Teaching women self defence requires a different approach.

Women are, on average, smaller and less powerful than men. A woman’s muscle is 30% weaker than a man of the same size. Comparing a 60kg, 165 cm (132lbs, 5′ 5″) woman to a 90kg, 183cm man (198lbs, 6′.) is like comparing the same man to a man who weighs 230 kg (~500lbs) with the height of about 230 cm (~8ft).

Would you; a man of 90 kg, want to fight such a monster who can make a pretzel of you? Probably not! If you had to, then you should use tactics and techniques that we teach woman.

Why should a woman have to fight a 90kg man? She shouldn’t unless she has no alternative.

Krav Maga has always been about teaching “David” to be able to go up against “Goliath”. Since it became more of a complete system, a process that started in the mid 1980’s, it also became about how to use techniques and tactics to avoid, prevent, de-escalate confrontations and if inevitable to avoid, to do the best to win. Winning depends on who you are, what the situation is, where you are and what you need to achieve. So a desirable result sometimes may be to run away and sometimes to knock the aggressor down or to break the physical composure of the enemy.

Teaching women, alike men, began in the early days of the Israeli Military. In the 1970’s  specific lessons that dealt with matters such as hitch-hiking were also integrated, after some female soldiers  were attacked while hitch-hiking. The civilian sector always tried to appeal to women, but without very much success. A few years ago we began focusing on rectifying this and geared more towards female teenagers and adults.

In 2014 a stronger focus will be placed on expanding Krav Maga to the female population.

St George and Sutherland Shire now have a dedicated Krav Maga school. Located at Hurstville and Earlwood.

SGS Krav Maga is officially accredited with the Krav Maga Global (KMG). Krav Maga Global is the most recognised and largest Krav Maga organisation, with established KMG branches worldwide.

Author: Eyal Yanilov