Getting caught in a hair pull can be dangerous and painful, and you can end up in a vary precarious position. Women and girls are especially vulnerable because they tend to have longer hair.
When an attacker grabs your hair, they suddenly have near full control of your body because hair can effectively be used for leverage, and because hair's strength in a bunch means that an assailant could pull you every which way. This means that having a firm grip on your ponytail makes it easy for an attacker to physically drag you to a remote place or inside a vehicle.
Having your hair pulled, especially from behind, is unequivocally painful, shocking and disorienting and we genuinely hope you are NEVER in a position where you experience this! However the stats tell us many of you will, so - as always! - it’s best to be prepared with a little know-how on how to defend yourself.
Even the most strong willed person will be taken off guard in this situation. The surprise will be mixed with shock and fear and, without preparation and training, you will most likely fail to react. But you need to react quickly, especially when your hair gets pulled from behind as it enables the attacker to easily overpower you. You need to regain control and act fast. Your defence and ferocity needs to be powerful and aim to incapacitate your attacker.
So, what can you do?
The most important rule to remember is to follow the energy and not fight it. That means when someone pulls, you don't pull back. Don’t try to use your strength to fight theirs. This might work if you are big and strong, but it just sets up a pulling contest and eliminates any tactical advantage that you might create.
Instead of resisting, take a quick step or two TOWARD the attacker into his motion of energy. This nullifies the pull and will actually allow you to get close to the attacker. At this point you can move your head up inside the pulling hand and follow with your body. The attacker is suddenly vulnerable to a variety of attacks. Here we suggest you follow up with strikes to the attacker's face.
It is important to know that every technique is not full proof and may not work 100% every time, but if you can buy yourself the time to escape it it worthwhile to try something. At the very least self defence training and knowledge will give you the skills to be able to stay calm and not panic.
Ladies - it is absolutely your choice and imperative to have long hair and to wear it long, but do not let the choice be fatal for you