Women’s self-defence classes in Mississauga can come from a variety of different sources but self-defence is one of the most common reasons our students join martial arts! There’s so much more to our self-defence program than what you see in the movies, including psychology lessons on danger awareness and hidden mental benefits that you may have never thought of.
Read on for some basic self-defence tips and to find out more about how our self-defence program is changing lives in Mississauga!
Self-Defence Classes – The Basics
Self-defence itself is a phrase with many different connotations. There are some people who hear the words “self-defence” and immediately think of violence and guns.
Others will hear those words and think of legal justifications (“I did it out of self-defence!”). But our CMAC Dapo definition of self-defence is using your words and your actions to defend yourself and others from an attacker.
This is what makes martial arts self-defence training so awesome. It’s not just about the physical moves that can protect you, like the punches, kicks, and locks. It’s about the psychological development necessary to stop conflict before it starts and use your intuition to avoid tricky confrontations in the first place.
It’s about becoming brave enough and confident enough to look someone in the eye and loudly say, “Get your hand off of me” or “I don’t know you, stop harassing me.” And ultimately, it’s about knowing how to protect yourself and the people you love with as minimal damage as possible.
Self-Defence For Women
Martial arts is truly for everyone (we believe that every man woman and child should study it!), but the development of confidence and mental strength is especially helpful for women who are more likely to find themselves in self-defence situations than their male counterparts.
According to one 2013 study from the University of Oregon, when women took self-defence training they were 2x less likely to receive unwanted sexual contact and 3x less likely to be raped than women who didn’t take self-defence training.
Let’s be crystal clear- if you’ve experienced sexual assault, it’s not your fault. But with the help of this study, we know that, for everyone, there are ways to teach ourselves, our daughters, nieces, neighbors, and the women we care about how to stand up for themselves and de-escalate conflict before it even begins. Girl power!
Self-Defence Tip #1 – Keys Between Your Fingers
Our first self-defence tip is to keep your car keys between your fingers. It’s dark at night when you’re walking to your car- and that’s dangerous. Thankfully the “keys between your fingers” advice is pretty common knowledge nowadays- but if someone actually came at you, would you know where to strike? The answer- it’s most effective to go for the leg to wound your attacker enough to get the heck out of there.
How We Teach Self-Defence
If you’re interested in women’s self-defence classes, you should know how they’re being taught. Unlike other self-defence training, the physical act of self-defence is just one piece of our martial arts classes in Mississauga.
Every class is based on different moves and activities that our students learn each week. Consistent practice is what makes the moves into muscle memory so that you don’t have to think twice in a panicky situation.
A few of the techniques that we teach in our martial arts school are kick techniques, punch techniques, and striking techniques. We teach a range of up-close and from-a-distance moves that help with any self-defence situation. So we get you into fantastic shape by toning your entire body, and then we work on your mental strength.
We also teach the “soft skills” that are 100% necessary for success in any area of your life, including perseverance, discipline, and confidence, through positive reinforcement and pushing our students to be the best versions of themselves that they can possibly be every single week. These mental benefits positively impact your work, relationships, and hobbies everything improves with martial arts classes, not just your knowledge of self-defence!
Self-Defence Tip #2 – Don’t Park In The Dark
Common sense would tell you not to park your car in a dark area, but we’re human- we’ve got a million things going on, and sometimes we’re just not thinking when we’re running post-work errands or pulling into the parking ramp first thing in the morning. So here’s your reminder, don’t park in the dark! Stay sharp and park underneath a street lamp so that your car is as well-lit as possible.
Don’t Just Learn It, Use It: Staying Calm With Self-Defence
Self-defence is important to defend yourself against an attacker- no duh. But what may be just as important is knowing how to keep your composure in an emergency situation so that you can actually use the self-defence training that you’ve busted your butt to learn.
If you’re reading this article, maybe you’ve watched a YouTube video or two on self-defence. But without regular practice (or a professional to show you the way), that information is going to slip away. Plus (and this is super important), without practice, it’s highly likely that you’ll panic and lose your common sense.
If you’re walking down the street or just in the wrong place at the wrong time, how can you effectively use self-defence without proper practice? If you haven’t been trained by professionals who have dedicated their lives to helping make the world a safer place, the answer is probably no.
Showing up at the studio for every class, hitting every kick and punch until it’s all muscle memory gives our martial arts students a huge advantage over any other sport (and killer self-discipline). After years of martial arts classes, our students learn to recognize and avoid “bad” situations and protect themselves and their loved ones from dangerous situations in the first place.
Long story short, knowing martial arts will give you a huge advantage in protecting yourself. But knowing how to use martial arts properly and stay calm in the face of danger, which is what we teach every single class? Priceless.
Self-Defence Tip #3- Broom Handle
What better tool can you have around the house than a weapon that doesn’t even look like a weapon? Using a broom handle like a staff or breaking it into two, like kali sticks, can be hugely advantageous in a pinch. Your best bet for a discreet weapon is to keep a broom near your door or under your bed for peace of mind.
Confidence Is Your Secret Weapon
One of the coolest things about martial arts is that while you’re building your physical strength, you’re also building up your mental strength. Our classes are as much about cultivating perseverance, self-discipline, and unbreakable confidence as they are about mastering punches and kicks.
Through positive reinforcement and a “one step better each day” attitude, we push our students to be the absolute best they can be. We do this not only because it makes them better athletes, but because we want them to see in themselves all of the amazing things we already see. In this way, our students learn how to draw on their confidence and courage to speak up and stand up for themselves when they need it most.
That confidence and sense of accomplishment don’t just stay in the studio either. If you could walk down the street and know you can handle whatever situation comes your way- that’s an incredible feeling, and it breeds this incredible cycle of respecting yourself, and then doing things that demonstrate that self-respect.
You may start to stick up for yourself in other ways, like asking for a promotion at work when you’ve been busting your butt for years, or skipping the donuts and heading straight to the salad bar. That’s what martial arts does- it creates the best version of you. And that best version is a badass equipped with the knowledge and physical capabilities to defend themselves in any situation through self-defence!
Self-Defence Tip #4 – Self-Defence classes
So these tips have been awesome, and you can probably Google more if you want to. But what’s not on the Internet is an in-person instructor to help you learn the psychological aspects of self-defence that complement the physical. Adrenaline will kick in in a high-stress situation and if you haven’t attended formal self-defence classes, you may panic and lose your sense of what to do. Self-defence classes are the number one way for you to learn how to protect yourself and the people you love.
Women’s self-defence classes at Mississauga can help you create an incredible physique, but they can also help you build mental strength, stamina, and confidence you never knew you had. Come see for yourself how CMAC Dapo self-defence classes can change your life as it’s changed so many other students’ lives … our risk-free trial is the way to go! You’ll love it! Free Trial Offer!