I've never cared for self-defense instructors who try to use scare tactics on women, convincing them that the world is out to get them unless they take five classes for "only" $42.99 each to save themselves.
I do, however, really appreciate it when people don't just play Mr. Nice Guy and tell women that they can learn basic techniques to help them survive certain threats, and when they remind people (both women and men!) that Mother was right when she taught them not to take candy from strangers, look both ways before crossing the street, and keep your purse tucked under your arm and your keys in your hand on the way to the car. After all, it's one thing to be aware of your surroundings and confident of your ability to handle most situations you may encounter, and thus able to be trusting of most individuals you meet; it's another to be blatantly ignorant of what can (and does) happen to women every day of the year and end up hurt because you thought no one would ever steal your purse or break into your home.
That said, I spotted an interesting book at the library called Fight Back: Arm Yourself with Mental and Physical Self-Defense. The author, Dominick DiVito, has been teaching self-defense for more than 25 years, according to his bio, including to a lovely list of celebrities like Naomi and Wynonna Judd. Now, personally I'm less impressed by the names being dropped as I am by the content of the book, which includes not just what to do if someone grabs you from behind, but the real-life situations in which things like that may occur.
For instance, it is much more likely (statistically speaking) for a woman to be a victim of rape or domestic abuse than for a man to be the victim of the same. It's the nature of the beast, so to speak, that women will come into harm's way, based on those statistics. But not every woman is comfortable with (or should be trusted with) a weapon such as a gun or knife. You can buy an attack-trained Rottweiler, but you probably can't take him to work or on a girls' night out at your favorite bar. And the police can't be expected to follow you around at your beck and call for the rest of your life. So it's time to understand what can happen to you, how you can get rid of a victim mentality ("I'm too small! I'm too weak!") and learn about the basics of self-defense.
This book does a great job of showing you how. Even if you don't have the energy, time, money, or interest in taking those expensive self-defense classes with the ads that try to scare you into their studio, you can sit down and learn about situations from an author and instructor who takes the time to not pull punches, reminds you to take off the rose colored glasses, and tells you what to do if you're faced with the worst. My greatest hope is that none of our readers will need these skills, but having been there myself, I surely hope that you'll have them if you do need them!
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