Jakarta – Dozens of women gathered at Plaza Senayan not long after dawn broke last Saturday. These women, of all ages and from all walks of life, listened intently to a man demonstrating self defense.

"Don't think that women are weak. Throw away that mind set," shouted Eko Hendrawan, Female Self Defense at Kushin Ryu (WSDK) community trainer. He showed the women how to use items inside their handbags to protect themselves and ward off unwanted attention.

"This is very interesting. I never thought I could use my lipstick as weapon," said Sifa, one of the visitors. According to Sifa, she often experienced sexual harassment on the train, which she uses daily to commute to and from work.

"There are some carriages for women, but they are limited so I sometimes have to use the mixed carriage," she added.

Another visitor, Ana said the 30-minute demonstration helped her and her teenage daughter to prepare themselves. "Especially against pickpockets, because they have many tricks," said Ana.

Eko, who led the session, said most women were reluctant to learn real martial arts, thus, his community taught them simple moves they could use.

For example, Eko said women could grasp their lipstick, which added power to the fist, then hit their attacker on the jaw, which would unbalance the attacker.

"The key is to hit the right part," he said, adding that other body parts that were good to aim for were the genitalia and under the chin. "Women can also use their nails to scratch or their heels to step on attackers feet," he said.

The WSDK community was formed in 2006 in Bandung, West Java, by Sofyan Hambali, Eko explained, driven by frequent incidents of harassment women suffered.

"A couple of years ago, three students of Aa Gym [renowned Islamic preacher] were robbed and two died. That was the catalyst to form this community," said Eko.

According to Eko, around 2,000 women in Bandung, Jakarta and East Java were involved in the Japanese-origin martial art community. Most of them are middle-aged women.

Eko said women should only use techniques as last option. "For example, if a woman is harassed on a bus or a train, they can glare and then shout before they use self defense moves, as these are part of self defense too," he said. (nai)