If I only had 60-minutes to teach someone how to protect themselves, most of that effort would go into how to predict, identify and prevent violence, rather than physical solutions – firearms advocates may suggest that this time would be better spent learning how to shoot; however I would argue that even if technical proficiency could be acquired in this short time frame, along with a tactical and legal understanding of the “how and when”, to use a firearm, if the individual wasn’t able first to identify and recognize a threat, it matters little what tools they are equipped with. Next weekend ..read more

Several weeks ago, I wrote an article on campus safety for young women preparing to go to college for the first time – and in preparation for a free annual campus safety seminar that my school puts on. The accompanying meme/picture came from a photo shoot, that we did awhile back, which was set at a college style party, and featured a female student in a crop-top (we asked her to bring the type of clothes she’d where to such a party). One notable self-defense instructor made a comment that she shouldn’t be “dressing that way”, and that she should, “show some decency in public” echoing, one of ..read more

Women’s self-defense isn’t glamorous, isn’t sexy, and it’s certainly not stylish – no real-life violent confrontation or fight ever is. However, if you look at how the martial arts/health and fitness industries present the topic, you might be fooled into thinking that a size 2, 110-pound women, dressed in spandex, without breaking into a sweat - and with every hair in place - can be taught to throw a devastating, knockout punch ..read more

This article comes out of some discussions I’ve had during and after our women’s self-defense class, concerning some of the reasons why women are reluctant to – or don’t – report sexual assaults and rapes. Certain reports and studies, such as victimization surveys, suggest that as little as 5-10% of all rapes are reported. and that reporting isn’t evenly spread e.g. rapes committed by strangers are much more likely to be reported ..read more

It is widely acknowledged that women (and children), are more often victimized than men when it comes to war crimes (shelling of non-military targets, civilian executions, torture, and sexual violence etc.), and that the majority of perpetrators of these crimes are men. However, it would be a mistake to distill from this fact that men are naturally more violent, and less peace-loving etc. than women ..read more