The word thappad means to hit someone, in India's national language, Hindi. It is pronounced TH-UP-PUD. The TH sound is followed by the sound of the word UP, followed by the sound PUD pronounced like the word BUD. THUPPUD.
What is self defense?
Self defense is the ability to use one's own body with maximum efficiency to ensure that minimum harm is caused to oneself in a situation when one is under attack.
This can be done under the tutelage of an instructor who can discern one's strengths and weaknesses and then teach you how to use your body and mind as lethal weapons under duress.
For example, if a youngster were to defend herself or himself on the streets, they will have to move rapidly, overcoming shock and fear and turning into a powerful counter attack. One has to unleash the animal, so to speak.
Only then can they move fast enough to shock the opponent. This will give them enough respite to get away quickly. One can learn this by mimicing the movements of various animals. Powerful, linear strikes, combined with blocks and grappling techniques will instill this animal mindset in you, as you step into the shoes of each animal as you perform.
This will diminish fear and indecisiveness, and will also be very conducive to counter-punching. I feel every youngster, boy or girl, should go through this type of training for several weeks. Once they do this, they will have it instilled in them forever. They can fall back on it and use it whenever they need to.
To give you a quick example of what I am talking about, I found this clip that shows how a young girl on the streets of Venice, Italy defends herself. Though I did not train this girl and did not make this video, the movements she uses exhibit quick reflexes.
Try to watch the entire video from start to finish. It is not too long. Or, start watching at the 1 minute mark of the clip. As it evolves, you will see at the 3 minute 30 second mark of the clip how the girl defends herself, and then again at 7 minutes 30 seconds in slow motion. You may have to paste the below link into your browser to make it work. Use of headphones is highly recommended, so you can catch everything that is being said.