An eleven-year-old girl left one of our Krav Maga classes and started walking home. On the way, a homeless man who was mentally ill attacked her. He was bigger and stronger than she was, and if the confrontation had turned into a long physical struggle, she would have had very little chance.
Consider what a child that age is working with. She weighs a fraction of what a grown man does, her reach is shorter, her strength is still developing, and she usually has no experience with violence. Any honest self-defense program has to start from that reality. I would never tell a child she can beat an adult in a fight, because it isn’t true, and believing it would put her at greater risk.
Getting away was within her ability, and that’s what she did. When the attack came, she used her backpack as a shield, placing it between herself and the attacker. That gave her an opening. She took it, ran, and made it home safely.
Why Escape Is the Goal in Self-Defense for Kids
In our school, getting home safely is the outcome we train for. Students sometimes arrive with the idea, often picked up from movies, that self-defense means defeating an opponent, and I spend a lot of time correcting it. The goal is to stop the immediate danger long enough to leave. Escape counts as success, and for a child facing an adult it is usually the only realistic one.
Turning a Backpack Into a Shield
Using a backpack this way was something we had worked on in class. We train with everyday objects because most people don’t carry weapons, but they nearly always have something with them, like a bag or a jacket. Kids carry backpacks almost everywhere. A backpack has padding, straps to grip, and enough size to cover a child’s upper body. Held correctly, it can absorb contact and keep distance between a child and a much larger person. Children rarely think of it that way on their own, which is why we show them and have them practice it.
How Repetition Prepares Kids for Surprise
She was surprised by the attack, and she still managed to do something she had rehearsed. That is the reason I’m writing this. Surprise is the normal condition of a real attack. There’s rarely a warning or time to weigh options, and under that kind of stress people tend to fall back on whatever is most familiar to them. For many, that means freezing. Our job as instructors is to make a useful response familiar long before it’s ever needed.
Familiarity comes from repetition. We drill a response many times, then add pressure through noise, fatigue, and training partners who move unpredictably. The aim is for students to have done the movement often enough that they can find it when their heart is pounding. I’m careful about what I promise here. Repetition doesn’t remove fear, and no amount of training guarantees the outcome of a real attack, because real attacks don’t follow a script. Good preparation improves the odds that a person will respond instead of shutting down, and in her case it helped.
Teaching Children Skills That Fit Their Age
Children should train in a way that fits their size, age, and ability. Teaching them complicated techniques that depend on strength they don’t have yet makes no sense to me. They need simple, practical skills for creating space, using what they’re holding, and getting to safety. We also teach self-advocacy, which means using their voice, holding their boundaries, and telling a trusted adult when something feels wrong. Underneath all of it is something we tell every child who trains with us, which is that they are worth fighting for. A child who has practiced the physical skills and has heard that message often enough walks around with the confidence of knowing she has options.
A Father’s Perspective on Preparing Kids
I’m also a father, and I understand the urge every parent has to stand between their child and anything dangerous. Parents can’t do that every minute. Kids walk home, go to school, wait for buses, and spend much of their day out of our sight. The most useful thing we can give them for those hours is preparation they carry with them.
Seeing something from our mats work for a student when it counted makes me proud as her instructor. As a parent, what I feel most is gratitude that she got home. We train children for situations we hope they never face, and most of them never will. For the ones who do, the hours spent practicing something as ordinary as holding up a backpack can make a real difference.
Do something amazing,
Tsahi Shemesh
Founder & CEO
Krav Maga Experts
Relevant Articles
Weapons of Opportunity: Everyday Objects You Can Use for Self-Defense
Three real attacks where a frying pan, a chair, and a hurling stick helped ordinary people change what happened next, and how training teaches you to recognize those options.
Decision Making Under Stress
Why stress narrows what you can see and do down to whatever is already wired, and how training restores access to your options under pressure.
When to Let Your Child Hit Back: What Most Parents Get Wrong About Bullying
How bullying escalates from name-calling to physical contact, and why a child who has been worn down starts to question whether fighting back is allowed.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should a child do if an adult attacks them?
A child’s realistic goal is to create a moment of space and get away to safety. Children can’t be expected to overpower a much larger adult, so we train them to break contact, use what they’re holding, run to a safe place, and tell a trusted adult.
Can a backpack be used for self-defense?
Yes, when a child has practiced with it. Held between the child and the attacker, a backpack can absorb contact and keep distance, which may create the opening a child needs to escape. No technique is guaranteed to work in every situation.
Does self-defense training stop a child from freezing?
No training removes fear or guarantees a response. Repetition and practice under realistic pressure make a response familiar, which improves the chances that a child will act instead of freezing when surprised.
What is self-advocacy in kids’ self-defense?
Self-advocacy means a child uses their voice, holds their boundaries, and tells a trusted adult when something feels wrong. We teach it alongside physical skills because children need to know they are worth fighting for.
Does Krav Maga Experts offer kids self-defense classes in NYC?
Yes. Krav Maga Experts teaches practical self-defense for kids in New York City. Visit our Kids Krav Maga page for current schedules and locations.
