What a Viral Kidnapping Attempt Can Teach Women About Self-Defense

Newsweek

3 days ago

Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
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A young woman in Florida narrowly escaped kidnapping by fighting back against her attacker, drawing praise from law enforcement for her actions.
Emma Marine, an 18-year-old from St. John's County, was working a shift at a local smoke shop when a man came in to use the bathroom for the second time in a day.
After he came out of the bathroom, he reportedly went behind the counter of the shop and started grabbing and pocketing merchandise.
Marine tried to stop the man from leaving the store, but he grabbed her in a headlock and dragged her toward his pick-up truck.
Stock image of police tape around a crime scene.
Stock image of police tape around a crime scene.
Photo by Ajax9 / Getty Images
Marine screamed repeatedly and fought back, eventually breaking free and making a run for it before a passerby helped her escape.
When police officers arrived, the suspect had fled the premises, but he was later spotted driving recklessly and was arrested.
He was then issued a number of charges.
Why Marine Confronted The Man
According to Marine, speaking to Action News Jax, she tried to stop the man because she feared for her job.
"Less than a week before that, a customer had stolen something on my sister's shift, and [their boss] did threaten to fire her if it happened again, or he would take it out of her pay again," Marine explained.
Later in the interview, she revealed that her boss had since let both her and her sister go, which she said was "pretty upsetting".
"He just completely stopped talking to either of us," she added.
'Decisive and uninterrupted response'
However, Marine's actions were lauded by law enforcement, who said she did "everything right" by fighting and screaming.
Gloria Marcott is the founder and CEO of Soul Punch Self-Defense, which trains women in personal safety.
According to Marcott, Marine "made a choice: survival".
"The most powerful thing this young woman did was act immediately and fight for her life," Marcott told Newsweek. "She didn't try to rationalize with her attacker. She yelled, moved and kicked continuously.
"That decisive and uninterrupted response is what saved her."
'Politeness won't save you'
Chuck J. Rylant, a California-based expert witness in self-defense and Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt who has been retained in hundreds of cases nationwide, told Newsweek that Marine "deserves credit for fighting back and making a lot of noise".
"Humans are biologically wired to respond with fight, flight or freeze response in the face of danger," Rylant told Newsweek.
"Unfortunately, the instinctual freeze response makes it easy for predators to victimize their prey."
The "freeze" response is more likely if you haven't practiced self-defense, according to Marcott.
"We are taught to be polite, but politeness won't save you," Marcott warned. "Disruption will. Our training helps women step into the mindset of: 'I'm not here to be quiet, I'm here to command my power and safety.'
"We train them to be a force to be reckoned with."
'You can fight back'
Marine told Action News Jax that her parents taught her to "always fight back".
"I hope this can show other women and young females like myself that you can fight back, and it doesn't matter how small you are," Marine said.
Marcott said the only thing she might have recommended Marine do differently would be to have a weapon in hand to create a "stopping action".
"You don't need to be strong, fast or trained in martial arts to defend yourself," she noted.
"You need layered safety strategies, an understanding of predator behavior and pre-attack indicators, the ability to interrupt their plan, and a way to force multiply your response in real time."
Rylant told Newsweek the incident was reminiscent of a scene from the movie Ballerina, a spin-off of the successful John Wick franchise.
"The mentor instructs the main character to 'fight like a girl', in which she means to fight dirty," Rylant told Newsweek.
"This is the turning point in the movie where she begins to win."