Women's Self Defense & Krav Maga In Boston

The situations that men and women find themselves in, where personal safety is an issue, are very, very different: aggressors don't always identify themselves as such and their motives are often very different to those that men face. Added to this the type of physical attacks women face are more likely to be ones aimed at control and limiting movement whereas men, normally face attacks that are aimed solely at physical punishment.

These are generalizations, not definitions but they largely represent the different forms of violence that men and women face.

This is before other more basic factors regarding self protection are faced: such as the differences between men and women's 'mental states' regarding violence along with simple factors such as the difference in mobility that the clothes they wear allow e.g. simply advocating that women should run away from violence ignores the fact that they may be in heels and a pencil line skirt.

Also, there are other considerations e.g. how should a woman act if she has a young child or baby present. These 'third parties' may well 'compromise' solutions that would otherwise seem sensible.

Women's Self Defense & Reality In Boston

Presenting women with a list of what to do and what not to do is simplistic and unrealistic (if another self defense website feels the need to give the advice of 'not to walk down an unlit street', they should take a step back and examine a) the need to state the obvious and b) whether there are in fact times when this is the best policy e.g. when a riot is occurring on the well lit street ahead).

The situations that women are involved in are often very different to those that men face and these differences should be considered in any self defense/self protection training.

One of the main differences is that of 'threat analysis'. In our Boston Krav Maga classes we talk about 'ambushes' but it also refers to a more specific form of ambushing called 'grooming'.

An ambush is simply a situation where an aggressor doesn't inform or display the fact that they have aggressive intentions (it is very much a characteristic of a predatory attack - with women often that of a sexual predators attack). A simple ambush would be that of an attacker/aggressor asking for the time/money and then making their attack whilst their 'victim' was distracted.

Grooming is a more involved and complex form of ambush, though its motive is exactly the same: to disguise the aggressors/attackers intent.

The aim of grooming is not just to create a distraction but build trust. When trust has been established an aggressor can start to get their target to hand over control. Control is at the heart of 99% of predatory actions. Even in sexual assaults/crimes the driving force is not that of sex but of control: sexual actions are the form through which control is expressed.

Grooming, takes on a form/structure which is the same, whether it is that used by the pedophile or that used by the rapist or individual who wishes to exert some form of sexual control which is on unequal terms (a very broad and perhaps morally but not legally accurate form of rape).

Krav Maga & Situational Awareness Training In Boston

It is naive to suggest that such individuals are easy to identify (most are socially skilled - why they haven't been caught - and practice their skills 100% of the time. We however don't invest - neither should we have to - our whole lives trying to identify them) however the methods they use are identifiable as they are consistent and repeatable.

At Boston Krav Maga we teach the individual how to deal with the physical situation as well as how to identify and recognize predators through the tools they use and have exit strategies, to avoid the need to use physical force. Out of men and women, women probably have the greatest success at physically dealing with aggressive attackers, when they have received no 'formal' martial arts or self-defense training. This is especially true, when children have been present. I would bet my mortgage and pension on any woman who has to defend her children against an attacker threatening on them. This is a recognized maternal instinct that runs throughout the natural world. Women have it in them to beat any man and any number of aggressors, if taught to adopt the correct mindset and reasoning patterns.

FREE Women's Self Defense Seminars"

We regularly conduct Free Women's Self Defense Seminars in Boston to get details of these please click here

Women's Self Defense Courses"

We also run Women's Self Defense Courses in Boston to get details of these please click here