In defence of women

When you find yourself in a dangerous situation you cannot avoid, defending yourself is the obvious course of action. It is also the most effective.

Knowing your attacker does not change your right to self-defence, and it should not change your conviction that you are worth defending. Traditionally women have been given a set of options that are either impractical, ineffective (“Spray him in the eyes with hairspray”, “Get a whistle”), or don’t cover the spectrum of possibilities in which protection might be necessary. For example, advice such as “Don’t go into dangerous areas at night, stay home”, ignores the fact that a high percentage of rapes occur when the woman is in her home, and also ignores the fact that some women must work after dark. This advice also ignores the fact that some women are being targeted for violence by assailants who will not be deterred by casual protective measures which would work against random crime or low levels of threat. Where can a woman who wants to learn about self-protection go for information and advice?
“Fighting back” is not an effective option unless you are taught precisely how to fight back by people who have had extensive training and who are certified to teach the same skills to other civilians?
Women who fight back are injured less often, are more successful in stopping the attack, regardless of what kind of attack it is, and feel better about themselves afterwards. People who’ve never been in a situation where they wanted to fight often think that they couldn’t fight, but you will find, if you’re faced with a life or death situation, that it’s very easy to fight. But you need to know how to fight back in order for that instinct to be effective.
Getting training can be critical to overcoming that emotional resistance to fighting. What can you learn in a few hours or days? A tremendous amount actually. It’s not necessary to take years of training in order to become an effective fighter or in order to develop a personal protection plan that works for you. In a couple of hours or a few days, you can become proficient in a number of different techniques and learn something about how you apply them. Self-defence is important; women in serious danger need serious help and all women live with a certain level of risk of violent crime. Statistics show that a woman has a one in four chance of experiencing a violent crime in her lifetime.
I can only suggest to other women that you don’t have to be in potential danger to take up self-defence. It’s a great way to get fit, build up stamina and confidence and defend yourself if the need ever arises. When us women are walking casually during the day, just because it’s daylight doesn’t mean we can be complacent. Attacks on women during the day and close to home are always on the increase. Even walking to your car after work isn’t as safe as it used to be, therefore we should make every effort to be aware of our surroundings and utilise the common sense we were born with.
Self defence teaches so much more than just a few punches. It also teaches you self-awareness, confidence and hopefully structure should you ever find yourself in certain predicaments. The training of self defence includes a lot of very close and direct contact with your “attacker” (normally another member of the class). Initially this close contact may be a little off putting as the “attacker” will be in your space. However, this is a very important part of self defence training. If you panic and flail blindly after someone has entered your “space”, you have immediately lost any potential advantage to take control of the situation.
There is no self defence regime out there that can guarantee that it will save your life.
Every single situation is slightly different. But with this extra confidence in yourself and surroundings, hopefully, you will look less of a potential victim. The attacker out there will always go for the easier target, the person who is not aware. 

· Jackie Kennedy