If an attacker tries to force his victim into a vehicle, she can drop to the ground and deliver a side kick into his knee, Melissa Soalt says.
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	It is essential for women who are attacked to use the element of surprise. When a would-be mauler pins Melissa Soalt, she feigns weakness (1), then explodes with a rising palm strike to the chin (2).
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	A womans hips are her power hub. When attacked by a knife-wielding rapist (1), Melissa Soalt traps his weapon hand and begins raising her hips (2). To heave him off, she thrusts her hips toward the side of his trapped hand (3). Afterward, she can counterattack with a variety of strikes, but she must continue to control his weapon hand.
	A woman should never allow herself to be tied up. Once the attacker gets out duct tape or a rope, its time to counterattack. His eyes are particularly vulnerable because his hands are occupied.

Rape. Its a four-letter word that hurls women into the basement of their fears. Its also every parents unspoken fear for a daughter. You cant always see it, but its there, restricting a womans sense of freedom.

When I walk home in the evening, I am gripped by a hyper-vigilance that creates great tension in my body and runs a fast-paced tape of warnings and nightmare scenarios through my mind, wrote one student. Her anxieties are echoed by countless others: Two-thirds of American women say they ìdo not feel safe. Some call it paranoia, but the fear of sexual assault is not unfounded. Rape is the most underreported crime in the nation. It is estimated that 12.1 million American women have been the victims of ìforcible rapeî and that one out of eight will be assaulted in her lifetime. An age-old crime, rape often encompasses sexual or psychological torture; a womans terror and pain become little more than fodder for a predators amusement.

When in the presence of this evil intent, you know it immediately. Its nightmarish sensation is primal and hard-wired. An icy chill sets in, then panic ricochets through your body, catapulting you into a Darwinian jungle of predators and prey. It shatters the veneer of civilization and connects you with the terror of becoming a sacrificial lamb. The aftermath of rape can be devastating, profoundly altering your sense of self. Survivors often describe it as a shattering experience. No woman is immune, yet few are prepared. Years ago, women were taught to rely on the good guys to protect them from the ìbad guysîa dangerously flawed strategy, as women are typically alone when assaulted. Plus, the line between the good guys and the bad guys gets blurry when Dr. Jekyll is suddenly replaced with Mr. Hyde. Being rescued is a comforting thought, but it is no more reliable than divine intervention.

Putting the Controversy to Rest

Studies have finally dispelled the myth that you cannot protect yourself and that resistance will only make things worse. This erroneous claim has been replaced with newfound data showing that immediate and aggressive responses, including fighting back, are effective. Conversely, pleading, reasoning or appealing to a rapists humanity is not. In fact, the latter is ìalmost universally futile, notes Dr. Judith Herman, a foremost authority on trauma and author of the best-selling book Trauma and Recovery.

ìBy not resisting rape, women may be putting themselves at greater risk,î says Sarah Ullman, an assistant professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Of course, fighting carries risksas though being raped, beaten or worse doesnt constitute injurybut Ullmans research on resistance strategies concluded that a womans ìlevel of physical injury is mainly determined by the offenders use of violenceî and initial blows struck, not because she fought back.

Having choices and defense skills may also be critical in the aftermath. The women who fought to the best of their abilities were not only more likely to be successful in thwarting the rape attempt, but less likely to suffer severe distress symptoms, Herman wrote. By contrast, women who submitted without a struggle were more likely to be highly self-critical and depressed in the aftermath. There are more good reasons why you need to learn how to counterattack, but before getting to essential strategies, you need to appreciate the nature of fear.

A Package Deal

Fear is a double agentboth ally and enemy, informant and saboteur. You cannot control fear, only how you react to it. It can save or imperil, empower or enslave you.

Fear alerts you to danger and is the voice of intuition. It elicits that ìuh-ohî feeling in your gut that tells you to get moving and triggers an adrenaline dump, preparing your body for action. Obeying this emotion has saved many lives. ìThe moment he got in my car, I was flooded with fear,î one woman said. He was a sicko who orchestrated a parking-lot mugging, then rescued the woman so she would feel indebted and drive him to his vehicle. But something didnt feel right. After tricking him into stepping out of her car, she swiftly drove off and later discovered the rape kitknives, rope, duct tape in his attachÈ case. But you can just as easily become a victim of fear, immobilized in its grip.

The Myth of Fearlessness

In a culture of warrior wannabes and boastful ìno fearî slogans, who wants to be a weenie? From the Powerpuff Girls to Xena, fierce femmes rule. Fear? Why, thats for sissies.

Fearlessness has been touted as the Holy Grail of the warrior arts. Its a seductive notion, but nothing could be more dangerous or further from the truth. ìSaying that you dont feel fear is like saying that you dont feel hunger, thirst, love or hate,î writes former bouncer Geoff Thompson in Fear: The Friend of Exceptional People. ìEveryone feels emotion, fear being one of the most powerful.

The goal of any fighting art should never be to eliminate fear but to replace helplessness with skills and to retrain your body and mind to react instantaneously. Without fear, there is neither courage nor urgency of action. It isnt fear per se, but hesitation that is the enemy. When it comes to rape, theres no mincing the truth: Being slammed down and pinned by a larger, pumpedup creature intent on ravaging you will, at least initially, evoke abject animallike terror and can quickly suck the life force right out of your body. No amount of warrior-within affirmations will change that or banish your fear. Fear does not respond to, nor is it abated by, trickery. It is a deeper, more purposeful emotion ordained by Mother Nature. As was so poignantly rendered by Ambrose Redmoon, Only an enemy can initiate a warrior.

Beyond Hope and Fear

To effectively fend off a rapist, you must prioritize. The decision not to be raped, to escape and survive, must supercede all other concernsincluding the fear of injury, which is the biggest obstacle to fighting back. If what you fear more than anything else is injury, says survival expert Sanford Strong, ìyou will not have the determination to escape an attack. You will believe all the criminals promises and never notice fleeting opportunities.

Rape is essentially an act of terror- ism. A rapist can hold you hostage with your very own fears and will use your terror to gain compliance and render you powerlessìbought and paid for,î attests Strong. The debilitating effects of fear resound in writer Sally Kemptons words: It is hard to fight an enemy who has outposts in your head.

Piercing the Heart of Terror

The prime directive to fight back can happen in a heartbeat, though it takes place not just in your mind or your bodys adrenal system but on a deeper, more spiritual level. It is set into motion by a bottom-line decision: What is non-negotiable? It is this innermost decision that issues your resolve, drawing out the necessary will and wrath that compel you into battle, your spirit leading your body. This flicker of reckoning can be an antidote to potentially lethal passivity and spark an indomitable fighting spirit, at once liberated from both hope and fear. Crossing this threshold causes many to later remark: I didnt know I had it in me; something inside rose up and said, No! Thats when I went for it.

Instead of succumbing to fear, you need to use it as a weapon. Sensations of fear and adrenaline must become a trigger for action. You must learn to turn the rapists own weapons of intimidation the vehemence of his words and actionsback onto him in a merciless counterattack. I call it ìreturn to sender, a strategy that embodies the true spirit of reversal.

To combat rape and increase your fighting chances, arm yourself with these essential strategies: Recognize when you are being tested or interviewed and break away immediately. Predators will often test your boundaries to gain proximity and size up your defenses. That can occur in a few seconds or over the course of months. It can be preceded by a simple request for directions or persistent unwanted courting. Violating boundaries is something criminals are expert in. A predator may be thinking: If I can get this close, I can move in closer. If I can get her money or make her comply with one demand, I can help myself to more. Do not enable this progression of assent. Take control and nip problems in the bud. Learn to draw a line by saying No! and meaning it.

Dont be duped by ploys. Listen to your gut. Yell. Make a scene. Distract your would-be assailant and escape. Never trade in your backbone for a wishbone. If you are pinned or rendered immobile and cannot immediately resist, take the first opening you get. You may not get a second chance. Rape can abruptly escalate to a more violent, life-threatening attack such as a severe beating, stabbing or murder. If you are torn between immediate action and waiting for a better chance, the former is almost always the better option. The longer an assailant has control over you, the worse things usually become. The instant he fumbles with his clothing or yours, changes positions or shifts his weight, puts down his weapon, places his hands on your torso or prepares to strike or use his weaponattack. Distractions such as ìTheres money on the dresser,î sometimes work, but dont count on it. Be prepared to seize existing slivers of opportunity. Some rapists will initially establish dominance or force you into harrowing positions. Instead of ineffectually struggling against brute strength, relaxing your body can help you create an explosive opportunity.

His knee was dug into my back; I thought my back would break, one woman said. Instinctively she went limp. That made it easier to spring. It enabled her to flip over, counterattack and flee. If forced to wait, remain focused on the inside. Collect yourself and think: What part of my body is free? What targets are presented? Where is the exit? Where is his knife? To help counteract a racing mind and heart, lower your center and concentrate your breathing in your belly. Emotions and adrenaline will quickly flood your body and can induce panic or paralysis. Adrenaline is a key factor here. Its function is to prep you for fight or flightfor action, not inaction.

Thompson likens adrenaline to fuel injection in a sports car. Once it kicks in, if you do not or cannot act, the extra gas can be gobbled up by increasing panic. ìLike the car,î he says, ìyou will be pressing the accelerator but without engaging the clutch.î If action is stifled, this energy may be utilized negatively; the rushes of adrenaline are misinterpreted as fear.

Another reason to resist immediately is that the confrontation can induce tonic immobility, a clinical term amounting to paralysis. When one is rendered helpless or paralyzed, altered states of consciousness such as dissociation, splitting off or leaving ones body can take over. These are powerful internal survival mechanisms designed to mitigate trauma, protect the psyche and stave off pain. The drawback is that they simultaneously foster a disembodied state, making it difficult to mobilize energetic resistance. Do not test the water. Unlike standup aggression, theres no wiggle room for that feint or evasive maneuver.

Make your opening move count without telegraphing your intention. Initially, depending on a rapists MO and level of violence, you might be able to lower his aggressive arousal, or at least his guard, by calmly talking to him or through physical contact. Ideally, placing a hand near the inside of his elbow or on his knee would give you potential leverage and control. This also gets him used to seeing your hands, so he wont think twice when you suddenly stab his face. When its time to unload, explode at 110 percent.

Attack vulnerable regions. To commit a rape, an offenders face or groin will likely be in your strike zone at some point. Viciously attack whatever he sticks out. Use dirty tactics: bite, gouge, seize and squeeze, slam, pound and pummel. After twisting and crushing an attackers not-so-private parts, one older woman literally threw him out of her house. The police found the recently released felon at home with an ice pack on his groin. It took a jury seven minutes to convict him.

Use your hips and legs to get him off you. Your legs are your strongest natural weapons and can be used like battering rams to vital regions. But you may have to free them first. If an attacker is lying on or straddling your hips, plant a foot and heave him off, or trap his lower leg and roll (to aid such displacement, simultaneously attack his face). Other methods involve swinging your hips out sideways or using your knees to keep him at bay until you can deliver more devastating kicks. If an offender is off to one side of your body or sitting on you upright, you might be able to hook his head or shoulders with one or both legs and slam him down. From an allfours position, you can explosively drop onto your side and fire off righteous combinations of side, thrust or ax kicks. Remember: Your goal is to facilitate escape, not force him into submission.

Obey the never rules. Never allow yourself to be tied up or taken to a secondary crime scene, whether that means being forced into a vehicle or dragged behind a building. The statistics get grim. At a second, more isolated location, an assailant will have far more control over you. Go ballisticimmediately! Attack like a wolverine, but never let him take you anywhere. And never give up. Another opening or stroke of luck may present itself. Your body is more resilient than you think. Plenty of women have been cut or shot but lived to tell the story.