WHEN a mugger targeted grandmother Kim Farmer, he got more than he bargained for.


The man tried to grab the 57-year-old's rucksack while she was using a cash machine outside Southmead Hospital, but Kim used self defence skills she had learned in a Yate class just weeks earlier to fend him off.


Kim, who lives in Coalpit Heath, turned on the mugger and shoved him to the ground while shouting for help.


Kim, a manager at the hospital, said: “I couldn’t believe someone would try something at a cashpoint on such a busy promenade. On the day, it was the last thing to cross my mind.


“When I felt the man pull back my bag, I did what I was taught in the class, and dropped my shoulders, putting my arms in the air as a defensive gesture, ready to protect myself.


“I quickly turned around and asked the man what he was doing, speaking loudly as we were taught to do, to attract attention.


“I then gave him a hard shove in the chest which completely unbalanced him, and he hit the floor.”


Kim said the skills she learned in the women's defence class at Kuro Taka Self Protection made her feel confident enough to stop her would-be mugger.


She said: “I went to the class at Yate International Academy a few weeks ago with my 16-year-old granddaughter, as I thought it would be a good idea to learn how to protect yourself.


“It was my first ever class and it made me so much more confident – we both really enjoyed it and came away much more aware of what to do in a real life situation."


Now Kim is urging other women to take self defence classes so they can be better prepared for any would-be attackers.


“I have been telling all my friends about how beneficial the classes were," she said.


“I would never have reacted in that way during an assault before the classes, they made a huge difference.


"It could have been a completely different story.”


Tony Baxter, who has been a self defence instructor for 15 years at Kuro Taka Self Protection, based in Almondsbury, said it is "great" that Kim was able to use her skills to thwart her attacker.


“We run the Women’s Self Protection classes about twice a month in Yate, which Kim attended, and they are very intensive.


“There is a common misconception that in real life scenarios women will run away and not use self defence to protect themselves.


“I think it is great that Kim really benefited from the classes in a real life situation – she reacted in a way we taught her, and I imagine she must feel quite empowered now.


“It makes such a difference to know we have helped someone, it makes it all worthwhile."


For more on the self defence classes, see facebook.com/kurotakamartialarts