Women’s Self-defence classes in Southeast England can come from a variety of different sources- but self-defence is one of the most common reasons our students join martial arts! There’s so much more to our self-defence program than what you see in the movies, including lessons in danger awareness, confidence boosters, and hidden mental benefits that you may have never thought of.
Read on to learn some basic self-defence tips and to find out more about how our self-defence program is changing lives in Southeast England!
Women’s Self-Defence Classes- The Basics
Self-defence itself is a phrase with many different connotations. Some people hear self-defence and think of guns or violence. Others will hear those words and think of legal justifications (“I did it out of self-defence!”).
Our Canton Martial Arts definition of self-defence is actually really powerful- it’s about using your voice and your actions to protect yourself and others from harm.
This is what makes martial arts self-defence training so different from any others. It’s not just about the physical moves that can protect you, like the punches, kicks, and locks. It’s about stopping conflict dead in its tracks with your confidence and your assertiveness before things even have a chance to go sideways- and learning how to stay out of trouble in the first place.
It’s about becoming brave enough and confident enough to look someone in the eye and loudly say, “Get your hand off of me” or ”Stop harassing me.” And ultimately, it’s about protecting yourself and your loved ones with as minimal damage as possible.
Self-Defence for Women
While martial arts is for everybody looking to get fit and learn self-defence, we would be remiss not to dedicate some time to discussing the positive effects for women, who are unfortunately more likely to use self-defence in their lifetimes.
According to one 2013 study from the University of Oregon, when women took self-defence training they were 2x less likely to receive unwanted sexual contact and 3x less likely to be raped than women who didn’t take self-defence training. There are many factors that play into sexual assault, and if you’ve experienced sexual assault, it’s not your fault.
With the help of this study, we know that, for everyone, there are actions we can take to teach ourselves, our daughters, nieces, neighbors, and the women we care about how to use their voices to be heard and de-escalate conflict before it even begins. Girl power!
Self-Defence tip #1- Keys Between your Fingers
Self-defence tip number one- keep your car keys between your fingers. It’s dark at night when you’re walking to your car- and that’s dangerous. Luckily, most people know to hold their keys between their fingers on the way to their car in case of an attack- but if someone actually came at you, where would you strike? The answer- it’s most effective to go for the leg to wound your attacker enough to get the heck out of there.
How we Teach Self-Defence
If you’re interested in Women’s self-defence classes, you should know how they’re being taught. Unlike other self-defence training, the physical act of self-defence is just one piece of our martial arts classes in Southeast England.
Our classes are based on different moves and activities that our students learn each week. They practice consistently in order to make the moves muscle memory so that they know exactly what to do in an emergency situation, pretty much without thinking.
A few of the techniques that we teach in our martial arts school are kick techniques, punch techniques, and striking techniques. We teach a range of up-close and from-a-distance moves that help with any self-defence situation. So we get you into fantastic shape through toning your entire body, and then we work on your mental strength.
We also teach the “soft skills” that are needed for success in any facet of your life, including perseverance, discipline, and confidence, through positive reinforcement and pushing our students to be the best versions of themselves that they can possibly be every single week. These mental benefits positively impact your work, relationships, and hobbies… everything improves with martial arts classes, not just your knowledge of self-defence!
Self-defence Tip #2- Don’t Park in The Dark
This may seem like a no-brainer, but we’ve all got squirrels running around in our heads (read: we’re a bit scatterbrained). Often we’re just not thinking when we’re running post-work errands or pulling into the parking ramp first thing in the morning.
So here’s your reminder- Don’t park in the dark! Stay sharp and park underneath a street lamp so that your car is as well-lit as possible.
Don’t Just Learn It- Use It: Staying Calm with Self-Defence
Self-defence is important to protect yourself from danger- obviously. But what may be just as important is knowing how to stay cool in a high-stress situation so that you can actually use the self-defence training that you’ve busted your butt to learn.
If you’re reading this article, maybe you’ve picked up a few things from YouTube or a training here or there. But without regular practice (or a professional to show you the way), that information is going to slip away. And (and this is really huge), without practice, you’re way more likely to panic.
If you’re out at a bar or just in the wrong place at the wrong time, how can you effectively use self-defence without proper practice? If you haven’t gained real-life experience in self-defence from dedicated instructors who live and breathe this stuff, the answer is probably no.
Mastering the moves every week until they’re muscle memory gives our martial arts students a huge advantage over any other sport (and killer self-discipline). After years of martial arts classes, our students learn to recognize and avoid “bad” situations, and in effect protect themselves and their loved ones from dangerous situations in the first place.
So, in essence, knowing martial arts will give you a huge advantage in protecting yourself. But knowing how to use your martial arts training to keep calm in high-stress situations, which is what we teach every single class? Priceless.
Self-Defence Tip #3- Broom Handle
Think about it- what better weapon could you have than a weapon that doesn’t even look like a weapon at all? A broom handle is an effective tool that can be used like a staff for defending oneself.
You could also break it into two, like Kali sticks, for more leverage. Your best bet for a discreet weapon is to keep a broom near your door or under your bed -just in case.
Confidence- Your Secret Weapon
Something really special about martial arts is that while you’re building your physical strength, you’re also building up your mental strength. Our classes are as much about becoming unshakably confident and mastering self-discipline as they are about mastering punches and kicks. Through positive reinforcement and a “one step better each day” attitude, we push our students to be the absolute best they can be.
We do this not only because it makes them better athletes, but because we want them to see in themselves all of the amazing things we already see. Because of this, our students can stand up for themselves when they need to the most.
That confidence carries over into other areas of your life, by the way. You’re walking down the street and you know you can handle whatever situation comes your way- that’s an unbelievable feeling! And it just feeds the fire of self-respect and excitement over how truly awesome you are, and you understand how little you deserve anything less than the best in your life.
You may start to stick up for yourself in other ways, like asking for a promotion at work when you’ve been busting your butt for years, or skipping the donuts and heading straight to the salad bar. That’s what martial arts can do for you- draw out the best version of you. And that best version is a badass equipped with the knowledge and physical capabilities to defend themselves in any situation through self-defence!
Self-Defence Tip #4- Self Defence Classes
So these tips are great and all, and you can probably find a ton more online- but what’s not online is an in-person instructor to help you learn the psychological aspects of self-defence that complement the physical.
Adrenaline will kick in in a high-stress situation and if you haven’t attended formal self-defence classes, you may panic and lose your sense of what to do. Women’s self-defence classes are the number one way for you to learn how to protect yourself and the people you love.
Conclusion
Women’s Self-defence classes at Southeast England can help you build the physical strength required to protect yourself as much as they can help build mental strength, stamina, and confidence you never knew you had. Come see for yourself how Canton Martial Arts self-defence classes can change your life the way it’s changed all of our students’ lives … our risk-free trial is the way to go! You’ll love it! Trial Offer!