Your own self-defence skills can always end up being the only difference between safety and serious harm to your person, which makes learning about self-defence is perhaps the most important aspect of improving your own security. There are a variety of ways in which you can achieve a semblance of self-protection, whether that be learning martial arts, or purchasing some self-defence products and learning how and when to use them.

To learn martial arts, you’ll want to attend classes. You can learn them by yourself through instructional videos and other material, but you will find yourself severely limited by the lack of an instructor and somebody to practice with.

There is a wide range of types of classes that you can try out, but they can be roughly broken up into two different categories:

• Martial arts classes
• Self defence classes

These are separated because, obviously, you can experience different things in these two types of classes:

Martial arts classes will give you a wide range of experience and training in traditional martial arts or mixed martial arts, but it can take a long time and a lot of effort in order to reach this standard. On the plus side, the training will also improve your physical fitness generally, which is also an important component. On the downside, what you’re training in may only teach you how to deal with others in a competitive fighting environment, ie. with rules.

With self-defence classes, the material that is covered is generally a lot smaller. The advantage of this is that you will be able to finish the course in a short period, and if the desire to learn to defend yourself has been precipitated by something, that is sometimes necessary. The things you cover in such a course will typically be such things as how to; break out of a hold, fight off an armed attacker, break out of restraints, and some basic martial arts training. This is useful, but only in a situation where the person you’re fighting doesn’t have martial arts training, as they will probably be able to beat you anyway.

If you’re thinking about getting some self-defence products, then I would suggest that it is worth considering. This is particularly in the case of if there is a clear and present danger, and a can of pepper spray, stun gun, real gun (if it is allowed) can allow you to bypass a lot of the training for your fitness and skill-set involved in other solutions. There may be some stringent regulation regarding all of the previous items, so it is worth checking with the supplier and any security experts in your area for the specifics. Remember though, having any of the above is always preferrable to not having them, as they will at least act as a significant deterrent against any criminals.