At least once a week, I get an email from a woman who tells me she is interested in “women’s self defense”.  This is understandable, especially when you consider how many women’s self defense courses there are, and how few people actually understand the nature of real self defense, including self defense and martial arts instructors, unfortunately.

I’ve been meaning to add a page to my website on the myth of women’s self defense…how the principles of self defense are the same for all humans, and how the relative difference between yourself and a particular attacker you’re dealing with matters far more than the average difference between genders.  I’ve finally gotten around to adding it here: The Truth About Women’s Self Defense

Some women who have emailed me also mention their size, usually when they’re smaller than average.  But I get an equal if not greater number of emails from men who ask for advice on self defense for smaller men.  Size does matter.  Everything matters.  But as a friend recently told me, “there are some people who are better than me, and there are some people who are worse than me”.  Even if you are “small”, there are some people who are smaller than you, and there are some people who are bigger than you.  Your size is somewhat meaningless.  What matters is your size and skill relative to a particular/specific attacker.

No matter who you are…male, female, “big” or “small”…you need the same skills for physical self defense.  You need to be able to use and defend against striking and wrestling, and to be able to use and defend against weapons.  Through functional training, you’ll discover that certain techniques and strategies are better for you against certain individuals.  But there are no specifics that are right for all individuals of a certain type.  It’s an individual thing, and the only way is to discover it for yourself.

Check out the new page here, and let me know what you think in the comments below.