How to Get Certified in Self-Defense Training

There are no licensing regulations at the state or federal level governing self-defense trainers or self-defense training courses. If you are seeking a career as a self-defense trainer, you can become certified through an established self-defense organization and acquire licensing that reflects its particular method of teaching. If you have already mastered self-defense skills, you can market yourself as a private business.

Instructions

1. Learn the basics of self-defense, including blocking, escape and evasion and a clear understanding of the physiological impact of emotional shock on hearing, visual perception and the ability to act and move quickly. Many local martial arts schools offer this basic training and provide a certificate of completion. There also are several national programs--such as Rape Aggression Defense Systems and the Women's Self-Defense Institute--that offer standardized certification that is widely recognized and will open up a broader market of potential clients.

2. Review the legal standards that govern the use of lethal force in an act of self-defense. If you instruct others in self-defense, you may be liable if you have not fully informed them of their rights and responsibilities regarding technical skills you have taught. Find information on self-defense laws at your local library or law library, online at Lectlaw.com or other law websites or by contacting your state attorney general's office.

3. Practice and thoroughly review all the information you will provide. Make sure you are comfortable and proficient at the techniques you will teach with a variety of body types, both genders and under simulated stress that mirrors assault conditions as genuinely as possible. Quiz yourself directly and thoroughly on legal issues both verbally and in writing. If you are completely satisfied with your own ability to effectively use the techniques you will teach if you were attacked, you are ready to teach.

4. Keep learning, even after you're certified. The art of self-defense is simple on the surface, but complex in application. The best teachers are students themselves. Read, train at a local school and keep yourself up to date on current events.

Tips & Warnings

• Self-defense instruction is a serious matter that should not be taken lightly. Know yourself and your own abilities before offering to quide others.

References

• RAD Systems: What RAD Offers
• Women's Self-Defense Institute: Women's Self-Defense Instructors
• Lectlaw.com: Legal Definition of Self-Defense