Self-defense training helps women defend themselves against sexual assault, particularly if a criminal threatens to strike rape or rape them or take them to a remote location, notes Martha McCaughey, director of women's studies at Appalachian State University, in her book "Real Knockouts: the Physical Feminism of Women's Self-Defense." Following an effective self-defense training course, women will know how to handle physical threats.
Elements
Effective self-defense training will teach a woman how to take a stance, rebuff a potential attacker verbally, strike the assailant and make front, back, side and sidestep kicks, writes Willy Cahill in "Self-Defense for Women." Kicks, which are tougher for an attacker to evade than punches or strikes, begin with a solid stance and target the groin and stomach, but the shin, knee and chest are also suitable targets. Strikes include overhead strike with a closed fist on the top of the head, open-hand strike with an upward motion to the chin, and forearm strike, slamming the forearm to the throat, chin or face.
Types
Krav Maga, the official hand-to-hand-combat system of the Israeli Defense Forces, aims to teach men and women, including police forces and members of the military, to defend against common chokes, grabs and bear hugs, as well as weapons such as guns, knives and sticks, notes KravMaga.com. Model Mugging, another nationally available program, focuses on helping women protect themselves from a single unarmed assailant, armed assailants and multiple assailants. Rape Aggression Defense (RAD) provides 12 hours of lectures, discussion, instruction and hands-on simulation, often to undergraduate women on campuses.
Considerations
The encouraging atmosphere of women's self-defense courses and intense physicality help women adopt an assertive posture in daily life, McCaughey writes. For example, Paxton Quigley, women's security specialist and author of "Armed & Female" and "Not an Easy Target," recommends avoiding answering men who ask what time it is and not worrying about being polite to them. She has students practice shouting "no" forcefully and without smiling. Women learn to hold their space, set boundaries and make it clear an attacker has no right to infringe.
Misconceptions
Women's self-defense courses do to not teach artistic, stylized techniques like martial arts do, McCaughey notes. They focus on practical techniques that a woman can use to disable an attacker and give her time to get away. The classes simulate situations high in stress and adrenaline, where gross motor control and scrappy fighting will be needed more than fine motor control.
Benefits
Women who have had effective self-defense training, including scenarios involving mock muggings, feel tougher and more confident about setting boundaries with their voice, according to McCaughey, having practiced yelling at mock muggers in their class to "get your hands off me" and "stay away" and "back off."
Expert Opinion
McCaughey writes in "Real Knockouts: The Physical Feminism of Women's Self-defense" that she went from being a "frightened feminist" to knowing how to "jab, punch, poke, pull, kick, yell, stomp, shoot and even kill with my bare hands. But the fighting spirit is more than that: self-defense transforms the way it feels to inhabit a female body."
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