Hey ladies,

So I was thinking last night while at work... how many of you have taken personal defense classes either while during your transition or after you have completed your transition?

I have also been interested in martial arts, but not for the typical guy reasons. I really don't want to test my skills on anyone. I just want to be able to protect myself if necessary. I've taken a couple Aikido classes in the past and really want to get back into it.

I'm just curious if anyone else has thought about it or has taken classes and if so what style did you take?

Loves [emoji182]❤️[emoji182]


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Not a lady but I can help

I did judo for over a decade pre-transition. It is fairly effective in terms of real world application, but often times the places that teach it are more oriented toward competition. It's an Olympic sport, so the emphasis in many schools is on that instead on self defense.

I learned krav maga as a police officer. It is very straight forward, easy to understand/do, and is what I recommend for anyone looking for a practical self defense style to learn.

I always just carry a very high intensity mace.


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The Army taught me.  There was no specific technique other than how to inflict grievous bodily harm using a variety of implements.

Honestly I think the most important thing is simply maintaining a decent level of physical fitness and maintaining constant situational awareness.  That will prevent the vast majority of problems from ever starting.


It is better to be hated for what you are than to be loved for what you are not.
André Gide, Autumn Leaves

I've been teaching self-defense professionally starting in 2001, before that it was without a company. I hold free 4-6 hour classes for the LGBT community in Oregon USA, have been asked to teach in England also. I've sat in on several events where people in the LGBT community have voiced their opinions and various attacks against them and it's not pretty at all.

High level, for the average person, LGBT or cisgender I teach a combination of empty hand and impact tools tactics. There are many reasons to stay away from mace and tasers which if anyone is interested I will list them out.

My credentials are listed here https://karenpayneblog.com/2016/09/18/defensive-tactics/

Besides empty hand and impact tools it's really good to learn verbal judo, how to attempt to avoid a bad situation then with training use the OODA loop.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OODA_loop

Lastly, before taking any class for personal protection in your area, talk to the instructor, if they are good they will met with you before a class. Also, a good instructor will offer a refund for a class in the first hour of the class if you feel the class is not right for you.

I took Aikido and Jujitsu. They pair well together. And both are centered around locks, breaks, submissions, and throws. Handy for keeping grabby hands away, as well as avoiding attacks. I also usually conceal carry... so I prefer people keep their distance.

I like your advice.   


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Quote from: karenpayneoregon on December 16, 2016, 09:39:24 PM
I've been teaching self-defense professionally starting in 2001, before that it was without a company. I hold free 4-6 hour classes for the LGBT community in Oregon USA, have been asked to teach in England also. I've sat in on several events where people in the LGBT community have voiced their opinions and various attacks against them and it's not pretty at all.

Oh wow - I was thinking about contacting the local trans group here in switzerland, to offer a self-defense class only for the community (I'm teaching karate and krav-maga since some years, and thought this would be a great thing)... the only thing I'm scared is, the fact that the head-coach (and owner of the dojo) wouldn't support it...