When I hear this, I understand their perspective, self-defense isn’t “perfect”, not even close. Stopping a kidnapper or abduction attempt is hard enough for teens and adults, let alone our small children.
And then I think about Sarah, who was in a KID ESCAPE assembly at her elementary 11 years ago…
Fast foward to 2009 and I received a call from a mom who introduced herself, “About 11 years ago my daughter Sarah learned your Grip, Dip & Spin™ moves and now she is a Freshman in college.”
“Last week two guys grabbed her inside of a laundromat on campus, and guess what saved her from them? Your Grip, Dip & Spin™ moves she learned in 3rd grade.”
“Two guys tried to kidnap her, but they couldn’t move her, so they gave up.” Sarah said to me, “Mom, it all happened so fast and I just reacted, I didn’t have time to think.”
Then her mom got choked up and said…
“I used to shake my head and laugh when she wrestled with her older brother using your Grip, Dip & Spin™ moves all those years ago, but thank god she did.”
This is exactly why, when we teach our kids escape skills at a young age (in fun ways without fear) the lessons learned over time become instinctive, and could stay with us for the rest of lives.
So when I am asked, “Why teach Grip, Dip & Spin at such a young age?” It is not to save them from a predator next week (but they could). It’s about developing an escape instinct your kids have for life.
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