated by that piece of the body,” said Pettijohn.

He demonstrated techniques for breaking away from a hair grab from both the front and the back.

“I don’t have a lot of room to work with; you’re just going to be pulling me in. So, what I would suggest is taking a slight step in, bringing this right hand over, blocking this elbow, and then extracting your hand and pushing away; but if I take that step and I turn and I actually manipulate your wrist, because your arm can’t turn only so far, right exactly.”

When it comes to fight or flight, Pettijohn says the goal is not to win a physical confrontation.

“In a self-defense scenario, our number one objective is to get away,” said Pettijohn.

If you’re interested in learning more or taking a self-defense class, there are martial arts studios and training programs throughout the Cape Fear region that offer hands-on instruction in basic escape and awareness techniques.

Experts say the best time to learn how to respond to a dangerous situation is before you are ever in one.