So, let’s cover a few good reasons why EVERY female should be taking some type of women’s self-defense course to ensure her own safety.

Crime can happen to anyone at any time

Whether you want to live in your fantasy world or not, that is the harsh reality. At some point in your life as a woman you will flash across a predator’s (mainly male) radar as prey. You will be attacked. You will be alone, and you will be vulnerable. And most likely, it will come from the one you least expected. The next question, what will you do?

Be the role model for the next generation

We tell our daughters they can be anything they want. How about safe? How do we show them how to protect themselves against rape, incest, assault, domestic violence, etc, if we don’t set the example of being strong and standing up for ourselves by being able to defend ourselves – emotionally, verbally, physically and spiritually? If we continue to move in silence about the things that happen to us (rape, assault, emotional battering, domestic violence) how are we going to help our daughters become stronger and show our sons what is and is not acceptable behavior from a male?

Become Empowered

I have personally watched countless women come into my classes as sheep and walk out as determined, strong, empowered women ready to take control of their own lives. A self-defense course can educate you in showing you the options who have to take control of your life and feel safer in your world.

This is true LIFE Insurance

We spend money to ensure our cars, our life, our jewelry, disability insurance, travel insurance, our rental property, etc., but yet we hesitate when spending money on a self-defense class that can truly SAVE our lives. Women’s self-defense classes have an incredible positive impact on their participants and greatly change lives for the better. Self-defense classes provide you with real insurance to protect your life.

Do it for those who count on you

If you won’t do it for yourself, how about for those who count on you the most – your kids, spouse, parents, siblings, etc? What happens if you are now dead or incapacitated because of a crime? Who takes care of those that you took care of?

Take the time to take care of yourself and empower your life by taking a women’s self-defense class. You just might surprise yourself with what you are capable of doing. And I guarantee you that you will find a whole new strength and outlook that will improve your life, and one of the best reasons for women to take up self-defense.

Self Defense for Women?

Reasons for women to take up self-defense. Women’s self-defense, more than anything, is a phrase used either by people who don’t understand self-defense or by someone trying to sell you something.

Unarmed physical self-defense requires knowing how to use and defend against striking and wrestling, standing and on the ground. And it’s the same for both men and women. There is no such thing as punching for women and punching for men, or wrestling for women and wrestling for men. The same principles apply to all humans. Women need to learn to defend against the same type of attacks as men, and techniques that are most effective for men are also most effective for women. The same goes for weapon use and defense.

Unfortunate as it may be, there are no magic techniques that a woman can be taught, different from what should be taught to a man. Self-defense is self-defense, and to pretend otherwise is misleading at best, if not dangerous.

Men vs. Women

But aren’t women smaller and weaker than men? Some are, and some aren’t. I’ve taught women who were faster and stronger than my average male student, and I’ve taught men who were slower and weaker than my average female student. I’ve taught women who were taller than most men, and men who were shorter than most women.

It’s not about being male or female, but your size, skills, and abilities relative to a particular attacker or situation.

A good self-defense teacher should help each practitioner to understand their strengths and weaknesses, and which strategies will work best against a variety of different types of opponents, attacks, and situations. But these strategies are not different for men and women. They may be identical for instance, for a medium sized man against a large man, and for a small woman against a medium sized man. They may be identical for a man who is naturally better at grappling than striking, and for a woman who is naturally better at grappling than striking. Functional self-defense training should not be based on gender.

The motivation for an attack may be different in some cases, based on gender. It is more likely that a man will attack a woman in order to rape her, for example, whereas most men are not going to rape another man. However, in order to subdue a woman, a man is going to have to use the same techniques (grappling and striking) as he would to beat up a man. Defending against a strike, a tackle, or someone attempting to put you on the ground and get on top of you, is the same regardless of if the motivation is to beat you or rape you, or both.

Psychological & Preventative Considerations

If there is an area of self-defense where a greater distinction between men and women can be made, it’s in the psychological and preventative areas. In every culture, men and women are viewed differently, and thus tend to see themselves differently. A man may approach a woman he intends to attack differently than he may approach a man, and he may play on different social conventions.

A man isn’t likely to approach another man and insist on helping him carry his groceries, but he may do so with a woman. And, a man may be more likely to approach another man in public, making physical threats, than he would to a woman.

However, the same fundamental principles of prevention apply. Both men and women must be able to recognize and avoid dangerous people and places, to recognize a situation for what it is, maintain distance when necessary, know when to be compliant and when to be non-compliant, when to fight, and when not to fight.

Although specifics may be different on average, it’s imperative that both men and women understand the underlying principles and how they apply to themselves in particular, instead of to men or women on average. This takes careful consideration in every case, whether you are male or female.

Summary

Fortunately for both men and women, awareness and prevention can cover 99% of your self-defense needs, stopping an attack before it goes physical. Unfortunately for both, physical self-defense is hard. It requires stopping an opponent who is intent on hurting you, an opponent who will be aggressive and entirely uncooperative.

Learning to do that takes time, commitment, and serious training. Self-defense training can make safety possible, with functional strategy, techniques, and training methods. It’s also great exercise, and a lot of fun…added bonuses. So there you have it, the many reasons for women to take up self-defense.