Physical violence against woman is rising at an alarming rate. It originates at home, work, streets, parks and so on.  We hear so many incidents of violence against women everyday and these are just a fraction of total, as most of them go unnoticed or are not reported. The reason for such violence is probably the predators consider women as physically weak and hence easy targets. It is unfortunate that most of the women are not prepared or equipped for a sudden attack or face violence inflicted on them.

Learning a martial art is one thing which can come handy is situations where a woman is being physically abused and attacked upon. Though it would be convenient to think that there is no need for it or it is mainly a manly endeavour,  learning self-defence for a woman has never been more important.

Here are some reasons that should make you think again about why you, as a woman, should not start training right now.

1.  Self Defence

Learning a particular martial art will help you defend yourself and escape a difficult situation. It is not going to make you a ‘shifu’ or a ‘sensei’ (unless you are aiming for the same), but will give you enough skills and presence of mind to handle a physical assault and save yourself from attack. Having knowledge about pressure points for example can come in handy to disarm a robber. You can use the momentum of an attacker against him to dis-balance him and run or call for help.  You will be equipped for a counter-attack as well, if you are unable to escape the situation. The main thing is you can bring the situation under your control and save yourself.

2. Empowerment

Almost all women, at some point have been told to stay in their limits and not pursue things which are “ not for women”, they being considered as ‘weaker sex’. Martial arts on the other hand teach you to not only challenge but also overcome all the “limits”. It is indeed a realization of sorts when a petite woman is able to deliver a knock out kick to a giant male counterpart. Martial arts make you not only stronger physically, but also teaches you to have self belief to overcome hurdles.

3. Fitness

Adopting a martial art regime not only makes you mentally tough but also makes you physically fit. It helps you to lose weight, strengthen your muscles, make core strong and increase stamina. Slowly you discover that in order to progress you need to eat healthy and remain hydrated. Gradually you start to gain muscle, shed extra kilos and have a healthy skin. All in all, it makes you look good and feel confident. It also keeps you active and fit for your daily chores without getting fatigued out. You can feel that extra energy throughout the day which keeps you going.

4.  On the contrary you are better

Most of the women will think that being smaller in size as compared to men, martial arts are something which men will be much better at due to their big size and strength. On the contrary, small size for women works to their advantage as most martial arts require you to be flexible, agile and swift, which a small size body can better adapt to as compared to somebody giant. Most of the martial arts are designed in a way that size does not count during a combat. Women need not fear their smaller size as compared to men. Don’t even consider that.

5. Feel Special

Though we talk a lot about the importance of self defence for women, still we find the women participants in arenas to be very less. Women participate in low numbers, whether it is a competition or learning some form of martial art. So if you are one of them who practice a martial art, you are one out of the handful special out there. You can be an inspiration for rest of the women to follow your footsteps and adopt some form of training. This makes you stand apart from the crowd and people around you respect you even more.