SteetSafe© Self Defense For Women

The statistics for sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence and crime in general should be a motivating factor for women everywhere to learn the skills necessary to keep them safe in a dangerous world. Personal Safety and Self Defense are not difficult to learn, implement or master. They do require a bit of time, energy and courage to acquire, but once gained are as invaluable as First Aid and CPR as lifesaving tools. This article is a great starting point for women who are considering taking a Personal Safety and Self Defense course. It discusses what is involved in the design of a well structured course and the types of questions women should be asking prior to signing up. We will also look at some basic strategies and concepts that apply to the science of Self Defense and explore the similarities and differences between Self Defense and Martial Arts.

Why should women take a Personal Safety and Self Defense course? If you’ve read past articles then you know that the statistics are not encouraging. 33% of women are sexually assaulted in their lifetime. 85% are committed by someone known to the victim. 7% of women are abused by current or former partners. The reality of the matter is that; it is your life and the responsibility for keeping you safe and secure is yours alone. Don’t get me wrong, we live in a society of rules and laws and have the police and courts to enforce them, but (and there always seems to be a but) they don’t usually become involved until after a crime has been committed.

First it is imperative to understand the differences between “Personal Safety” and “Self Defense”. They are not the same thing, but Self Defense is a part of Personal Safety. Personal Safety is a mindset. It involves learning to identify, assess and deal with potential threats in a proactive and preventative manner. The martial arts when used in the correct manner and circumstances and by a trained practitioner can be very effective as a means to protect yourself from harm. The problem with learning a traditional martial art as a Self Defense strategy is twofold.

First it takes a great many years to acquire the skills to make the martial arts work in an actual combat situation and much of what is taught in the dojo has no street applicability. Secondly these hard won skills are frangible. Another problem is that martial arts classes generally do not adequately prepare the student physically, emotionally and psychologically for the realities of violence on the street.

One of the biggest limiting factors of martial arts classes is the fact that training cannot occur at full speed and power due to the risk of injury to instructor, student and training partners. The training that occurs is also not realistic nor does it reflect the fact that most attacks do not occur as they are set up in class. Operant conditioning theory dictates that you will fight like you train. If you are training to pull strikes and not defend yourself with 100% effort, then you will continue to engage in these practices when an actual attack occurs. Training must occur in as realistic a manner as possible and under Adrenal Stress to teach students how to function during a real assault

90% of Personal Safety is Knowledge, Planning, Preparation, Practice and Training. How does one acquire knowledge? The first step is to “Know what you don’t know”. This is not eastern mysticism it merely means to acknowledge the fact that you need some help. When I previously stated that learning these skills is not difficult, that is not the same thing as saying it is easy. It is not an A+B=C equation. Women should look for courses that offer holistic training. Programs must identify all areas of a woman’s life and incorporate a realistic approach to Personal Safety & Security. They must also address what I call the © Personal Safety Triangle. This is a combination of three sets of Personal Safety skills; Situational Awareness, Target Hardening and Emergency Response and Mitigation. I’ll discuss the Personal Safety Triangle in detail in another article.

These skill sets provide a stable base from which to build a “Personal Safety Plan”. Used in combination with other risk management strategies such as the © C4 Method of Personal Safety they reduce personal risk by addressing multiple areas of vulnerability simultaneously. Here’s where the effort is required. A lot of this knowledge is available free of charge if you know where to look. The fact that you are reading this article proves the point. You need to take the time to read and understand what it means, and how it all applies to your life. A good instructor is also invaluable in that they will ensure that you receive proper training in all areas of Personal Safety.

Acquiring knowledge and using that knowledge to effectively design and implement an effective Personal Safety Plan is a combination of art and science. It takes some time and experience to learn to trust your instincts and identify potential threats to your safety, but the reward is well worth the effort. Personal Safety like Self Defense, First Aid/CPR and driving a car are all frangible skills. What this means is that if they are not practiced and utilized regularly their proficiency and efficiency are greatly reduced. These skills must also be practiced in the manner in which they will be used.

I’ve written in detail about the importance of Reality Based Training in other articles and so I won’t recover that ground again here. What I want to emphasize instead is the benefits for you to incorporate this incredibly powerful training method into your Personal Safety Plan. The military, police and corrections have long used this method of training for one simple reason; it imprints combat ready skills directly into the neural pathways of the trainee ensuring instant access to these lifesaving skills while under adrenal stress. Only by using your Personal Safety Plan and practicing Self Defense on a consistent basis will it have any effect on reducing your risk of becoming a victim of crime or harm.

The other 10% of the Personal Safety equation is learning the Self Defense skills that will allow you to safely escape a potentially violent situation. Although the smallest part of Personal Safety, Self Defense is the hardest part for women to learn. There are several reasons for this.

We are hardwired against committing violence against our own species. There is a great deal of research to support this conjecture done by military and law enforcement experts. Despite what we see in the media it is actually pretty difficult for most people to hurt someone else; even to protect themselves.
Women are socialized differently. This is not a sexist statement or generalization. To not acknowledge that a woman’s fundamental psychological, emotional, social and physical responses are different from that of a man is uneducated and dangerous. To compound this error in thinking by training women the same way as one would a male student is irresponsible.
Many Self Defense courses don’t provide “Reality Based Training”. Too many courses are conducted like a martial arts class. Learning to apply a technique against a Thai Pad or unresisting/untrained partner is a great way to learn the mechanics of a technique and develop power. Unfortunately it also gives women an unrealistic sense of self-confidence that the same technique will actually work in combat. Student’s must be placed under Adrenal Stress and taught simple, effective and practical Self Defense full speed and full power against an armored/determined attacker in order to understand the physical, emotional and psychological effects an actual attack will have. Vital Point Striking and Kinetic Linking should be essential elements to every course.
They are afraid. Many women are afraid to take part in this type of course due to the fears and emotions involved. These are all normal reactions to the unknown and completely rational and well founded. The fact is that an improperly structured, planned or instructed Self Defense course can damage a participant physically, emotionally and psychologically. Especially for women who have a history of abuse or have previously been assaulted. Instructors must be well trained in recognizing and dealing with the signs & symptoms of abuse and Sexual Assault Syndrome in order to avoid damaging their students. Fear is a good/healthy life prolonging reaction to potential threats; it is unfounded fear that should be avoided. Fear of the dark is unfounded; fear of falling down the stairs in the dark is not.

So, what are the components that make up a good woman’s Self Defense course?

They must be simple. Courses must be designed so that anyone attending regardless of experience or age has the ability to learn, demonstrate proficiency and retain what they have learned. Teaching complex techniques or skills that require a degree of technical expertise to employ are useless. In fact they are worse than useless as they provide participants with an exaggerated sense of self-confidence that can place students at risk when they try to apply these techniques in combat.
They must be realistic. Course design must reflect the realities of what students will face in an actual attack. The facts are that most Self Defense courses aimed at a female target demographic do not reflect this. Students must be placed in an Adrenal Stress state and taught how to effectively channel the potentially harmful side effects of the “Freeze” response. Instructors must learn how to play “bad guy” and teach their students simple, effective and proven techniques that will allow even a small individual to incapacitate their attacker and escape. Attack scenario’s must likewise be realistic and reflect the ways in which attacks actually occur. Instructors must be sensitive to the emotional and psychological stresses placed on students during courses and be trained and prepared to deal with any problems that arise. Many women who have been previously assaulted attend courses as a part of the healing process. Untrained instructors can damage survivors due to the resultant lack of knowledge and training.
They must be holistic and reflect the needs of each individual.Self Defense courses must also cover Personal Safety and how to reduce your risk of becoming a potential victim of crime. The best Self Defense is always to avoid a bad situation in the first place. Self Defense courses should also not be “cookie cutter” programs. Each student must be treated as an individual and their strengths/weaknesses examined to provide them with the best possible training experience.
Instructors must be trained and experienced. Unfortunately being a great martial arts instructor does not qualify anyone to teach Self Defense. As previously mentioned, combat skills are only a small part of what a well designed Personal Safety and Self Defense program should contain. Women should enquire as to the course syllabus and training structure. Ask about the instructor’s background, not only in his/her combat training but also about their experience teaching Personal Safety. A detailed working knowledge of Personal Safety and Personal Security is essential to teaching students how to keep themselves safe. Students should also enquire about the instructor’s real world experience. Are they working from theory, or have they actually used and employed the techniques they teach to keep themselves safe? Have they been trained to deal with Sexual Assault Trauma Syndrome, or how to work with women who have been victims of violence?
They must make sense. Programs that purport to teach women how to defend themselves from attack must make sense. Programs must be immediately applicable to the participant’s life and easily incorporated in order to be of any value. They must reflect current trends in law enforcement, and social theory and be based upon sound scientific principles. Far too often courses are merely a hodgepodge of techniques thrown together as a means to generate income with no real thought given to the fact that it just doesn’t work in reality. Student’s must ask a lot of pointed questions and do their homework prior to signing up for a class to be able to accurately identify the best course for them.

So, back to the question; why should you take a Self Defense course? These statistics from the FBI provide a very eloquent reason.

· 50% of women when attacked will avoid becoming victimized with no training whatsoever.

· Your odds increase to 75% of survival with strong verbal boundaries and Personal Safety training.

· Your odds increase to over 90% by having both strong verbal boundary skills and professional Self Defense/Personal Safety training.

Take the time to invest in your safety and security. Personal Safety and Self Defense are like insurance for your car. You don’t buy insurance with the thought that you will have an accident. Personal Safety and Self Defense are very similar, you learn to defend yourself with the hope that you never have to. However it is better to have these skills and never need them, than to need them and not have them.

Kerry Sauve

StreetSense Safety and Security Inc

http://www.streetsensesafety.ca