Young women learn defense moves at a gym club in Jinan, Shandong province, on Sept 14. [Photo by Chen Ning/For China Daily]

Self-defense skills

Some women are even learning self-defense skills to guard against potential assailants.

"Many of my students and friends have asked me to teach them self-defense moves to tackle attackers," says Zhang Huijuan, a yoga tutor in Beijing who graduated from a police school in Wuhan, Hubei province.

Zhang, 26, learned several martial arts, including boxing, during her school days.

After the recent criminal attacks on young women, many of her yoga students have been pressing her to teach them some basic but effective moves to ward off sexual predators.

"The moves may not altogether deter hardened criminals but they can buy some time for a potential victim to run or shout for help," she says, recalling her experience of three years ago when a psycho stopped her in a quiet street corner in her hometown of Erdos, Inner Mongolia autonomous region, to show his private parts. Using strong defense moves, she deterred him and succeeded in running away to safety.

Bai Chaogang, deputy manager of a company operating a chain of gyms in Shijiazhuang, however, says there is still no clear growth in the number of young women learning free combat or taekwondo the professional way in his gyms.

And he believes that "for self-protection, young women should follow a regular exercise regime, instead of relying only on devices".