The Importance of Learning Self-Defense & How to Choose a Reputable School

July 16, 2019 Off By Real Estate Club of America

Please note that we are NOT the original writers of this blog post. All credit goes to the original writers. Find the original post as published at this link: http://invictaselfdefense.blogspot.com/2013/04/the-importance-of-learning-self-defense.html

It always surprises me how many women scoff at self indulgent, or how many girls think that they don’t have to learn a few basic techniques. Are you guilty of believing any of the following as reasons for why you don’t need to learn self-defense?

I am too old/young

I reside in a safe neighbourhood/city

I don’t dress fancy or have anything someone would like to steal

I have never seen anything bad happen to me or anyone I know

I’m too feeble

I do not have any martial arts experience, therefore self-defense would be hard for me to understand

It is not interesting to me

I do not wish to be taught by a man

I don’t need to be in a course with large, sweaty, rough men

I do not feel that I should have to learn it

I don’t put myself into dangerous situations I will be nice

If anything happens, I’ll just hit him in the groin

If any one of those thoughts have crossed your mind in regards to your own personal safety, then it is time for a rude awakening, because violence is everywhere and it makes no sense to not take charge of your personal safety.

The sole person responsible for your safety is you

While this may sound trite and overly obvious, it is a sad fact that women worry about their security frequently, though do very little to ensure or enhance it. We spend years worrying about walking through underground parking lots by ourselves, walking down the road when it is dark outside, or feeling anxiety when we see groups of males in closeness to us, and yet, a lot of women never take any measures to alleviate this anxiety.

The first step to creating a change is deciding to take up self-defense. At a minimum, women should have a self-defense course or seminar every few years so as to stay sharp. Self-defense skills are like any other skills: you do not use it, you lose it. If you choose one French seminar, your French skills will quickly improve, though will sharply decline without regular exercise. You will undoubtedly retain some vocabulary, though you will be a far cry from fluent; in actuality, it may take you a couple of minutes of thinking to think about the word you’re trying to recall. Self-defense is exactly the same – you will be amazed what you may retain (even years later), but these techniques and skills ought to be practiced and preserved.

How to find a self-defense school or teacher:
1. Look for a reputable martial arts club or instructor locally – How long has the teacher been training? What are his or her credentials? Have they been teaching for long?
2. What style of self-defense do they teach? This is an important question. Not all styles are created for the type of self-defense we are talking about here. Some styles that will not be particularly useful in terms of learning self-defense are: karate, taekwondo, Capoeira, kickboxing, Tai Chi, Judo, Ninjitsu, etc.* Rather, start looking for instructors and schools which educate jiu-jitsu, Krav Maga, Hapkido, or other styles that are meant for near, hand-to-hand combat, and that employ techniques that are based on body mechanics rather than strength (joint locks, scenario-based techniques).
3. Are there other females in the seminar/school? – A club ought to be female-friendly, particularly if they’re trying to offer women’s self-defense calsses. It’s wonderful to have other females to associate with, and to look to for help. It’s particularly nice to have female teachers.
4. Ultimately, it depends on who is teaching it and the duration of the seminar.
5. Location, location, location – anybody who is serious about keeping women safe and is interested in teaching women how to defend themselves should have a college located in a reasonably safe neighbourhood, which is public transit-accessible, on a well-lit road and have closeby parking within an equally well-lit lot or road.

Go try a few classes, and find out how the school feels to you. Check the local paper and online for upcoming women’s self-defense seminars.

Above all, go and attempt seminars and schools with an open mind, a willingness to learn, and put 100% effort into trying everything that you learn. If your teacher asks you to hit a pad, HIT IT!

*Note: these are perfectly fine styles, and that I personally hold rank in a couple of them, but they aren’t great for the average woman with no martial arts background who is looking for a couple of effective techniques to improve her arsenal.

CategorySelf-Defense