Women’s self-defense classes can come from a variety of disciplines- but self-defense is one of the most common reasons our students join martial arts! There’s so much more to our self-defense program than what you see in the movies, including lessons in danger awareness, confidence boosters, and hidden mental benefits that may surprise you.
Read on to learn some basic self-defense tips and to find out more about how our self-defense program is changing lives in Tacoma!
Self-defense Classes – The Basics
Self-defense itself is a phrase with many different connotations. 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!”). But our Barner’s Blue Dragons definition of self-defense is powerful- it’s about using your voice and your actions to protect yourself and others from harm.
This is what makes martial arts self-defense training so awesome. It’s not just about the physical moves that can protect you, like the punches, kicks, and locks. 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.” And ultimately, it’s about protecting yourself and your loved ones with as minimal damage as possible.
Self-Defense For Women
While martial arts is for everybody looking to get fit and learn self-defense, we would be remiss not to dedicate some time to discussing the positive effects for women, who are unfortunately more likely to use self-defense in their lifetimes.
According to one 2013 study from the University of Oregon, 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 crystal clear- if you’ve experienced sexual assault, it’s not your fault. But this study shows that 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-Defense Tip #1 – Keys Between Your Fingers
Self-defense tip number one- keep your car keys between your fingers. A common time of attack is when you’re walking to your car at night after work. 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 came at you, would you know where to 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-Defense
If you’re interested in Women’s self-defense classes, you should know how they’re being taught. Unlike other self-defense training, the physical act of self-defense is just one piece of our martial arts classes in Tacoma. Our classes are based on different moves and activities that our students learn each week. Consistent practice is what makes the moves into muscle memory so that you don’t have to think twice in a panicky situation.
A few of the techniques that we work on 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-defense situation. 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 positive reinforcement and pushing our students to be the best versions of themselves that they can 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-defense!
Self-Defense Tip #2 – Don’t Park in The Dark
This may seem like a no-brainer, 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 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-Defense
Self-defense is important to protect yourself from danger- no duh. But you must know how to keep your composure in a high-stress situation so that you can use the self-defense training that you’ve busted your butt to learn.
If you’re reading this article, maybe you’ve watched a YouTube video or two on self-defense. But without regular practice (or a professional to show you the way), it’s just not going to stick. And (and this is super important), 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, can you realistically defend yourself from a one-off YouTube video? If you haven’t gained real-life experience in self-defense 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 (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.
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? 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. 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 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. 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. In this way, our students learn how to draw on their confidence and courage to stand up for themselves when they need to the most.
That confidence carries over into other areas of your life, by the way. Imagine walking down the street and knowing you can handle whatever situation comes your way- that’s an incredible feeling, and it just feeds the fire of self-respect and excitement over how truly awesome you are, and you realize how little you deserve poor treatment 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-defense!
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 in-person instructor to help you learn the psychological aspects of self-defense that complement the physical. In an emergency, your adrenaline will kick in and if you haven’t attended formal self-defense classes, you may panic and not know what to do. Women’s Self-defense classes with Barner’s Blue Dragons are the number one way for you to learn how to protect yourself and the people you love.
Self-defense classes at Tacoma can help you create an incredible physique, but they can also help you build mental strength, stamina, and confidence you never knew you had. Come see for yourself how Barner’s Blue Dragons 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!