Facts...

• According to the Department of Justice of the United States of America[1], women have been raised to be passive, to avoid fighting and getting involved in fights. In a way, they are not raised, to a certain extent, to defend themselves and to deal with the aggression they may suddenly and/or unexpectedly receive....

• According to Eurostat data, 9 out of 10 rape victims and 8 out of 10 sexual assault victims are girls and women...[2]

• Research related to bullying in the last decade had showed that the rates of psychological, verbal and physical bullying among students reach up to 77%.....[3]

• The Global Bullying Dataset in 126 countries reports bullying rates ranging from 32% to 36% for boys and girls respectively….

• Rates of homophobic bullying range from 22% to 87%.....

• The majority of LGBTQ students (85.2%) have been verbally harassed and 27% of LGBTQ students have been physically harassed…[4]

• Workplace bullying continues to grow at an unprecedented epidemic rate all around the world…[5]

• In Greece, according to the Police Department and the Forensic Service, approximately 4,000 rapes are committed annually, i.e. approximately an average of 10 per day...[6]

 

Furthermore……

 

• Our voices play a key role and influence the impressions we leave on others, and are just as important as our words. Our voice has the power to awake the senses and to lead others to action. Our vocal power and its intensity intrigue attention. Our vocal attunement states our intentions. Effective use of vocal volume results to look the strongest and most powerful person in the room[7].

• The use of loud voice and screaming for help is arguably one of the most effective communication signals for survival in humans[8].

• On average, an opera singer can produce a sound of about 110 dB (decibels). This is similar to the sound of a live rock concert....

• Sound levels above 80 dB can cause hearing damage over long periods of time, while sounds above 90 dB damage the inner ear. Furthermore, sound levels above 120 dB can cause instantaneous damage.

• Human screams can get quite loud and exceed 100 dB (as of March 2019, the world record is 129 dB)[9].

 

For instance:

0 dB (decibels): human hearing threshold

20 dB: rustling of leaves

60 dB: normal conversation

80 dB: baby crying very loudly

100 dB: chainsaw

120 dB: live rock concert

140 dB: jet engine

 

«Voice as a self-defense tool»

 

A well-placed scream that resonates in the head (head voice) has duration and power; it does not damage the throat/vocal folds; it withstands many repetitions, has great volume, works as a tool of surprise and ultimately can contribute as a weapon of self-defense.

 

Technique includes:

 

• Theoretical framework of the respiratory function and acquaintance with all the resonance locations in our body

• Breathing exercises, in order for the trainees to learn the mechanism of costal (diaphragmatic) breathing, based on the Buteyko Breathing Technique

• Breathing exercises that cause deliberate hormetic stress, in order for the trainees to be prepared to calmly face the threat and/or possible attack. Deliberate disruption of homeostasis trains our system and vital organs to adapt and activate immediately. Hormetic stress refers to adaptive responses of biological systems to moderate environmental or self-imposed challenges through which our system improves its functionality and/or tolerance to more severe challenges. Hormetic exercise is needed as a response to the invasion of toxins in the body (exercise by Yasin Seiwasser, former MMA German Champion, and others).

• Vocal exercises for finding the right resonance position in our chest and head.

• Body poses based on yoga, so that the voice comes out freely no matter  the position of the body, based on the YogaYourVoice method.

• Targeted vocal exercises using specific words, syllables, vowels, regulating the placement and the volume of the voice.

• Recreation of scenes (among the trainees) simulating stressful and threatening situations, that aim to surprise the trainees.

 

[1]Official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

[2] https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-eurostat-news/-/EDN-20171123-1

[3] Statistics, B. (2010). Bullying statistics. Retrieved September, 19, 2011.

[4] Moyano, N. and Sánchez-Fuentes, M. del M. (2020). Homophobic bullying at schools: A systematic review of research, prevalence, school-related predictors and consequences. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 53, p.101441. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2020.101441.

[5] Farmer, D. (2011). Workplace Bullying: An increasing epidemic creating traumatic experiences for targets of workplace bullying. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 1(7), 196-203.

[6]https://www.in.gr/2021/06/19/greece/oi-arithmoi-tis-frikis-pano-apo-10-viasmoi-tin-imera-stin-ellada-mono-enas-stous-24-kataggelletai/

[7] https://hbr.org/2022/04/dont-underestimate-the-power-of-your-voice

[8] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S096098221500737X

[9] http://www.cochlea.org/en/hear/human-auditory-range, Επιστημονικό περιοδικό Scientific American, By Science Buddies, Ben Finio, on March 14, 2019