Women’s self-defense classes can come from a variety of disciplines but if you truly want to learn self-defense the right way, martial arts is a no-brainer! There’s so much more to our self-defense program than meets the eye, including psychology lessons on danger awareness and hidden mental benefits that may surprise you. Read on for some basic self-defense tips and to learn more about our self-defense program in Palm Harbor!
Women’s Self-Defense Classes – The Basics
Self-defense is kind of a loose term. Some people hear the words “self-defense” and immediately think of violence and guns. Others associate it with legal justifications (“I did it out of self-defense!”).
At D3 Martial Arts, our definition of self-defense is using your words and your actions to defend yourself and others from an attacker.
This is what makes martial arts self-defense training so awesome. It’s not just about the punches and kicks that can protect you. It’s about the psychological development necessary to stop conflict before it starts and use your intuition to avoid tricky confrontations in the first place. It’s about building confidence and bravery to look someone in the eye and loudly say, “Get your hand off of me” or “I don’t know you, stop harassing me.” Ultimately, it’s about knowing how to protect yourself and the people you love with as minimal damage as possible.
Self-Defense for Women
Martial arts is truly for everyone (we believe that every man woman and child should study it!), but the development of confidence and mental strength is especially helpful for women who are more likely to find themselves in self-defense situations than their male counterparts.
According to a University of Oregon study, when women took self-defense training they were 3x less likely to be raped and 2x less likely to receive unwanted sexual contact than women who did not take those training.
Let’s be clear. If you’ve experienced sexual assault, it’s not your fault. But this study shows that there are ways to teach ourselves, our daughters, nieces, neighbors, and the women we care about how to stand up for themselves and de-escalate conflict before it even begins. Girl power!
Self-Defense Tip #1- Keys Between Your Fingers
Our first self-defense tip is to keep your car keys between your fingers. A common time of attack is when you’re walking to your car at night after work. Thankfully the “keys between your fingers” advice is pretty common knowledge nowadays- but if someone came at you, would you know where to strike? The answer- go for the leg to wound your attacker enough to then get yourself to safety.
How we Teach Self-Defense
So if you’re interested in Women’s self-defense classes, it’s helpful to know how we teach it. Unlike other self-defense training, the physical act of self-defense is just one piece of our martial arts classes in Palm Harbor.
Every class is centered on different activities and moves that our students work on throughout the week. Consistent practice is what makes the moves into muscle memory so that you don’t have to think twice in a panicky situation.
Some of the self-defense techniques that we work on in our martial arts school are kick techniques, punch techniques, and striking techniques. These can be at a distance or up close to the attacker to prevent assault from any distance. So there’s the physical aspect (that’ll get you into great shape, by the way), and then there’s the mental aspect.
We also teach the “soft skills” that are 100% necessary for success in any area of your life, including perseverance, discipline, and confidence, through lots of positive reinforcement, encouragement, celebration, and pushing our students just beyond their comfort zones every single week to build resilience. Again, these benefits extend into work, relationships, and hobbies… everything improves with martial arts classes, not just your knowledge of self-defense!
Self-Defense tip #2- Don’t Park in The Dark
Common sense would tell you not to park your car in a dark area, but we’re human- we’ve got a million things going on, and sometimes we’re just not thinking when we’re running post-work errands or pulling into the parking ramp first thing in the morning.
So this is your reminder- stay diligent. Park where it’s well-lit and stay sharp when you’re walking to your car.
Don’t Just Learn It- Use It: Staying Calm with Self-Defense
Self-defense is important to defend yourself against an attacker- that part’s obvious. But you must know how to stay cool in an emergency so that you can use the self-defense skills you’ve worked so hard to learn.
Since you’re reading this article, we can assume that you’ve watched a YouTube video or two on self-defense. But without consistent practice (or a professional to show you the way), it’s just not going to stick.
Plus (and this is super important), without practice, you’ll likely panic and lose your common sense. If you’re walking down the street or just in the wrong place at the wrong time, can you realistically defend yourself from a one-off YouTube video? If you haven’t been trained by professionals who have dedicated their lives to helping make the world a safer place, the answer is probably no.
Showing up at the studio for every class, hitting every kick and punch until it’s all muscle memory gives our martial arts students a huge advantage over any other sport (not to mention killer self-discipline). After years of martial arts classes, our students sniff out “bad situations” and avoid them, protecting themselves and their loved ones from harm in the first place. Long story short, knowing martial arts will give you a huge advantage in protecting yourself. But knowing how to use martial arts properly and stay calm in the face of danger, which is what we teach every single class? That’s priceless.
Self-Defense Tip #3- Broom Handle
What better tool can you have around the house than a weapon that doesn’t even look like a weapon? Using a broom handle like a staff or breaking it into two, like kali sticks, can be hugely advantageous in a pinch. Our advice – keep a broom near your door or under your bed for peace of mind.
Confidence- Your Secret Weapon
One of the coolest things about martial arts is that while you’re crushing it in your workouts and building up physical strength, your mental strength is skyrocketing. Our classes are as much about cultivating perseverance, self-discipline, and unbreakable confidence as they are about mastering punches and kicks.
We use positive reinforcement and push our students outside of their comfort zones every single class so that they leave each session with something to hang their hats on. We also focus on cheering each other on and creating a positive environment for our students to be as badass as possible. In this way, our students learn how to draw on their confidence and courage to speak up and stand up for themselves when they need it most.
That confidence and sense of accomplishment don’t just stay in the studio either. If you could walk down the street and know you can physically handle anything that comes your way- that’s an incredible feeling, and it breeds this incredible cycle of respecting yourself, and then doing things that demonstrate that self-respect. You may start to stick up for yourself in other ways, like asking for that raise you’ve been waiting to ask for, or eating salads over doughnuts. That’s what martial arts does- it creates the best version of you. And that best version is a badass that knows how to defend themselves in any situation. It’s the gift that keeps on giving!
Self-Defense Tip #4- Self-Defense Classes
So these tips have been awesome, and you can probably Google more if you want to. But what’s not on the Internet is an instructor dedicated to you and your unique understanding of how to protect yourself.
In an emergency, your adrenaline will kick in and if you’ve never been trained on how to use self-defense, you may panic and not know what to do. Women’s Self-defense classes with D3 Martial Arts are the number one way for you to learn how to protect yourself and the people you love.
Conclusion
Women’s Self-defense classes at Palm Harbor can help you create an incredible physique, but they can also help you build mental strength, stamina, and confidence you never knew you had. See for yourself how D3 Martial Arts self-defense classes can change your life as it’s changed so many other students’ lives. Our risk-free trial is the way to go! You’ll love it! Trial Offer!
