Women's Self Defense Woburn

On Saturday 22nd July, Krav Maga Yashir Boston will be hosting the SEPS annual Campus Safety Seminar for young women ages 16 to 23. This 90-minute seminar teaches some basic self-defense skills and educates particpants to the types of threats and dangers they may face when at college/university. To learn more and book a place, please click here.

The SEPS Free Women's Self-Defense Program

Re-starting in the Summer of 2023

Krav Maga Yashir has been offering the SEPS (Situation Effective Protection System) Women’s self Defense Program free since 2010. This is a blended learning program, with the self-protection component offered online, with the physical self-defense component being taught as a number of in-person seminars, that teach self-defense fundamentals, the use of defensive sprays, as well as adrenal/scenario-based training. Self-protection training involves learning how to predict, prevent and avoid violence, whilst self-defense training involves learning techniques and developing the physical skills to deal with real-life violence, when prevention is not possible etc.

The self-protection part of our program (which can be accessed by clicking here), looks at three core areas of personal safety that are directly applicable/related to women: avoiding/preventing sexual assaults, identifying potentially abusive partners, and dealing with stalkers and stalking incidents. Statistically, women are most likely to be assaulted by people they know, in their homes or somebody else’s. Despite the picture the media portrays concerning female safety, women are actually safer in public spaces, and with strangers, a truth that our program acknowledges. Rather than focus solely on the newsworthy accounts of violence against women, the SEPS women’s self-defense program looks at the reality of violence against women, and how to prevent it. The program was developed by criminologist, Gershon Ben Keren and is founded on research and evidentially based criminological theories and studies.

Despite the way that rape and sexual assaults are often portrayed, as surprise attacks where an offender “jumps out” from a concealed, hiding place etc., most assaults are preceded by face-to-face dialogue, which often contains pre-violence indicators (PVI’s), as to the individual’s intent. By understanding the processes that offenders use to gain access to those they victimize, it is often possible to predict and prevent a violent incident from occurring. When prevention isn’t possible understanding where an interaction is heading at the earliest opportunity allows an individual more time to prepare for a physically violent encounter e.g., creating distance and range, positioning themselves in the best place to disengage etc. It is good self-protection, that allows the self-defense component to be effective e.g., when we are taken by surprise - regardless of our experience and training – we will always find ourselves behind the curve and fighting to catch up.

The SEPS women’s self-defense program doesn’t teach women how to exit abusive relationships and/or deal with intimate partner violence (IPV), however it does teach and inform about some of the warning signs which are often present in the early stages of intimate relationships. Unfortunately, many partners who go on to abuse appear almost “perfect” and are able to hide and disguise their true nature and intent. However, there are methods they use to do this, and patterns of behavior that they engage in, which can be used to identify how they will act in the future. By learning how to identify these things during the early stages of a relationship, an individual is able to make informed decisions about how to proceed with it. In some cases when ending such relationships, a partner may engage in a stalking campaign and the SEPS program addresses such events.

To learn more about the program, and see upcoming dates for classes and seminars, please visit our dedicated women’s self defense website by clicking here.