ABSTRACT
One unhappy fact about the urban condition in the United States is citizens’ fear of crime. When polled recently about fear of crime, 42 percent of Americans were “very fearful” or “somewhat fearful.” 1 For these people the sound of footsteps behind them on a deserted street, the sudden meeting with a stranger in a darkened hallway, and the unexpected knock at their apartment door are occasions of great anxiety. Whether the basis for such fear is real or exaggerated, there are serious consequences. The people concerned make an effort to acquire “street smarts” by taking self-defense courses and learning how to act in the face of danger. 2 The CBS News television show 48 Hours aired a segment entitled “Fighting Back,” which detailed some of these efforts. 3 Women were filmed attending classes on how to foil rape attempts physically and verbally and on how not to look vulnerable on the street. Viewed in the same segment was a Washington, DC, physician who, after delivering babies, attends classes held at the “Ultimate Self-Defense Academy,” where he learns a combination of karate and street-fighting techniques that guarantee survival in the urban jungle.
