Self Defense Classes for Girls: Teaching Girls to Fight Back

How young is old enough to take Model Mugging women’s self defense training?

Parents and close family members who wish to empower their children to identify potential dangers, act with confident independence to get to safety, and, if necessary, know how to protect themselves physically commonly ask what the recommended minimum age range is for the Basic Model Mugging Self Defense course.

We have divided the age groups into 16 and 12, where the self-defense course content is adjusted accordingly. There is more to this subject than just simple martial arts skills; the mind, body, and emotions must be developed simultaneously. Parents must consider the mental-emotional maturity and physical development of their child when determining the appropriateness of an activity. Suppose the child is a survivor of molestation, incest, sexual battery, rape, or other violence. In that case, it should also be considered with the assistance of a psychologist when deciding whether to enroll.

Young women between the ages of 16 and 18 are at a high threat of being raped and targeted for abusive intimate relationships. They have not developed life experience while beginning to independently socialize and date, making them increasingly vulnerable to predators. The violence inflicted upon 14, 15, or 16 year old girls can be similar for any adult woman. Assailants will not adjust their assaults to the age of their victims. Occasionally, younger girls are horrifically victimized.

Self Defense for Girls Older Than 16

The basic self-defense course presentation is designed for mid to late teens and women 16 and above. Depending on the age range of the overall group, we may adjust the course material for younger teenagers and then recommend they take the basic course for women when they are age 16. However, due to personal situations, maturity, and early physical development, some situations warrant admitting younger teens into the self-defense class for women. Younger teens have taken the basic self-defense for women course and performed wonderfully. We request a mother, guardian, or other close female adult attend the self-defense training with girls who are under 16 years of age. Each parent and teenager must assess their comfort and ability levels. Fighting intensity is adjusted to each student’s ability to ensure safety and promote progressive skill development.

Understanding the context of violence that criminals may subject girls and women to does transfer over to maturity and, ultimately, their fighting abilities during scenarios. We have found teenagers perform quite well with the course explanations that aid in their scenario negotiations and fighting spirit during the full force rape prevention scenarios. High school girls fight back exceptionally well when graduating from a self-defense class, showing no difference in performance and emotional strength compared to college-age women. The course addresses issues of violence, sexuality, relationships, and intense emotions surrounding the subject of rape, domestic violence, and stalking. There are cases where all of these crimes have also affected teenagers.

Self-defense techniques taught are no nonsense fighting skills geared for real world street violence. Overall, conflict avoidance is one of the most significant benefits of the Model Mugging self-defense program. Graduates rarely have to use their physical skills. Most often, their increased awareness and assertiveness skills carry over to stronger boundaries and reduce the risk of sexual assault.

Boundary setting and verbal de-escalation skills would be taught in a younger teen course, enabling them to recognize danger more clearly and rapidly and to get to safety without relying on their fighting skills. Developing their fighting experience in class is what provides the foundational confidence to be proactive with safety and not wait for a bad situation to become worse.

Self Defense for Girls Under 16

If you have a group of ten to fifteen girls under the age of 16, we can hold an age group-specific self-defense class for girls, modifying the class outline and format according to the maturity and age of the group members. Later, they can take the basic self-defense course for women. If you have a group of fifteen young teens, we can hold a teenage self-defense class at a convenient location.

Self Defense for Girls Under 12

For girls under 12 and under, we can teach a personal safety class to improve awareness skills to guard against lures and the various strategies used by child molesters and other child predators. If you have a group of ten to fifteen young teens, we can hold the self-defense class at a convenient location. We can also teach parents the grooming techniques child molesters use to manipulate others to gain access to a child, which simultaneously describes why the “stranger-danger” theme is not effective in protecting children against the most common predators – those whom they already know.

Beginning as children, many girls are targeted for sexual abuse. Girls are sexually victimized more often than boys. Estimates project between 15% and 25% of boys are sexually abused by male and/or female perpetrators.  When taught factually, the dangers of molestation, abduction, and other forms of sexual exploitation do not cause excessive fear in youngsters but give them the knowledge to prevent and counter threats to their safety.

Links to other Course Options:

You can host a self defense course in your community.