Member-only story
A Quick and Gritty Way to Increase Physical and Mental Resilience
Self-defense lessons for women expats and women in the workplace
Back in my home country, I’ve always felt unsafe when returning home from work. The affordable apartments are usually in gritty areas populated by people of all sorts of backgrounds. In the morning, the bustle gives me energy. At night, the noise and the constant vigilance leave me exhausted, on top of my already stressful job.
Every night, I have to walk through narrow corridors squeezed with apartment walls and tapered houses, and crisscrossing dimly lit streets. Several times, I encountered men whiling the night with their beer bottles and loud, raucous conversations. If I spot them from a distance, I can reroute to escape their attention. If I have no other paths to take, I walk straight with my head raised, even if my heart is pounding. I’ve been lucky because no one dared to attack me in my five years of staying in that community.
But what if one day, one night, in a different place, someone engages me just because?
Even when I started working abroad, I thought that my small stature might always be a handicap. Asian moms who moved with their kids to the US or other countries passed me this advice.
