Overcoming fears—or preventing them from arising in the first place—is one of the top self-defense tips for women. Anyone who comes across as a potential victim in public or behaves in an excessively timid and submissive manner when interacting with others should urgently work on changing this behavior. It is also important for young girls and women to learn how to correctly assess potentially threatening situations and thereby avoid danger.
Self-defense for women starts with a reliable gut feeling. Most women have well-developed intuition and should therefore listen to their gut, which can process more information than the mind. Sometimes perceptions or feelings cannot be explained rationally, but you should not ignore them and should be prepared to react accordingly.
Be Your Own Bodyguard
In an acute dangerous situation—for example, during a physical attack by a man—speed is essential. The faster a woman defends herself, the greater her chances of success. She improves her position through decisive, direct resistance because she does not react as the attacker expects. As a result, the attacker can no longer gauge her, and she is therefore no longer an easy target. Every woman can be her own bodyguard and see herself as her own protector, even if she finds it easier to stand up for others.
Recognizing Dangerous Situations Early On
It is not mastery of martial arts techniques that is crucial for women’s self-defense. Rather, what matters is behaving in an unambiguous manner, expressing oneself verbally accordingly, and standing firm in that stance. The self-confidence to defend oneself stems from the ability to assess a situation and potential dangers as early as possible and accurately, and to act decisively. To this end, it can be helpful to visualize certain uncomfortable scenarios in advance. What could happen, and what are the appropriate strategies for responding? This leads to safety precautions and immediate actions, such as keeping your cell phone or keys within reach in case, for example, you start to feel uneasy while walking home in the dark in the evening.
Mental training can also help
Another self-defense tip for women is to build their resilience through mental training. This involves mentally rehearsing dangerous or problematic situations and considering possible ways out or strategies for action—and how to put them into practice. The advantage of this approach is that a girl or woman won’t have to come up with solutions on the spot if she actually finds herself in an unpleasant situation. Through mental training, these solutions are immediately accessible—which reduces decision-making time and enables the woman to act immediately.
