“I’ve had enough,” began renowned Martial Artist and acting coach, Helen Anzalone Gordon. “The reports of sexual assaults are endless, unwarranted, and unacceptable.” The three-hour time difference didn’t seem to mar her early bird enthusiasm in the slightest.
Moving from New York City to Los Angeles, California over twenty years ago, Helen Gordon embarked on what one could describe as a timeless journey. Having an initial eye for acting, Gordon eagerly transitioned from on screen to behind the scenes, when she pursued the study of martial arts, earning herself a third degree black belt, of which she claims is not solely a personal achievement.
In an effort to achieve positive societal impact, Mrs. Gordon has recently made an ample contribution to college coeducational safety by introducing her avant-garde approach to physical assault: the “You Can Fight,” self-defense instructional app. for portable computing devices.
“I wanted to teach women how to empower themselves and how to not be victims,” Gordon stated in her explanation of the concept behind the creation of the application.
“My husband is a director and together, we formulated the idea for the app.”
As a mother, Helen Anzalone Gordon expressed her utter indisposition for sexual misconduct, especially that of which is done to women, as above ninety percent of sexual assaults involve a male perpetrator. “I think assault is a hideous crime, occurring far too often,” she claims. And while a victim is never at fault, Gordon feels that such aggressions are preventable.
“Women tend to have this, ‘that couldn’t happen to me’ mentality,” Helen said, but what she wants the world to know is that nobody is exempt. Gordon has even gone so far as to create five principles for females on and off campus to abide by.
• Rule Number One: NEVER drink a beverage that you have left unattended.
• Rule Number Two: DON’T walk alone at night. Strength is in numbers.
• Rule Number Three: DON’T invite a stranger to your home.
• Rule Number Four: TRY to not text and walk. Maintain good posture as well as constant eye contact.
• Rule Number Five: DON’T sit in your car for long periods of time doing unrelated things. DO start your car and go.
To put potential danger into perspective, Helen Gordon places much emphasis on statistics, stating that “one in four female college students are raped at a rate of one sexual assault victim every two minutes.”
Additionally, contrary to popular belief, compliance does not always work. “Sometimes it may upset the attacker, putting yourself at an even greater risk. While men have proven to be stronger, women are smarter. In using the app for a reference, women can learn to act quickly, potentially disabling their attacker and freeing themselves.”
The “You Can Fight” application can be found in the apple app. store for a mere $1.99. The app consists of training for the four most common attack methods, of which, each move can be paused, additionally containing individual slideshows.
When asked if there was anything else that she would like to inform our university’s student body of, Helen Anzalone Gordon immediately gathered a few words of advice: “Be aware of your surroundings. When you’re aware, you exude fearlessness. Ladies, walk with confidence: head up, legs straight and arms swinging. If the culprit wants your purse or car keys, give it to them. But if what they want is physical, and you would be forced to compromise your body, always fight back.”