Even though Edinburgh is a relatively safe city, many women travel a lot and could benefit from this course.
A first of its kind women only self defence seminar is to be launched in Edinburgh, helping arm them with self defence skills which could potentially save their lives.
Combat Ready Gym, on Newhaven Road, will run the six weekly seminars specifically designed for women starting next month. The two hour long sessions will focus on awareness, how to prevent attacks from happening and defence against attackers in a variety of real life situations.
Currently there is no real offering in the capital for women looking to pick up and develop vital self defence skills and Marcus Houston, owner of Combat Ready Gym is hoping the launch of his women only self defence seminars will rectify this and encourage more women to come forward and arm themselves with potentially lifesaving awareness and self defence skills.
He said: “The number of attacks on women is pretty shocking, which is why we have set up these classes, to help raise awareness of this and also help women protect and defend themselves against attacks.
“Lots of centres offer defensive training, but these are more often than not geared towards men, which can be pretty off putting to women, who feel they may not be able to train with other men or would prefer something more suited to their skills sets and needs.
“After some research and listening to the women who come to my gym on a regular basis, as well as family and friends it became clear that there was nothing out there specifically aimed at women.
“The seminars will cover basic defence and awareness skills and give women some key dos and don’ts as well as practical self defence skills which increase their confidence and it is this increased level of confidence that will carry over into daily life and make them less likely to become the victim of an attack.”
During the seminar, women will learn no nonsense, practical self defence skills which will draw upon techniques from Krav Maga, a unique form of defensive martial arts which uses natural reactions and body movements to develop defences against a variety of attacks.
Developed by the Israeli self defence forces, Krav Maga focuses on technique rather than size or strength which makes it the ideal form of protective defence for women of all fitness levels and abilities.
The seminars at Combat Ready will teach how to react to attacks usually aimed at women including threats, grabs, chokes, punches kicks and bag snatches. Not only that, the sessions will also help increase confidence and situational awareness, helping women identify when potential attacks may occur and prevent these from happening.
Marcus added: “Prevention is more often than not the best form of defence and we want women to leave the sessions with greater awareness of where and when attacks could occur. They will learn to assess situations which could potentially be dangerous and determine who or what may cause potential threats.
“Once they are able to identify these, they will then be able to make better defensive choices, by either moving themselves away from that danger or reacting defensively.
“Ultimately the aim of the seminars is to prevent women from becoming victims to attacks – it is all about avoidance and de-escalation. But if all goes wrong and you find yourself faced with an attack of any type, self defence techniques using Krav Maga can be devastatingly effective.”
The women only self defence seminars are open to women of all ages 14 and above and to women of all fitness levels and no previous martial arts experience is required as instructors will work both one on one and in groups to help develop skills, which are natural extensions of your own natural strength and abilities.
The first seminar will take place on Sunday 7 April at Combat Ready Gym, Newhaven Road, Edinburgh from 12pm to 2pm and costs just £20
Only a handful of fully certified Krav Maga instructors are in operation in the UK today and Marcus Houston at Combat Ready Gym is the only one of these in Scotland, offering defence training for men and women, as well a special training for Scotland’s police force and military.
As well as Krav Maga, Marcus Houston also provides training in kickboxing, strength and conditioning and kettlebells and offers personal training sessions for men and women at all fitness levels.
More information about Krav Maga and the full range of training and defence services offered at Combat Ready Gym can be found at www.kravmagaedinburgh.com or by contacting Marcus on enquiries@kravmagaedinburgh.com
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
