Defend Yourself

More safety, more confidence, more freedom, more fun!

Based in Washington, DC, serving the entire U.S.

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The difference between martial arts & self-defense

Self-defense and martial arts are not the same thing!

Many people think that to learn to protect themselves against everyday dangers they have to learn a martial art — they have to master Michelle Yeoh’s or Jackie Chan’s moves. This simply isn’t true.

While many martial arts did evolve as self-defense systems, they suited the needs of a people in a specific time and place (such as sword-fighting on horseback in 17th century Korea). They don’t translate well to practical, modern-day needs. You’re not, for example, going to do a flying kick to a potential rapist, workplace harasser, or child abuser.

Instead, you can use self-defense techniques for the real dangers women, girls, and LGBTQ+ people face in our society today, such as harassment, abuse, and sexual assault. These are best addressed through a quality empowerment self-defense class.

Self-defense and martial arts each have strengths — and they do have things in common. Here are a few:

SELF-DEFENSE: Anybody can learn basic self-defense skills, even somebody small, elderly, with physical disabilities, overweight, or out of shape. It’s not a form of exercise.

MARTIAL ARTS: Is a good workout. Will get you in shape and bring you the health benefits of fitness. Some schools are geared toward sports and competition and attract younger or more athletic people. Other schools are non-competitive and view martial arts as a practice open to anyone.

BOTH: Get you in touch with your physical power.

SELF-DEFENSE: Teaches skills to use against harassment, abuse, and assault, including everyday situations that don’t involve physical attack.

MARTIAL ARTS: May teach awareness to help with prevention, and may help develop confidence to handle daily situations. The physical fighting techniques of martial arts, though, are not usually practical or realistic for the kind of attacks that happen in today’s world.

BOTH: Increase confidence.

SELF-DEFENSE: Effective skills that can be learned quickly.

MARTIAL ARTS: Must be studied for a long time to attain proficiency; often a life-long pursuit.

BOTH: Create a stronger mind-body connection.

SELF-DEFENSE: Develops self-respect and awareness. Encourages personal insights into experiences with violence.

MARTIAL ARTS: Develops discipline, respect, focus.

BOTH: May spur internal change as well as learning specific skills.

SELF-DEFENSE: Depending on the program, may connect to feminism, anti-racism, and larger social justice issues. Develops a broader awareness of issues related to gender-based violence.

MARTIAL ARTS: Depending on the focus of each school, may encourage spiritual development and/or martial arts as sport and competition.

BOTH: May make connections beyond the particular focus of the program or school.

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Meet Lauren

Teacher, resister, advocate, warrior princess. Passionate about a world free of gender-based violence and people becoming their full selves. Loves chocolate, justice, and cats (not necessarily in that order).

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Classes for everyone

Defend Yourself has classes for everyone, no matter what your age or ability. Whether you're dealing with street harassment, going off to college, healing from abuse, or any other challenge, we offer skills you can use.

Click here to see some of what we offer!

National Street Harassment Hotline

Call toll-free: 855-897-5910
(English + Spanish. 24-7)
Find out more!

More safety, more confidence, more freedom, more fun!

Get our newsletter!

Sign up now for our monthly newsletter and you’ll also get our e-book with stories of real-life people standing up to harassment, abuse, and assault!

Read our latest newsletter here
 

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Learn something now

  • Run,Yell,Tell, Hit, + Go Along
  • My journey to assertiveness
  • Strategies for safety
  • Should I yell FIRE!?!?
  • #9 Making self-defense a part of your life
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What people say

The teachers are nonjudgmental: they are not going to tell you that what you are doing is wrong.
This class has affected my life in many ways. I am now able to deal with many suppressed feelings. This is an opening for me. I finally allow myself to feel anger without blaming myself. I now realize I have the right to happiness and I will fervently fight whoever tries to take this.
To my surprise, I found the verbal parts of the class the most beneficial. Instead of just preparing us for the chance of an all-out attack, we learned skills that have been helping me to navigate more assertively through everyday situations. You helped all of us to view self-defense holistically, and asked us to question our role in making this world less violent.
I feel more confident, yet not complacent. I am learning to incorporate no into my everyday life.
This class showed me that . . . I have every right to defend myself and take care of myself the best way I know how. My first responsibility is to myself.
This class not only showed me how to defend my body, but it taught me how to express myself as well. It nurtured my soul and showed me that to be a woman does not mean that I am physically helpless.
This class was a springboard. Now I know where I need to go in the rest of my life.
Thank you for a wonderful class. I will spread the word around my high school and to every interested girl/woman I know!
What an empowering, enlightening class! You gave me a wonderfully empowering gift – the ability to speak! You helped take away some of the fear that I had by having me realize that I have some power within.
Thank you for such an empowering, confidence-inspiring class. When you first announced that the class would teach both verbal and physical defense, I was a bit hesitant – I presumed I already knew how to verbally defend myself, and thought I was ready to get down to more hard core self-defense moves.
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