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Issue Date: November 18, 2001
Take safety into
your own hands
I want to learn techniques to help me defend myself during these stressful times. Can you recommend any self-defense exercises?
Pat Kiara,
Pasadena, Calif.
Check out the various martial arts - such as tae kwon do, karate or kung fu - pick the one you like best and learn from a qualified black belt instructor. One untraditional method that has become popular recently is called Krav Maga. Created for the Israeli defense forces, it first appeared only about 40 years ago, making it one of the most modern self-defense methods around.
Whatever form of self-defense you choose, keep these basic techniques in mind:
 Strike the opponent in the eyes. If he cannot see, he cannot fight.
Strike your attacker in the groin, knees and solar plexus.
Yell. In karate, it's called
"kiai."
Screaming and shouting as you fight raises your adrenaline,
contracts the abdominal muscles, gives you more strength and throws your
opponent off guard. It also can alert others to your situation. Those
techniques should disable an attacker long enough for you to escape. The
proper mental attitude for survival is paramount. You then must be willing
to fight with everything you've got.
As a longtime runner, I repeatedly get black toenails. Is it from my shoes or my feet?
Kathleen Fitzpatrick, Provo, Utah
Many runners get black toenails by wearing shoes that
are too small or by spending a lot of time training on downhill courses.
In both of those situations, your nails (particularly on your big toe) are
constantly being pried upward, which causes the nail to bleed as it
separates from the underlying tissue. The blood forms a clot, which
eventually turns black. Besides looking unattractive, black toenails often
are painful. If your nail doesn't hurt, let it alone; it eventually will
fall off. But if you feel pressure and pain, you can ask your doctor or
podiatrist to bore through the nail with a sterilized needle to let the
blood escape. That should stop the discomfort
immediately.
Women's push-ups vs. men's
Many women simply never get to the point where their upper body is strong enough to do a straight-leg push-up. Part of the problem, however, is that they never try. Fortunately, a bent-knee push-up is very effective at strengthening and toning the chest, triceps and shoulder muscles.
If you want to be able to do a "guy's" push-up (and I think you should), go for it. That style of push-up firms the body faster, because you're resisting more body weight. But don't compromise good form, and make the transition slowly. For example: Do one straight-legged push-up, then two bent-knee push-ups, alternating back and forth for a total of 15 to 20. Next time, go for two straight-legged push-ups to every bent-knee push-up.
Eventually, you should be able to do all straight-legged push-ups.
"Krav Maga" is one of the newest forms of self-defense. You can learn more about it online at kravmaga.com.
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