Women's Self Defense: What's Realistic?

Self-defence has been taught to women over the past few decades, giving them them the means to feel more empowered and safe when they walk down the street. Of course, they shouldn’t have to do this in the first place, but until the opposite sex learns to behave themselves, then it’s better to be safe than sorry. But are these self-defence classes really worth it? Are they teaching any practical that can be used in every day life?

Women's Self Defense: What's Realistic?
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Self-Defence Is Not What Most People Think It Is

Self-defence isn’t really about being physical. There has to be some muscle put behind defending yourself, but fighting isn’t what it’s really about. It’s not a competition or a boxing match. It’s about survival and remaining unharmed, and that means that you don’t have to play fair. Use a tactical belt if you have to, if it means you get to leave unscathed. You could learn all of the fighting techniques in the world, but if you’re not prepared for the consequences of those self-defence actions that you need to take, then all of the lessons would be worth nothing.

Self-Defence Doesn’t Always Require Fighting

Some important questions you’ll have to ask in the middle of any combative scenario are “how” and “when.” How are you going to defend yourself sufficiently, and when would be the best time to escape. There may be some instances where you don’t have to get involved in an altercation at all and can avoid a fight altogether. And that means preventing a physical assault from happening in the first place by mentally preparing yourself to avoid such situations.

Consider Empowerment Self-Defence Classes

Avoiding confrontational situations in the first place involves being assertive and setting boundaries to deal with the every day occurrences, such as harassment on the street, for example. After all, the majority of violent cases against women are committed by someone the woman knows and less likely by a stranger. It may sound simple enough, to tell someone to stop doing something, but you would be surprised how ingrained it is in society’s expectations for women to be more accommodating to other people.

Saving Time On Learning Self-Defence

The great thing about empowerment self-defence classes is that they can be learned in a matter of weeks, while becoming a master martial artist can take a few years at best. Building up the self-confidence from the beginning can make it easier to move on to the physical aspects that are needed to physically defend yourself from an assailant.

elf-defence isn’t about being flashy or looking cool or even about hurting the other person. It’s really about survival and minimizing the risk to your physical and mental well-being. What you should expect, realistically, is that you’ll feel different during and after a confrontational experience and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It’s because the experience isn’t something that people face very often. If you focus more on your survival instinct and less on the fighting aspect of self-defence, then you’ll come out better on the other side.