Self Defence for Women

Author Jeanette Hart
Jeanette is an experienced instructor in the Fantail Combat Self Defence System.

Women's Self Defence

Self defence for women – it really is our responsibility. As a woman I encourage you to learn a few simple defensive techniques to ensure your personal safety.

If you are reading this you are obviously interested in protecting yourself. How do you go about it?

If you were grabbed - how aggressive could you be? Someone attacks you would you freeze? Could you defend yourself? Nobody knows what it is like to be attacked until it actually happens. You don't know how you will react.

Steps towards protecting yourself

1. Prevention 

To some the idea of using violence for protection is terrifying and maybe even a little off-putting. You can avoid violence by using simple common sense. Be aware of possible danger. This doesn’t mean living in fear. It is about not taking un-necessary risks. Be sensible.

2. Awareness

Take notice of your surroundings. It doesn't mean being paranoid, it's about being observant. You can avoid being attacked. Be prepared.

3. Be loud

If the unavoidable happens and you find yourself in a physical confrontation use your voice. Shout at him. Tell him to leave you alone. Don't scream like a girl. You are defending yourself. Don't beg him to let you go. Shout at him, tell him to back off. Get angry. Let him know you are not a victim. Make a lot of noise. It's about protecting yourself. Be prepared to physically defend yourself if you have to.

4. Escape

This is always the best option. Scream and yell like your life depends on it. Don't give up. Do whatever you can to attract attention. If it's a robbery, give him what he wants and get out of there. Run for your life. Avoid being attacked

Unfortunately you may find yourself in a physical confrontation no matter how much you try to avoid it. Whether you have self defence training, no matter what your age or fitness level, it is important to understand that you can defend yourself physically.

Many women worry that they will make the attacker angry and get hurt worse if they defend themselves but your chance of survival is far greater of you do fight back. Doing something is better than doing nothing.

Learn to defend yourself. Take a class and learn some self defence techniques. Self defence is about not being a victim and part of that is to train to defend yourself. If you are being attacked you will have a chance to survive, if you have trained not to panic and to react confidently to protect yourself.

I train women to use the Fantail Combat Self Defence system because for me it is the simplest. We all know how to flinch. It is a natural response if you are being attacked for your arms to go up automatically to protect yourself. In Fantail Combat we take this flinch and develop it into a self defence technique.

Often you will be attacked by surprise. You won't have time to use a weapon of any sort.

You won't have time to get into a self defence guard even. You must react to the situation. Your self defence training will kick in and you will respond automatically with an attack. You won't even be thinking about what to do. You won't have time to. You will just respond to the situation. If you have trained to defend yourself it will be instinctive.

I am not trying to scare you. But is it not better to be prepared? A good womens self defence class will teach you how to avoid and de-escalate a violent situation, and how to deal with the situation if you are not able to avoid it.

There is a lot of information out there about how to stay safe when travelling. But what I would do is learn to protect myself before I left home. It is as simple as learning the Fantail Combat Self Defence system that I have learnt and now teach.
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