MTF TG-How do you train for Unarmed Personal Self-Defense when you...

[SonadoraXVX]

For those that can't run, like V mentioned, its most important to have SA-Situational Awarness, since that will get you out of most jams, avoid jams/troubles. Remember
1. Barriers
2. Time
3. Distance

To avoid most violence of conflicts. Unfortunately for me, I live in the rougher parts of L.A., so I practice the upper three constantly.
1. Barriers Set up high, tough barriers- against some unruly neighbors, I did. A supertough boyfriend like V's works great too.
2. Time-I always vary my times of egress and ingress as much as possible.
3. Distance-I put as much distance as I possibly can between me and them.

And a 4th one, if you can, always have a friend or two to tag along, you'd be surprised what an extra pair of eyes can do, preferably a human, but a canine does work good too. There is strength in numbers, and bad guys and guerilla fighters know that you never fight a group greater than you are head on, but always on their terms, just bad juju if they  do and they can win the Darwin Award(Award of self-extinction).

I always tell my girlfriend, she is my "fire" of my "maneuver" team, meaning she tells me when things get hot, and I will respond/move appropriately, and vice versa, we each protect our 180, or 360 between the two.

[Deborah]

I hope this doesn't sound naive, but I believe the mind really is the most powerful self defense weapon we have as long as its cultivated.

Develop awareness until it becomes second nature.  Be realistic about potential dangers and if you start feeling bad vibes then leave the area.  Most of all be confident in your ability to handle yourself and rehearse in your mind what might happen in any situation.  Don't radiate aggressiveness, just confidence.  Even if you are not really feeling it, your mind is powerful and can project that image when you learn to control it.  The mind beams you project will make most situations never develop badly as the bad guys are looking for easy targets whose mind beams project obliviousness and weakness.

Sorry for the mind beams thing, LOL.  But I think it paints the right word picture.

[Gertrude]

I hope this doesn't sound naive, but I believe the mind really is the most powerful self defense weapon we have as long as its cultivated.

Develop awareness until it becomes second nature.  Be realistic about potential dangers and if you start feeling bad vibes then leave the area.  Most of all be confident in your ability to handle yourself and rehearse in your mind what might happen in any situation.  Don't radiate aggressiveness, just confidence.  Even if you are not really feeling it, your mind is powerful and can project that image when you learn to control it.  The mind beams you project will make most situations never develop badly as the bad guys are looking for easy targets whose mind beams project obliviousness and weakness.

Sorry for the mind beams thing, LOL.  But I think it paints the right word picture.

Yes the most effective weapon is between the ears. Best defense is no be there.


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[objectionyourhonour]

Have you looked into pressure point fighting or martial arts/self defence based on this? I obviously don't have any experience of mtf hormones or transition, but as a smaller/less strong person I have found this to be an effective defence system that doesn't rely on physical strength, so it might be something to check out. Hope this helps!

[V M]

Martial arts often include the study of pressure points among other things, the arts I studied did anyway

[SadieBlake]

OP, my first take is situational  awareness. I can smell violence coming, if there's a fight brewing in a bar I have never failed to see it coming and I just get myself out of harm's way early.

There's no such thing as women's self defence. It doesn't exist. There's just self defence.
...
- A proven striking art that uses hard energy: like karate from a good instructor. Not kung fu, wing chun, Taichi, aikido, or any other soft energy art. 
...
You really gotta go hardcore with your training to be effective I'm afraid. Regardless of gender.

On the first, no there's nothing specific to gender, there are techniques to minimize your opponent's strength advantage.

On the second, couldn't disagree more. At my Tai Chi school we had two instructors who focused on martial arts. One was 50 (looked 32) and had studied a fairly wide range of techniques, call him R. The more senior was 70 and tiny, not visibly muscular, call him S.

I never doubted for a moment when I worked with S that aside from his amazing ability to drop me to the floor before I knew what was happening that he could snap my sternum anytime he wanted to.

S  had long since stopped training with R because R was somewhat given to getting annoyed that he couldn't ever put S on the floor. One of the happiest days in my life was when I'd begun to hold my own working with R and S told me he was training me to do better against R and just once I was indeed able to drop him.

On 3 'hardcore' wouldn't be the word I'd choose but serious, yes.

Knowing I have been able to hold my own with an experienced instructor gave me great confidence of dealing with real world situations. I've been approached  from behind in rough neighborhoods, feeling them behind me, and able to respond before they got into striking distance is a great equalizer.

Of course I'm 5'11",  not small and at least so far hrt hasn't cut into my strength so I don't look like an easy target.

Not looking like a target is maybe even as important as situational awareness.