The Ten Basic Principles of Women’s Self-Defense

Often times women hear about self-defense and they might have mixed reactions.  Many    
think it is a great idea to learn how to defend herself but might not have the resources to
find the correct forum or instructor.  For some, it is something they “just cannot get to
right now”. Then there are those of us ladies who either think, “oh, nothing ever happens
where I live” or “I don’t need to learn because I can handle myself”.
There are Ten Basic Principles of Women’s Self-Defense that can help save your life
when confronted with a threatening situation:
1. Increase Reaction Time- When you increase the distance between you and an
attacker you increase the time it will take for them to reach you.  This will give
you more time to evaluate the situation and react to it appropriately.
2. Obtain Good Balance- It is very important for you to have good balance during
these stressful times.  You need to set your body up with a good foundation for
the self-defense techniques you might need to use.
3. Develop a Plan of Action- At The Women’s Self-Defense and Empowerment
Group we say, “The body is only as strong as the mind allows”.  If you have
thought of a stressful situation a few times and saw yourself taking action, with
success, your body can actually respond better when confronted in real life.
4. Use Distraction Techniques- Most aggressors do not expect their intended target
to take a defensive stance and yell back at them.  This can cause them to realize
you are not the “easy” target the originally thought.
5. Identify the Attacker’s Vulnerable Location- The vulnerable locations on an
attacker are: eyes, nose, throat, clavicle notch, forearm, groin, shin, knee, and
foot.
6. Use Your Personal Weapons- A woman’s personal weapons are: head (front/
back), elbow, fist, knee, and foot.
7. Avoid Force on Force- Pound for pound a male will overpower a female.  We
need to use the element of surprise, deliver quick/ strong self-defense techniques
and have the “Survival Mindset”.
8. Avoid Panic- It is a natural reaction to freeze for a split second when confronted
with a dangerous situation.  Take that time to evaluate what is happening and
choose to react accordingly.
9. Disengage and RUN- This is the primary goal of self-defense and survival.  As
soon as the attacker releases his grasp you need to RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!
10. PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE!!!!!- We have always been told to
‘practice hard” if we wanted to learn something.
At the Women's Self-Defense and Empowerment Group we use these principles to
educate and empower our students.  The self-defense techniques are designed for
women and taught by a female with fifteen years of Law Enforcement experience.
She uses her own story of surviving a fight for her life to stress the importance of the
“SURVIVAL MINSET” and “PERFECT PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT”