It’s not something you really like to think about. They’re the muggers, attackers and sex perverts in your own city or town. Learn how to protect yourself against physical harm…it may save your life.  You’re walking home from school, or to the mall when suddenly a stranger tries to grab you or pull your backpack to steal the money or other stuff inside of it. What can you do? Is there any way to protect yourself and your belongings? Yes there is! Learn all you can about self-defense skills. Most people will tell you that the best offense is a strong defense! Here are a few reasons why it’s a good idea to learn self-defense skills or martial arts…

1. You feel unsafe in the neighborhood where you live, and want to protect yourself against the violence
2. You want to be able to keep younger siblings and other loved ones safe
3. You are small for a teenager or younger than your peers. You know that makes you an easy target for an attacker
4. You may be a good looking girl who gets a lot of attention from boys and jealousy from girls

You may think it will never happen to you, or you may be too scared to know what to do. Be prepared so you can have piece of mind. Be prepared so you don’t have to live in fear. Too many people suffer in silence, and miss out on life, because they feel like somebody could harm them or attack them at any time. Self-defense prepares you to deal with these types of crisis situations – situations that can happen to anybody.

Researchers report that attackers and muggers are usually after one of two things: money (or something valuable) or sex.  How far these “home grown terrorists” will go to get what they want depends, partially on what you do to defend yourself. Some may threaten with a gun or a knife, some may threaten with words or by grabbing and pushing you around.  If they want money or any other valuable item, you should just give it to them. Better safe than sorry! No possession or amount of money is worth risking your life. If the attacker wants your body, and not your money, the use of self-defense skills explained below may help you escape.

Before you read the "How To" section to learn some self-defense quick tips, here is one quick warning: The self-defense skills you learn are supposed to be used for just that – defending yourself against an assailant. DO NOT use them to hurt another person unless he or she first attempts to harm you. Self-defense skills, martial arts and other methods of protection should NEVER be used for fooling around, showing off your abilities, or to become an attacker yourself.

Being careful, and taking obvious precautions is the best defense against possible attackers, but having the right knowledge and skill about what to do in particular situation could save your life. So use the "Defined" and "How To" pages to find out what you need to know to protect yourself?