Education for Women

For those that believe that learning self defense is not something that is necessary, think about. Think about two of your closest female friends. Out of the three of you, it is likely that one of you will be assaulted violently and sexually at some point in your life. The odds are stacked against you and for that; you need a self defense education.

This chapter focuses on the best basic self defense. This is the beginning of the journey to understanding how you can keep yourself safe, but is far from being the level that you need, which is covered later. If you learn nothing else, learn the methods here to protect yourself.

The first and the most obvious tip is one that everyone needs to remember. Protect yourself at all costs by putting yourself in better positions. For example, it is likely that your mother, at some point, told you never to walk down that dark alley. Even if it is a short cut to the car, do not do it. Don’t walk in the park alone at night. Do not put yourself in a situation where it is just you and very few other people.

While being alone is important to your sanity, it may be too risky in some situations. For example, during the day in a public park, a walk alone has no problem as there are others around that could help in a situation in which you need the help.

On the other hand, if you were to decide that a walk in the park is ideal for the middle of the night that may not be. If you do find the need to get out of the house or are going to be in an area where you will be alone, there are several things to do. First, bring along a dog if you have one. Even smaller dogs pose a problem to a possible attacker because they will defend you in a bad situation.

Another mistake that many women make is not staying alert. In this day and age of I-pods and ear buds, it is quite easy to lose track of what is happening around you even in some of the worst possible situations out there. A simple walk to the corner store with your ears covered could cause you to miss the rustle in the bushes or the car pulling up along side you.

This limited warning of someone approaching is prime time. This is the time that you need to make a decision about flight or fight, something we will talk about in a minute. Keeping your senses keen and aware of your surroundings is a very important aspect.

Your body has the ability to be aware of troublesome situations. This is best explained by an example, such as Melissa’s. She had to walk home from work one evening about 8pm. This was not the normal thing but with her car breaking down, it was a must. She was in a hurry to get home, but was walking at a normal pace.

As she was walking, a man approached her seemingly out of nowhere. He greeted here with a “Good evening. It’s a beautiful evening, right?” He and she kept walking in opposite directions. But, Melissa felt a knot in the bottom of her stomach and the tingle at the back of her spine. She turned to glance behind her, only to find the man coming back towards here, walking faster.

It is essential that when you find yourself in a problematic or potentially problematic situation that you get out of it.

For example, in our example above, Melissa recognized that this man could be planning to hurt her. Recognizing the fact is one thing. The next act you make is doing something about it. For her, it was to recognize that her current situation was less than ideal. She found herself a safer situation to be in.

While we live in a day and age where women have equal rights to men, that doesn’t mean that we share the same body make up and that means that they are likely to be stronger than you, especially when they want what you have. A key element here is never presenting to them what you have that they could possibly want.

For example, wearing flashy jewelry, expensive clothing or even just carrying a designer bag can put you at risk of theft. Not only are those items likely to help you to become a victim, but also the premise that you are likely to be carrying a good amount of cash or credit cards.

As women, we want to be beautiful and to have amazing looking clothing. The problem with this is that it puts you at a greater risk when you do have it on. For this reason, do not wear anything that is overly revealing.

Some men, the bad type of course, see provocative clothing as an invitation to touch or be near to you. Do not bring attention to yourself with the clothing that you are wearing. Keep yourself safe by avoiding these problematic situations and you are likely to find yourself in a safer situation overall.

It sounds simple enough, but when your feet are killing you after a long day at work and you think you know the person pulling up next to you, it may seem like a good idea. If you think that this could not happen, here’s an example of a situation in which it did happen.

Laura was walking home from school. She was just 17 and looked like she was at least 25 as most teens her age look. She saw a car pull over to the side of the street. She recognized the driver as someone that had been to her home. Later she found out he was a friend of a friend of her brother’s. He was not someone that she knew nor did her family know. Yet, he was able to get her into his car.

Being confident is a key element to distracting and convincing a possible attacker not to bother with you. Hold your head up high. Keep your chin up. Pay attention to your surroundings.

Those that are easy targets are much more likely to be a target than those that are confident and aware of their situation. Be that confident person and you are less likely to become a target.