Women’s Self Defense in New York City

When I moved to New York City, as a 23 years old female over a year ago, I realized the importance of taking care of myself and make friends in NYC. I wanted to learn self defense or a martial art, make friends and get fit. So I looked at gyms, martial arts schools and got in touch with old friends.

I couldn’t find a Japanese Jujitsu dojo so I searched for another style of martial arts. I dabbled in kickboxing, Karate and Coung Nhu, but none of them gave me the intensity and adrenaline that I needed. I heard about Krav Maga and decided to check out a few classes. I was immediately hooked and I have been hopelessly in love with it ever since.

I remember my very first class. The instructor used me to demonstrate that even a small female could cause real damage with a weapon. He gave me a padded stick, held one between his hands and asked me to swing at him as hard as I could. I happily accepted. Unfortunately I was a bit uncoordinated and I smashed his fingers with every swing. I knew I had found my new home.

Now, over a year later, I am still with the Krav Maga Institute, I have a ton of friends there and I am still deeply committed to my training. Although it is not competitive, I enjoy it as much as any sport, I enjoy learning the new techniques and trying out variations of them. Mastering a difficult technique and learning to execute a clean and effective defense is as much an accomplishment as learning to hit a fastball and scoring a home run. Unlike any other sport, however, Krav Maga has the potential to save my life.

I have never been in a fight or seriously attacked, but I have still used Krav Maga on many occasions. Our instructors emphasize prevention in every class and this is something I have taken with me outside of class. Being a small woman (5″5′ and 110lbs), I know if it ever came down to a fight between me an average-sized man, or worse, multiple men, the odds would not be in my favor. With my training, I am confident I would fare much better than someone with no training, and I would make it out in one piece, but I always opt to prevent rather than take the risk. Krav Maga has taught me the importance of awareness and allowed me to avoid dangerous situations. Our street clothes classes have taught me that I can still use the training I’ve received when I’m wearing heels and jeans instead of the workout clothes and sneakers I normally wear for training. I live alone down a dark ally in Queens, NY so there are plenty of times when my spidey-senses are on high alert. Krav Maga has given me the ability to make the best of a potentially dangerous situation, as well as the confidence that I would not be powerless in the event that I had an encounter with someone who was up to no good. I have found my NY home at the Krav Maga Institute.