Self-Defense For Women

Explore three choices in danger: leave as the first option; fight for your life when you cannot leave; and submit as a last resort to stay safe.

Attackers seek easy targets who look weak, sick, old, or distracted and unlikely to fight back; stay alert, project confidence, and be prepared to fight back.

Cultivate situational awareness by actively scanning your surroundings, exits, and people to prevent danger. Practice recognizing uncomfortable situations and seek help to stay safe.

Learn how nonverbal cues shape how others perceive you, and how to project confidence with purposeful walking, shoulder alignment, and eye contact to deter threats.

Put your cell phone away and pay attention to your surroundings to avoid becoming an easy target. Limit phone use in busy areas and driving, checking only when absolutely urgent.

Stay aware in car parks, identify suspicious behavior, and if you feel uncomfortable, go back inside or ask someone to walk with you to your vehicle to stay safe.

Lock your doors and roll up the windows, carry your keys, avoid distractions when approaching or entering your car, and keep valuables out of sight to deter attackers.

At traffic lights, scan your surroundings from all directions and keep space in front to maneuver. Avoid phone distractions to maintain situational awareness and prevent hijackings.

Follow the three R's rule when you think you're being followed: assess by turning right, avoid returning home, and drive to a police station or busy area with security escort.

Use gates and garage doors, drive straight through, and avoid stopping near gates to stop hijackers from tracking you; parallel park to stay ready to escape and keep entrances lit.

Turn your attacker into a victim by using surprise, closing distance, gaining the upper hand, and striking quickly to regain control in a dangerous encounter.

Understand the fight or flight response: heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen rise and clotting speed up; muscles tense, gross motor actions become stronger, and pupils dilate with tunnel vision.

Assess your surroundings, stay aware of exits and potential attackers, and call for help. Relax, breathe, avoid eye contact, and keep muscles loose to move quickly and fight to escape.

Practice moving with one foot in front of the other and bent knees to stay balanced. Use a mirror drill with attacker and defender, keep hands up, and react quickly.

Identify vulnerable areas on an attacker, including the side of the head, nose, Adam's apple, neck, and groin, and emphasize downward strikes to stop an assault safely.

Learn how your body acts as 11 built-in weapons for self-defense, from fingerprints and nails to elbows, teeth, and knees, with practical, mindful strategies for women.

Learn a break and release wrist-grab technique and escape by targeting thumb and finger weak spots, pulling away, and using your free hand to aid the escape.

Master practical elbow strike techniques for women’s self-defense, using controlled elbow strikes to target the sternum, chin, throat, groin, and ribs from front, side, or rear.

Demonstrates escaping a chokehold by grabbing and breaking the attacker's fingers, then striking the throat or groin to create an opportunity to run.

Master the hip thrust escape: lift your feet up, bring them close to your body, then thrust up and to the right to break free from a choke.

Kick his hips out to disrupt balance and create your escape. Decide to move and get away at the first opportunity.