Chapter 53: Self-Protection Awareness and Escaping Handcuffs Technique

"No roll call today, but there's a temporary notice: this class no longer has free activity time.

First, run five laps around the playground to warm up; after you finish running, I'll give you a lesson, similar to a self-defense course."

After everyone assembled, Chen Yaozu announced the official start of today's PE class.

Then, he began leading the group in running laps around the stadium track.

The stadium track, by international convention, is usually 400 meters per lap; five laps comes to only 2 kilometers — indeed just a warm-up.

On top of that, these are all tenth-grade American kids; running 2 kilometers is a piece of cake.

After finishing the run, although their faces were dripping with sweat, their whole bodies basically felt transparent... refreshing.

Everyone gathered in front of Chen Yaozu, their eyes full of expectation — after all, this was a self-defense class.

This was a course they, as tenth-grade high school students, had never encountered before, brimming with novelty.

"You all look very expectant!

Self-defense class — doesn't just hearing about it feel... cool!"

"What do you expect me to teach you in this class?"

With hands behind his back, Chen Yaozu smiled at the students, then suddenly thrust out a hand, striking a fist fast as lightning: "Are you expecting me to teach you Bruce Lee's Jeet Kune Do, ah-da...

Or the comical yet practical Kung Fu of furniture-store war god Jackie Chan in the movies.

Or Hollywood superstar Jason Statham's fist-to-flesh modern hard-boiled combat?

Or Rambo's move-by-move bloody military combat killing technique?"

Hearing these big-star names come from Chen Yaozu's mouth, the students grew excited.

Don't doubt it, don't doubt whether these freshmen, fifteen or sixteen years old, would think those movie stars actually don't know real Kung Fu.

This has nothing to do with IQ; it's about big-picture perspective, environmental influence, and exposure.

America certainly has the internet, and their internet is highly developed; if you master the method, you can find almost any answer online.

The premise is that you have the ability to discern the truth or falsehood of the answers.

Bruce Lee is very famous in America, Jackie Chan is also very famous in America, not to mention Hollywood superstar Jason Statham.

Over sixty or seventy percent of American teenagers, even adults, believe these people have real Kung Fu, that they can really fight.

In terms of horizon and exposure, Americans are different from Eastern people.

In the East, four guys in a male dormitory chat.

They might start by talking about which girl is pretty, but the miraculous thing is, within ten minutes they'll definitely be discussing national affairs, immediately followed by the international situation, and finally the S3 season.

Then they'll argue fiercely about how to both achieve victory and preserve national strength in the S3 season, and stand atop the world after the war.

This is the scope of Eastern boys, something Americans don't possess.

Many public high school students don't even know where countries outside America, Canada, and Mexico are located.

Their scope isn't that large; this is the influence of the greater environment, not a matter of smart or not.

Social strata have already solidified; future social elites grind in private schools, not graze like sheep in public schools.

Teenagers attending public schools — at least half of them won't get into good universities in the future.

The remaining portion might go to community college, because some community colleges are free.

Only a small fraction can go to some ordinary universities.

The rest — each cohort should have a few rare phoenix feathers and unicorn horns who can test in, or have special talents, holding recommendation letters to attend truly good universities.

There are more student families who, even if they get into good universities, most likely don't have the money to attend.

And they'll also choose not to take loans for school because they worry they might not be able to repay student loans.

Such ordinary high school students, by the time second semester of twelfth grade arrives, should be considering which auto repair shop or which construction site to go to.

Or delivering takeout and the like!

Or choosing to enlist for a few years, then after discharge taking the life-risking money earned over those years to study, and also getting tuition discounts.

Even some who meet the conditions can attend four years of university for free after discharge, or graduate school.

Of course, this refers to schools outside the Chinese districts.

Schools in the Los Angeles Orange County area, as well as the Los Angeles Chinese East District and Chinese West District, still have a very high probability of getting into good universities.

Even if these Chinese kids attend public schools.

Of course, the premise is that getting into good universities doesn't require recommendation letters, and even more so that the lowered Chinese admission ratios due to certain bills are relaxed.

If students were admitted fairly based on exam scores, Chen Yaozu dares to say all of America's Ivy League famous schools might be squeezed full by Chinese students.

This is talent, and of course also the cognition of Chinese parents.

Unfortunately, having this cognition isn't of much use in America; America is a society of connections, and Chinese parents who have connections in the alumni circles of America's famous schools are few and far between.

Even if some Chinese parents are fortunate enough to truly squeeze in, they soon no longer regard themselves as part of the Chinese group, desperately wanting to integrate into the white group.

Of course, the conversation has drifted far.

Chen Yaozu's question had just been thrown out, and these fifteen-or-sixteen-year-old high schoolers couldn't hold back; the impatient ones spoke up directly — for example, the relatively rare Black student in this class, Jones Davis.

"Sir, can we learn anything?"

After asking this question, everyone looked full of hope, waiting for his answer.

"Of course... not!"

Chen Yaozu smiled, took a breath, and answered this Black student's question, giving them a huge disappointment.

"There's actually a reason for teaching this self-defense-like class today."

"Just now, I unintentionally overheard a few girls chatting — of course this is regrettable, I didn't do it on purpose! However, in these girls' chat I heard concern for their daily safety, and they expressed a willingness to learn women's self-defense from me."

Speaking here, Chen Yaozu looked very seriously and very solemnly at the students before him, especially that group of girls.

"Actually I don't want to discourage you, girls.

The women's self-defense you want to learn, even those women's self-defense techniques seen online, are basically all a scam.

Of course, I'm not saying that so-called women's self-defense is all fake.

Rather, I want to tell you that so-called women's self-defense shouldn't specifically refer to women at all, but should be called a type of self-defense technique.

But you need to know.

Any self-defense technique in the world requires long-term training, whether it's strength training or reaction training, or impact resistance training, even sparring training.

Even after extremely arduous and strict training, most people can only compete in performances against those in the same weight class on the ring.

For daily safety, self-defense and such, it won't be of much help."

His words left the students looking bewildered — what did he mean by only being able to compete in performances on the ring?

Before learning self-defense techniques, it was to be able to protect oneself at critical moments.

But you tell me that even after learning self-defense techniques, one might not necessarily be able to protect oneself at critical moments.

Then isn't my self-defense technique learned in vain?

Seeing the heavy confusion in the students' eyes, Chen Yaozu continued: "You want to learn women's self-defense because you've heard bad things, and want to protect yourselves when safety issues appear.

But I want to tell you a reality here: in the East, there is a beautiful and powerful woman who is a UFC world fighting champion, her name is Zhang Meili.

She once said that even someone like her, a world champion, when facing an ordinary normally trained male in the same weight class, she might not necessarily have the confidence to take him down.

Let alone males in heavier weight classes stronger than her; those strong ones, even those heavier males who haven't trained at all, have more combat power than her who has trained strictly for many years.

The innate physical conditions of the two genders, to put it in our Eastern words, are determined at birth.

So, girls wanting to learn self-defense techniques to protect themselves is actually not very feasible!

What I suggest more is that after you reach legal age, go take an exam and buy a gun! American Iaido is more effective than whatever self-defense techniques you practice!"

As soon as he said this, the students were stunned! The students naturally knew having a gun is better.

But, just as Chen Yaozu said, in California to legally possess a gun one must reach legal age, and also go through layers of strict asylum interviews and exams before getting a legal gun permit.

What does this have to do with them, fifteen or sixteen-year-old high school students? Legal age is practically university graduation!

The students' disappointment was naturally seen by Chen Yaozu; he clapped his hands hard: "Hey! Gentlemen, ladies, look here.

I naturally know you haven't reached legal age yet and can't legally purchase firearms for self-defense.

That's why there's this course similar to self-defense class, to let you understand better methods of protecting yourselves."

Things returned to the right track, the topic returned to true self-defense.

Chen Yaozu looked at this class of students before him, mostly Chinese-American, a small portion White, an extremely few Black.

"Actually, disasters or rather danger depend on environment and circle.

For example, where you live, who you associate with, and your own attitude all determine whether you stay far from disaster and danger, or gradually approach disaster and danger."

The students before him were full of doubt; the Black student Jones Davis who just asked if he could ask anything directly raised his doubt: "Sir?"

Chen Yaozu knew what he meant, laughing and shaking his head: "I know what your doubt is? America, which day has no gunshots? Which year does America not have tens of thousands injured and killed by shootings!

This is the environment issue I just spoke of!

In America, shootings are already commonplace, too common!

But in the East, merely being beaten is already sensational, because it's too rare!

Nationwide sensational news is because it's rare, so it's news; if it were common it wouldn't be news! Therefore one can see the entire East's safety environment!"

He paused a moment, letting the students before him digest the meaning in his words.

"And what I'm about to say, the self-defense class for protecting one's safety, the first thing to speak of is awareness. You must have an awareness of protecting yourself!"

Chen Yaozu knew he should speak in more detail, so he began to explain slowly: "In the East, a very famous self-defense expert once said:

Self-protection awareness is very important for women's self-defense.

Having good self-protection awareness can make women more vigilant in daily life, predict possible dangers in advance, and take corresponding measures to avoid falling into dangerous situations; this is indeed more fundamental and important than simply learning self-defense techniques.

Of course, while possessing self-protection awareness, appropriately learning some simple and easy-to-learn self-defense techniques and other skills as a supplement can also increase some coping means and abilities when danger truly arrives.

Then what is self-protection awareness?"

He looked very solemnly at these students before him, whether appearance or demeanor, all somewhat different from domestic Chinese-American female students, and said:

"As I just said, environment is an important factor.

In nature, fierce beasts all have their own territory.

The human world is naturally the same.

Good people have good people's territory, gangs have gangs' activity ranges, those who aren't good people nor gangs, the hoodlums, also have their sewers to roam chaotically.

Just like in nature, generally alert animals good at preserving their lives won't jump into the activity ranges circled by fierce beasts with smell; that would be fatal.

The human world is the same; if your community is within a gang's activity range, or a street district where they often have shootouts, your probability of encountering danger increases greatly.

Of course you're all students; you don't have much say in where you live; it very likely depends on your parents' wallets.

So, in a situation where residence cannot be changed, what you can change is only your travel routes and travel times.

Back to the fierce beast metaphor just now.

In nature, fierce beasts' appearance times all have certain patterns, so some animals forced to live within fierce beasts' activity ranges all choose a high-probability time when they won't encounter danger, or after fierce beasts rest, to come out of their burrows to find food and conduct other activities.

Humans are the same! During daytime, the probability of crime occurring on the streets is smaller; that is the broad safety time.

When it reaches the time of sparse crowds, you should return to your residence, away from danger zones.

This is environment! Next is behavior!"

Chen Yaozu's eyes were like lightning, sweeping over the occasional tattoos revealed on these students.

Fortunately these things mostly appeared on the Black and White students; among Chinese-American students during tenth grade, few had tattoos, and those that did were small in scope.

"Humans are advanced animals in nature, or rather advanced intelligent beings, the pyramid top of the food chain.

Factors that let humans become the food chain pyramid top, besides wisdom, there is one most important, most important reason: early humans were able to survive and continue in a primitive world surrounded by fierce beasts because nature made them cohere and unite together, against all dangers and accidents.

The East has an old saying: things of a kind flock together, people group by kind.

Your behavior will attract people with the same behavior as you.

Your character will attract people with the same character.

If you like messy friends, messy friends will also like to find you.

If you like living with clean people, you will also become clean.

This is the circle! The circle is something you will only feel after entering society.

For example, America's upper class has the upper class's circle.

Bottom people have the circle of bottom people's lives.

Everyone has their own circle; normally there isn't much situation, and they rarely contact each other.

You have tattoos on your body, making you look a bit intimidating, and you also think it's cool.

At the same time, it will make the gangsters fighting on the street think you are the same kind or people from an enemy gang, and then they will notice you! They will know what street district you live in, who is in your family, which gang you usually contact, and what benefits can be squeezed from your home.

Another example is the people you usually contact.

You like to contact gangsters, and gangsters like to gather around you.

You usually like to contact bad boys, their ruffian look is cool! But what bad boys like most is to contact gangsters, so girls like this have a high possibility of becoming single mothers.

So, as parents of students, they will let their own good girls stay away from all hoodlums, all bad boys, guaranteeing their own life circle is simple and clean.

This in our East is called letting your own daughter love herself, self-respect."

At this time, a white girl suddenly raised a doubt loudly: "Sir, I think you are gender discrimination compensation!"

Why not tell those boys not to hurt girls, but instead ask girls to love themselves?

Chen Yaozu was startled upon hearing this, forgetting this was America!

Gender discrimination compensation, what a big hat!

No, I must argue well; if I don't say it well, I might lose this job: "This classmate, I ask you, America has the most prisons in the world, and detains the largest proportion of criminals in the world.

Do all these people know that crime means prison?

I suppose they all know! Then do those bad boys know that hurting girls, even possibly ruining their lives?

I suppose they also know! But what does a girl being ruined have to do with them? They are bad people to begin with!

Who cares about girls?

Is it the girl's guardian, right?

Is it the people who care about girls, right?

But who are the people who hurt those girls? Bad boys, right?

Then do the guardians or parents know which bad boy is making a move on their beloved daughter? Will they know in advance which bad boy will hurt their precious one? No, they don't! So, the most correct choice is to admonish your own beloved precious sweetheart every day, letting them stay away from danger! So..."

He swept his eyes over the students before him: "Whether you are boys or girls, improving self-protection awareness is very important.

Usually go less to Violent District, do not go out wandering during dangerous times, try not to tattoo tattoos similar to gangsters on your body, try not to play with bad boys, and when going out, detour some not good street districts.

This way, basically you can eliminate sixty or seventy percent of danger!"

A Chinese-American girl student, one of the few who were sitting together chatting at the beginning, hesitated a moment and still asked: "Sir, if like that twelfth grade Senior Sister, someone forcibly pulls you into a car, what should be done?"

"Pull into a car?"

Chen Yaozu confirmed again.

The girl nodded to confirm the question she wanted to ask: "Yes, if someone forcibly grabs you, forcing yourself to go to an unwilling place, do unwilling things.

As a female naturally weak in strength, how to break free from the opposite side is my question!"

Chen Yaozu originally planned to teach them Escaping Handcuffs Technique; at this time he took the opportunity: "This has arrived at one of the most important links of my class today; I will teach you a miraculous and also simplest technique of Eastern martial arts.

As long as you learn this technique, no one in this world can grab you with their hands!

This technique is called Escaping Handcuffs Technique, meaning breaking free from the handcuffs that imprison yourself; this technique originates from Eastern martial arts Tai Chi.

Come, you all gather around..."

Escaping Handcuffs Technique is actually very simple.

No matter which limb on your body except fingers is grabbed by the other side's hand, as long as it is not Joint Lock Technique, just being grabbed and dragged, it is actually easy to break free.

After Chen Yaozu had the students all gather around, he called out the smallest girl, and then called out the tallest black student Jones Davis who had just asked the question.

"Jones, you use one hand to grab Andy's wrist, however you want to grab!"

Jones stretched out his hand, his bear-paw-like palm directly covered the smallest girl Andy's wrist.

"Andy, the wrist you are grabbed presses Jones's thumb, press forward and down, hard!"

The little girl followed Chen Yaozu's instruction, pressing down on the thumb of that palm grabbing her own wrist, then thrust forward, and actually broke free from the tall sturdy black classmate's palm, very easily.

After the little girl broke free, her eyes opened wide, shining; she excitedly raised her red-held wrist: "I actually did it!"

Jones's face was full of disbelief, unable to believe a girl so much smaller than him actually broke free from his palm.

His black face couldn't clearly show whether blood rushed to his face; anyway he buzzed out: "Sir, I want to try again!"

Chen Yaozu smiled and nodded, saying it was okay.

This time Jones changed a hand, and changed a posture.

But the little girl still followed Chen Yaozu's instruction, wrist directly pressing down on the other's thumb and thrusting forward, directly breaking free.

Chen Yaozu also had Jones grab Andy's throat, letting the little girl Andy lower her head and press down toward his thumb direction; press and turn, and she broke free.

Even being grabbed by the neck could break free, leaving the surrounding students all stunned.

【This Escaping Handcuffs Technique is real; female readers can find a little partner to practice together】

Chen Yaozu, seeing their appearance, arranged them one male one female to practice in pairs, or male-male to practice, or female-female to practice.

The students immediately became enthusiastic, practicing to their heart's content.

Being grabbed by hand, whether one hand or two hands, once the technique is mastered, it is very easy to break free.

Time passed in the students' joyful mutual practice; soon it was time for class to end.

"Partners, is this technique practical or not?"

The students answered in unison, cheerfully: "Very practical!"

Chen Yaozu laughed again as he planted the hook for the next lesson:

"Want to know the principle behind this? You should know that in ancient times, this was one of the trump cards of an Eastern martial arts sect!"

The students were of course very eager for the answer, but they didn't expect the sly Chen Yaozu to say: "Class time is up; I'll explain the principle to you next class!"

Not far away, Old Lady Wood accompanied a balding middle-aged man, watching from afar.

The balding middle-aged man seemed to have been observing here for quite a while, and now he finally said with satisfaction: "Exactly, he's the person I've been looking for!"

(Chapter End)