What makes a good self defense class for women?

[Lisa]

What proponents in class make up a good self defense class for women? What are the necessities needed to be taught that will help women the most and hopefully help them in a dangerous situation?

I have seen and heard of some pretty sad crap being taught out there.

Instructors what do you teach?
Ladies what do you want to walk away knowing?

[Xue Sheng]

I have seen and heard of some pretty sad crap being taught out there.


Sadly that pretty much describes every self defense for woman’s class I have ever seen or heard about.

The only thing I can add to this is keep it simple and drill it over and over again for both sides, meaning right and left.

To complicated will not work, if you only are taught how to defend with your right then what if the attack comes from the other side. If you only do it once it certainly will not be remembered in a panic situation. Short side story that make my point, a guy I knew that had a Karate school was planning on doing a self defense class for woman and wanted to show me what he was teaching. First he said throw a punch, I did and then he said, no not the left use the right (ok it is now useless) then I threw the right as he requested and then, being form Taiji, I relaxed. HE then said “NO you can’t relax” I then said “NO you should not be teaching this course” and left.

The best defense as far as I can tell is to be aware of your surroundings and listen to your gut. If something is telling you don't go there... then don't go there. And if you are teaching actual self defense applications PLEASE keep it simple not, grab the wrist, turn it step back and apply pressure yadda yadda... Simple; poke him in the eye, step on his foot, kick him in the knee, kick him in the groin, DO NOT hit a man in the chest, it is fairly ineffective, unless of course you go into the class with the ability to hit like a truck. Joint locks and take downs take A LOT of training and the last place I imagine a female would want to end up with a male that was attacking her is on the ground.... again, unless of course going into this class they have trained a lot of BJJ. And PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do not teach pressure points unless they are INCREDIBLY easy to get to and do not take a whole lot of pressure to apply, which pretty much rules out all pressure point stuff.

OK that was a minor rant, I have not done one in a while so I have to start light and work back into it.

[Kacey]

Instructors what do you teach?

I teach awareness, avoidance, and escape. Awareness is just what it sounds like - I had a woman come to one of my classes and ask why she was targeted more than once, so I asked the circumstances of the attacks - she had been walking down the street, wearing in iPod turned so high you could hear it from 20 feet away, reading a book - she never saw the mugger coming (luckily it was a mugger, not a rapist) - she figured she was safe in broad daylight (both times!).

Avoidance follows from awareness. Knowing how to be aware of your environment helps you to choose which situations to avoid - people who make you nervous, shortcuts through bad areas (alleys, dark areas with no people, cars that follow you, etc.) - and also how to avoid attacks that come through bad habits, such as leaving the front door open to carry things in, especially if you're going to be out of sight of the door; another woman who attended one of my classes told the class about one of her friends, who had left half her groceries in the hall while she carried the other half in - down an L-shaped hall that had her out of sight of the door, and allowed someone to sneak in without her noticing, until she had brought in the rest of the groceries and locked her attacker in with her. Avoidance also includes habits that make you less vulnerable/attractive to muggers/rapists/etc., such as not leaving keys or purses near the door or open windows, hanging sheers to obscures peoples' views into your home, how to use additional locks (such as hotel bars, the kind that hook under the door knob) if you don't trust your door locks, not leaving windows open at night on the ground floor, not letting people in if you don't know them and they can't properly identify themselves (no reputable service person will object to you checking with the company - I've had companies thank me for checking), checking around your car when you walk up, where and how to park (under a light, with your driver's door on the same side as the store/home/building you're entering, so if someone is hiding behind the car, they'll have to come around) - things like that.

Escape is just what it sounds like - I teach very simple, easy to learn and remember techniques to help women get away if the above are not enough - to scream fire (not rape), to carry a cell phone (in the US, at least, even phones not connected to a service will still call 911, as long as the battery is charged - many domestic violence support organizations collect old phones to give out to domestic abuse victims), how to stomp on the arch of the attacker's foot, to never stop fighting, to do anything you have to to avoid being taken away from where the attack occured. To give a mugger whatever he wants - by throwing it behind him. I can get another purse, another set of keys, new ID, and so on - if a mugger wants my purse, he can have it, and while he's watching the trajectory when I throw it behind him, I will be running as fast as I can. Nothing I own is worth dying for - there are people I'd risk death to protect, but belongings? No way. There's more, but it falls into the above categories.

[terryl965]

Well Lisa the first thing is too have woman show up for the class http://www.martialtalk.com/forum/images/icons/icon10.gif , second thing is not have these craps of nonsense tought, you first must have a qualify instructor wih the knowledge of SD and the ability to teach to those that may not really understand the importannce of it.

[stickarts]

The course I teach is an introductory course and I just cover the fundamentals of avoiding dangerous situations, and very simple self defense techniques. I let them know up front that I am just teaching the basics and they will not be experts upon completion of the course.
Some women enjoy it enough to join our Martial Arts programs or come back every time I do the course.

Some Women have been attacked and want to make sure they are never victims again, some have heard of an attack and that scared them enough to come and take some classes, and some are going into a new situation, such as going off to college or to work in a big city, and want to learn to protect themselves better.

On occaison I have gotten feedback from Women that have taken my course and some have used what I have taught them. Some used preventive measures and others have actually used the self defense skills.
Everything from a basic front kick to an attackers shin to a finger lock and bending the finger back on someone who was reaching into their car window toward them.

I have more recently added wearing protective gear and let the women use their defenses with full contact on an instructor.

This course is a good starting point. Some Women are content with this level of training and some go on to more intense levels of training.

This course has been very rewarding.

[Brian R. VanCise]

I teach a course that has gone over very well with the local colleges in the area. (they always keep bringing me back http://www.martialtalk.com/forum/images/icons/icon10.gif)

We focus on my trademarked Awareness, Avoidance and Action Women's Self Defense seminar. Time is spent getting them used to the idea that predators will be seeking out those who are not aware and that if they can maintain awareness when they are out and about they are already one step ahead of the game. Next we go into the avoidance issue in how to stay away from areas of concern and how to make simple choices that can keep you out of trouble. Finally we get into the action end when awareness and avoidance have not worked and you must protect yourself or your loved ones. Here I focus on large movement strikes such as Palm Heel Strikes, Elbows, Knees. I find that most people can pick up these things quickly and become efficient with some practice. We use focus pads and shields and more so that everyone gets used to contact. We then get into grabs and releases and try to keep things simple but effective and utilize the strikes during the releases that they have just learned. This way everything connects together (strikes and releases) and they are building a foundation for personal protection. After Strikes have been taught and releases (with the idea of running away) have been learned we go to the ground so that if a Woman is found in an awkward position they will have several different plans of action that they could use. Palm Heel Strikes, Elbows, Knees, Multiple releases that utilize the aforementioned strikes and are designed so that you release and run away and finally grappling skills that also provide the ability to get up and run are what we focus on. I also always encourage men to particpate and several of my advanced male students always help out to give everyone a feeling of working against a man.

That pretty much covers a typical seminar.

[Rich Parsons]

What proponents in class make up a good self defense class for women? What are the necessities needed to be taught that will help women the most and hopefully help them in a dangerous situation?

I have seen and heard of some pretty sad crap being taught out there.

Instructors what do you teach?
Ladies what do you want to walk away knowing?


As others have said,

Simplicity
Awareness
Avoidance

I cover the areas of avoidance in the following way:

Rule number one is Avoidance. If there is a bad part of town avoid it, even if it means a few extra minutes going around. This covers the off chance that a car breaks down or something else happens. Avoid a bad situation, If one knows that your Ex who beat you will be at such and such a bar then go to a different one. Your life is more imporatant than being right and going some place where a situation can be dangerous. Avoid a bad situation, if you can leave with other people then leave in a group and not alone. Avoid being unaware, if you must leave by yourself and you are aware and others around know you are aware your are not a victum or a heard beast waiting for the assault of the predator. If you must be on your phone, have your keys in your hand and the phone on hands free and walk and talk to the person you are talking to: "I am walkign out the door now. I am headed to my car. It is about x distance away. I am approaching my car now. If there are others around, then describe them on the phone. There are four white males walking the back of the parking lot, that is close to my car. (* One should also at this point see the above and avoid being there with them. Wait in a well light location until they pass, and if they do not go back in side and wait or get help or escort out *) The conversation can continue once you are in your car and the doors are locked and you are moving. Note: Be aware and unless lost or needing it for safety, talking on the phone is a distraction as well while driving, so be careful. Avoid getting hurt, even if it means that if someone grabs you, hurt them fast and hard. Avoid staying around, leave there as soon as possible. Avoid issues, call the police as soon as possible. Avoid, ..., . This of course continues and continues.

Rule number two, see rule number one and live by it.



The techniques taught need to be simple and gross motor skills. Hammer fists or palm heels are examples of what I have found are nice gross motor skill strikes as well as shin kicks and foot stomps.

They need to be practiced and the students need to understand they need to practice them at home as well. Including the awareness training as well.

Good Luck

[bushidomartialarts]

Echo what the others have said with an extra reminder.

Don't teach martial arts.

Martial arts are intimidating and often ineffectual if you haven't trained for a long time. Your average attendee of a womens' self-defense class isn't interested in martial arts.

They just want to know how to get away if attacked.

Just my 2c