Self Defence Courses do not prepare women to defend themselves!
Whoa, I’m a self defence coach so have I just dissed myself and all my colleagues in how we’re coaching women.
Not exactly, as it’s possible that women will be grabbed, threatened and robbed by strangers.
Which is what most courses teach you defend against.
But statistically, it’s going to be someone you know or kinda know that will be the attacker.
The office for national statistics says that women are far more likely than men to be killed by partners/ex-partners (44% of female victims compared with 6% of male victims)
With the most common method of killing being by a knife or other sharp instrument. That’s around 36% of homicides.
If you’re a woman and want to learn realistic self defence. You’ll need a mixture of physical and non-physical skills to protect yourself.
You should be learning about non verbal communication queues, like your ex-partner blocking your exit from a room with their body.
That someone who ignores your no’s… like no I don’t want a drink…. no I don’t want to dance…. no I don’t want to go home with you…
…is more likely to ignore you saying “No, I don’t want to have sex.”
This is the difference between learning martial arts techniques and learning to protect yourself and others.
If you can learn how to spot the warnings and avoid the negotiation tactics of many attackers.
Then you can protect yourself before it gets to needing the martial arts skills.
It’s a sad world that we live in where we have to learn to defend ourselves from people we thought we could trust in places that we thought were safe.
If you want to attend a self defence course or want a friend or family to attend.
Just check that the contents will prepare you for the reality of assaults that you’re more likely to face.
