Selfie sticks to be taught as a form of self-defence

A combat sports centre in Moscow has recently started teaching people how to defend themselves with a selfie stick.

The instructors at M-Profi have dubbed this as “mpd-fighting”, which is short for monopod fighting.

With only five lessons, members can learn a range of different yet complex techniques in order to feel safe and prepared for any attack. They are taught a mixture of wrestling, boxing, mixed martial arts (MMA) and others.

The PR manager of the centre, Darya Lapshin, is trying to minimise attacks on Russian tourists when they are abroad: “the only means of defence that all travellers have is the selfie stick”.

According to M-Profi, tourists become so self-centred when they have their selfie sticks out that they instantly become “easy prey”.

The aim of these classes is to prepare travellers for any type of robbery that could potentially happen to them.

However, it is still unsure if these tourists will be able to use their new techniques in places where selfie-sticks are banned, such as museums, Disney Parks and even the Great Wall of China.

An imagined account of this interaction Photo: Ana Clara Paniago

This new form of self-defence has been backed up by a group called “The Association of Safe Selfies.”

Russia’s “Safe Selfie” campaign was established earlier this summer by the interior minister after dozens of selfie-related deaths and injuries.

Their motto is: “Even a million ‘likes’ on social media are not worth your life and well-being.”

When asked if Warwick University should implement the new “selfie-defence” scheme, Jennifer Barnard, a first-year Modern Languages student, answered: “It seems a bit ridiculous to me.

“I don’t imagine that many people walk around campus with selfie-sticks in their bags. It would be more beneficial to teach a self-defence class with everyday items such as keys or an umbrella.”