Very Effective Self Defense Training for Women
Effective self-defense training for women focuses on teaching basic personal safety techniques incorporating real-world scenarios. Most self-defense training is not martial arts or a specific form of fight training. Instead, training focuses on teaching awareness of surroundings, quick, decisive action and simple but effective strikes to neutralize an attack.
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Significance
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According to the U.S. Department of Justice, an estimated 222,000 individuals were raped or sexually assaulted in 2008. Self-defense training for women provides critical skills that develop a woman's confidence when intimidated, help them gain physical self-defense skills to protect themselves and aid in recovery from a traumatic experience.
Women-Specific Training
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Self-defense training comes in many forms. Most self-defense training courses for women focus on teaching methods that disable an attacker long enough for the victim to get away safely. Most martial arts classes are not focused on teaching a woman how to identify, avoid and respond to an attack in real world scenarios. Effective self-defense training for women is designed specifically for women and places them in training scenarios that prepare them physically and, most importantly, mentally for personal safety.
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Focus
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Self-defense training teaches you basic self-defense principles that will utilize your strengths and develop your weaknesses. To address the physical component of self-defense training, most classes will teach you proper stances, how to strike, where to strike, when to strike and how to use items like your keys to ward off an attack. Most classes discuss the importance of using your voice as a means of thwarting an attack. The mental component addresses areas like your fight-or-flight response and how to control it to take action when necessary and ensure your safety. Being aware of your surroundings and identifying early on when and where the potential for an attack exists can help you avoid an attack.
Duration
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Most women's self-defense training classes run anywhere from several hours to classes broken up into segments running several weeks. Unlike a martial arts class, you will not need to take years of training or earn belts for effective self-defense training for women.
Considerations
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A class should cover physical, mental and emotional strategies, not just combative techniques. Self-defense training for women should teach as much about how to mentally respond in a dangerous situation as it should a physical response. Good training courses teach how to use your mind, your voice and simple techniques for de-escalating or if need be, disabling an attacker. Learning the philosophy of the program and the instructor is an important component. Shop around, find out from your local Women in Crisis, YWCA or local colleges where to take classes.
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References
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- Photo Credit Blonde tanned girl in sportive gear boxing image by Olga Ekaterincheva from Fotolia.com
