Attack Prevention and Preparation Tips for Women

In today’s society, there seems to be a disturbing increase in violence.  Based on the available data, statistics show that the average human male is larger than the average human female, in terms of both height and weight.  This means that the “average” woman would already be at a size disadvantage if they were to be attacked by an “average” man.  

So what can women do to prevent potential attacks?  What could women do to prepare for an attack if preventative measures fail?  

Preventing Potential Attacks Deterring Potential Attackers

Note: The following suggestions are tips, not guarantees, on how to potentially prevent someone from attacking you.  

Situational Awareness

One way to prevent possible attacks is being situationally aware.  Being aware of your environment and surroundings seems like common sense, but this is not always the case.  When you are walking, try to avoid looking down at your phone and having both earbuds in.  Looking at your phone when walking in public is similar to looking at your phone when you are driving.  You are not fully concentrating on what you should be doing, which makes you a safety hazard to not only yourself, but anyone around you.  You may bump into someone, slip on an object that could have easily been avoided, or worse: someone can attack you and you wouldn’t notice until it was too late.  

To avoid this, keep your eyes focused on your surroundings.  Look in front of you and occasionally take a look around to your sides and behind you.  When you do this, you let any potential attackers know that you are aware of them, which can deter them from attempting anything.  They look for the path of least resistance, so spotting a potential threat before it has the chance to develop increases the resistance they will face and decreases the likelihood that they will attempt an attack.

Power in Numbers

Another way to prevent possible attacks is if you have company with you or people around you.  Staying close to groups of people is a form of resistance for an attacker.  If someone is looking to rob or harm someone - they want the path of least resistance.  If you are around people, it is almost certain that they will step in, cause a scene, or call for help if an attack is initiated.  When possible, stay within your voice’s reach of people if you feel uncomfortable and maintain awareness of your environment.

We understand that it is not always possible to stay in a group of people.  But when you can, stay close to a crowd of people if you feel unsafe.

Be respectful

You don’t know what someone may be going through.  Everyone fights hidden battles that are unknown to others.  Someone could be having an extremely rough time or be frustrated with something going on in their life, and being disrespected by a random person might be all it takes to set them off and over the edge.  You could be the victim of an attack that wasn’t even meant for you, as it  is someone taking out their frustration on the random person who was near them at the wrong time.  In addition, you never know what someone may be capable of, so it is better to be safe than sorry.  

At the end of the article, we’ve attached a link to a video on what criminals look for in their potential victims.  This video has a lot of educational value.  Even if you may not be a master of combat, you can still look the part.  Win the battle before it starts, by preventing it.  

Be Prepared for the Unexpected

Train.  Start martial arts training.  Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Muay Thai, MMA, and Krav Maga are some of the most effective martial arts for self-defense.  

The first three arts have been proven to work well on people who train these same disciplines.  If a discipline works on people who voluntarily dedicate their time to become more skilled at fighting, it will work on attackers who most likely have no training.  Even if they do have some training (which is highly unlikely due to the self-control, self-discipline, and respect that martial artists have), these techniques can and will work on them.

Krav Maga is good for close quarters weapons defense and basic hand-to-hand combat abilities.  It was designed to teach the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) a simple yet effective form of martial arts that could be easily understood and applied on the battlefield by new recruits.  If it is effective enough for a military to teach it to their soldiers, it will be a pretty good choice for your personal protection needs.

How Martial Arts Training Helps

By training martial arts, you are willingly putting yourself into situations where you face adversity.  When facing physical and mental obstacles, you will become more resilient in these areas.  You will develop incredible functional strength and mental fortitude.

When training, you will learn new techniques and drill different variations of them.  You will also get to test your abilities against your training partners during live rounds, where simulated fights take place (the closest thing to a real fight, without being a real fight).  As a result of your training, you will find that you possess muscle memory of many effective techniques.  You will have practiced these moves so much that you could even do them in your sleep.  

This may not seem useful, but if you ever find yourself attacked unexpectedly, your training instincts will take over.  In any high-intensity situation, you will be able to stay calm under pressure and perform these moves in self-defense.  Knowing that you will be able to defend yourself and others will give you increased self-confidence in everything you do.

For these reasons, every woman should have some sort of martial arts training.  Due to the self-defense technique and situational experience they provide, we encourage women everywhere to begin their training.

Jocko Willink on how criminals choose their target: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddEF8cxc8nc 

Thank you for reading - we hope this article contained helpful tips on how to prevent potential attacks and how martial arts training can prepare you for these situations!

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