5 Easy and Effective Self-Defense Moves for Women

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Picture this: You're walking at night in a desolate apartment hallway with no one else present. Suddenly an unknown man walks towards you and grabs your shoulders. What would you do?

In the United States alone, there are more than 2 violent crimes that take place every minute of every day! That's an alarming statistic and should make people aware of the physical threats that we face every day.

Personal protection is on many people's minds, and there are several ways to arm ourselves including self-defense weapons, martial arts training, and greater awareness.

We've compiled a list of the 5 best self-defense moves for women that are both easy to learn and use, and effective against an attacker!

Avoid, Deter or Escape

Before we get started it's important to note that there are 3 Mindsets everyone should internalize and always maintain regarding their personal safety, which is described in another post located here.

In any dangerous situation, your first instincts should be to AVOID, DETER or ESCAPE (in that order) before attempting any self-defense moves or engaging an offender in a physical altercation.

Even a third degree black belt, trained MMA fighter with a personal defense weapon can be injured or killed in a violent attack if the perpetrator has a gun or knife, or if he simply is faster or gets lucky.

If the attacker asks for your personal belongings, it's always a good idea to concede your belongings. Your wallet or phone is not worth being in a hospital or even being killed.

Don't try to be the hero, if it will end up costing you more in the long run.

Without further ado, here are our 5 Easy and Effective Self-Defense Moves for Women.

1. Push and Shout

Once an aggressor has physically or verbally invaded your personal space and you feel threatened with an imminent threat of violence, it's time to assert yourself. If an aggressor touches your shoulder, you have a right to push him back.

Step 1: Bend your knees slightly and push from your body AND your arms, not just your arms. Aim for the closest core part of his body such as his chest or shoulders.

Step 2: As you push the aggressor, Shout loudly. "BACK OFF", "STOP IT" or "HELP" are sufficient for low intensity situations.

Once you've pushed and shouted, it's important to ESCAPE.

Warnings: Be careful not to injure your wrists while pushing the attacker. You can also "push" him with your fists in a closed position so your wrists aren't locked backwards.

2. Head Butt to Face

Has the attacker grabbed your arms and subdued you? Once the attacker has physically taken control of your arms, it's important to take whatever means necessary to escape. The more control he has over you, the less chance you have for survival.

Also, the longer he has you in his control, the less chance you have for survival. Once you realize that you are being subdued is when you have to take immediate, powerful action.

Head Butt for Self Defense

Notes: DO NOT head butt his face with your face or your forehead, that will hurt you. You want to head butt him with the area above your forehead - the Crown of your head below the center top point. Of course this can only occur if you are in close quarters and he has already restrained your arms.

3. Open Palm to Nose

Open palm to the attacker's nose is a strong offensive attack move. The point of the open palm is that it catches the nose effectively and derives its power from your arm. If executed properly, the open palm to nose will leave the offender dazed and in pain.

Step 1: Fingers can be in a relaxed position, palm angled upward in approximately a 100 degree angle to your arm.

Step 2: Thrust open palm toward attacker's face, aiming for the area between the upper lip and nose.

Notes: Follow through with the strike. Don't stop once it contacts his nose - instead, continue to drive the palm with extreme power through his nose. The strike should be as straight and linear as possible in order to deliver the most amount of force.

4. Kick to Groin

Kick to the male attacker's groin is another effective self-defense move for women. This move is a bit harder to do for a few reasons. Primarily, in a struggle, it will be difficult to balance on one leg, while you kick with the other and be able to do so not only with power, but without losing balance.

However, if delivered properly, this move will leave an attacker disabled. Another benefit to a kick to the groin is that it can be done at a slightly greater distance than arm moves, as legs can generally reach further than arms.

Step 1: Bend your supporting leg.

Step 2: Straighten the foot of your kicking leg so that the top of your foot (where the shoe laces are located) makes contact with the target. You want to make sure that the kick is quick and powerful, and again you don't want to stop once you make contact with the groin; you want to kick through the groin to inflict the most damage.

Warnings: Do not kick with your toe pointed upward (with your foot flexed at a right angle to your leg). You will risk injuring your toe and/or foot, and will not inflict the maximum amount of damage possible.

Kick to groin straight foot

5. Finger Poke to Eyes

Finger poke to the eyes is the final easy and effective self-defense move for women. This move can be permanently blinding, so it must be performed with great care. A proper finger poke to the eyes will disable an attacker and leave him in severe pain.

The point of this move is to take any finger or fingers and thrust them toward the attackers eye or eyes. The more fingers you use, the better your odds are that one will land.

Once contact has been made with the eyes, the move doesn't stop there. The victim should again follow through and strike through the eyes for the maximum damage, and even twist or pull for additional damage.

Notes: It's best to use all five fingers to finger poke an attacker's eyes. We like to practice by aiming the middle finger for the target eye, so even if it is off, one of the other fingers can catch it.

Finger poke to eye personal defense move

Female Self-Defense Moves

As a reminder, there are several steps to take before utilizing one of these self-defense moves. Be aware of your surroundings and avoid dangerous or uncomfortable situations. If you're in a dangerous or uncomfortable situation, try to deter or discourage individuals. And last but not least, always escape the situation rather than engaging in a physical altercation.

Each of the 5 easy and effective self-defense moves should be done properly. This means assertively, powerfully, and with good form. Performing these moves without good form can seriously injure you by breaking your wrists, ankles, or fingers.

Practice makes perfect. Do not wait until you are being attacked on the street to learn how to form your hand to poke someone's eye out. Take a few minutes now as you're reading this to perform each of the moves in the air. For example, locate the area on your head that should be used to head butt. Above your forehead and under the top of your head - the crown, should be used for head butting.

Self-defense products such as knives or Defender Ring™ can be vital assets for self-defense. Many of these moves such as the finger poke to eye can be more devastating while using a self-defense product.

Please stay safe and share these tips with your loved ones.