Exercise combining aerobics and self-defense skills is the latest craze among young women in Tokyo, where the number of reported stalking cases is also on the rise.
"Suppose your offender comes from that way. You guard yourself with the left forearm this way, kick the person roundhouse with your right knee, then quickly get back in one step," instructor Kazue Higashiyama tells students in one exercise class.
A group of young women repeat the karatelike motion to the sound of up-beat background music, while Higashiyama goes around with a kick shield, letting each of them punch and kick the shield in turn.