With crime against women rising it is a good idea for females to know how to deal with a variety of attacks or situations which they could easily find themselves in. Or at least have some basic skills in self-defense. Listed below are some statistics for you to think about as you ponder the need for learning how to protect yourself or your family.

• 40% of victums are younger than 18, 80% are younger than 30.
• Every 2 min. someone is sexually assualted in the U.S.
• 2/3 of assualts are by someone you know, 38% of rapist are a friend or acquaintance.
• 1 out of 6 women in the U.S. has been the victum of an attempted or completed rape.
• Studies by the Surgeon General's office reveal that domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women between the ages of 15 and 44.

Women are targeted for many crimes because they are considered easy targets or viewed as the weaker gender. This simply does not have to be the case. With proper training and knowledge many of the crimes listed above could have been avoided or stopped. Violence is not the best answer and should always be used as a last resort means of defense. Often just knowing and recognizing the potential danger and your surroundings can stop an act before it starts.

I encourage women of all ages and physical conditioning to come in to talk with me about their concerns for their personal safety. I have several options to choose from with each offering varying degrees of training or we can talk about a more tailored program based around your specific needs. All courses are geared around learning in a clean, friendly environment, where learning to actually use the skills taught is the primary focus.

Some of the possible learning environments are:

• Learn in a group atmosphere.
• Learn in a seminar with friends, family or co-workers.
• Learn one-on-one with private instruction.

One other thing to remember when considering your personal self-defense ladies is that caring mace, pepper spray, a stun gun or concealed gun (with proper license) is that they are not always as easy to get to in a high stress type of situation as you might think, especially if you have not practiced. These items can also be used against you if the attacker is not stopped by them. Caring pepper spray or mace on your key chain might be a good idea and ward off some attackers but those that persist might be more aggressive. Not saying that these items are not good but combined with the knowledge of self-defense these tools can become more effective.