Gigi Hadid demonstrated some seriously sharp self-defence skills.

The top model was manhandled by celebrity prankster Vitalii Sediuk, who grabbed Gigi from behind and lifted her into the air as she was leaving the Max Mara show at Milan Fashion Week.

Although surrounded by bodyguards at the time, the supermodel took matters into her own hands, and swiftly elbowed Sediuk to the face.

After Sediuk dropped a furious Gigi and ran away, she shouted after him:  “Who the f**k are you, you piece of s**t”.

Gigi took to Twitter, not long after the incident, to defend her actions.

“…I’m a HUMAN BEING — and had EVERY RIGHT to defend myself,” she tweeted. “How dare that idiot thinks he has the right to man-handle a complete stranger. He ran quick tho.”

https://twitter.com/GiGiHadid/status/778929637543915520

The kickboxing fanatic, who often shares videos of her gruelling workouts to social media, also posted a message encouraging women to learn self-defence.

GIRLS, prepare yourselves so that, if you ever feel in danger, MUSCLE MEMORY can fight back for you. Thank you all so much for ur support.❤️

— Gigi Hadid (@GiGiHadid) September 22, 2016

Meanwhile, Sediuk defended his actions against Gigi, saying it was a protest against the fashion industry.

“While I consider Gigi Hadid beautiful, she and her friend Kendall Jenner, have nothing to do with high fashion,” he wrote in an Instagram post.

“By doing this I encourage fashion industry to put true talents on the runway and Vogue covers instead of well-connected cute girls from Instagram. You can call it a manifest or a protest.

“This is also a wake-up call for Anna Wintour who turned Vogue into tabloid by putting Kardashians and other doubtful celebrities on a cover of a well-respected magazine.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BKqYrO6jm44/?taken-by=vitaliisediuk

Check out Vitalii Sediuk’s bizarre rantings about Fashion Week here:

Sediuk has previously pranked other celebrities, including Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio, Miranda Kerr and Kim Kardashian.

Nearer to home, New Zealand’s Next Top Model winner Danielle Hayes also spoke out recently about the importance of having self-defence skills after a stranger attacked her outside her Parisian apartment.

Speaking to Mindfood Style, Danielle said being able to defend herself against the attacker probably saved her.

“I did taekwondo for 10 years,” she said. “Dad was my instructor, so I know some self-defence.”