Karate Woman breaks Assailant's Nose

"I had my earphones in and didn't know he was there until he threw me to the ground," says Taela Davis, 25, of Australia in a heraldsun.com article.

Big Mistake: Wearing earbuds while walking about in public. Even if you're a big bruiser MMA fighter, you should not compromise your ability to hear what's going on around you. You may miss the sounds of a woman or child screaming (and you, being the good Samaritan you are, would definitely want to help out).

But even if you wouldn't help out, there are other things that compromised hearing could get you in big trouble for: the sound of car wheels screeching as the car comes careening towards you, thanks to a texting or drunken driver losing control.

Keep your ears clear so you can hear!

Back to Taela: The man forced her on her back and began pulling at her clothes. She checked for signs of a weapon and saw none, then kneed him in the ribs and punched his face, believing she'd broken his nose. Taela has a black belt in karate. Oddly, the punch didn't stop the man, whom she believes was on drugs, but blood was "running down his face."

She tried to flee but he caught her ankle and yanked her back to the ground. At that point she was about to "beat the crap" out of him when a stranger stepped in and scared the man off (aw shucks! I wanted her to "beat the crap" out of him!).

Though the stranger scared off the man, kudos to Taela for maintaining wit and presence of mind, things she learned in her karate lessons where she had to break free of simulated attacks. Instead of screaming and scratching, Taela calculated and began striking.

• Though screaming has been known to send assailants running, often it only pisses them off and they cover the victim's mouth or punch her hard there.
• Learn to fight back rather than scream. Rapists expect women to scream and often are prepared to muffle the noise. They don't expect to get a broken nose, kneecap or be put in a chokehold, and hence are not prepared for these reactions.
• Martial arts training teaches not only how to deliver effective strikes and moves, but teaches presence of mind.