Don't be oblivious to your surroundings and put yourself in a position to get mugged like walking around some dark isolated area wearing headphones.

If you think you're gonna fend off an attacker with martial arts from a self defense class you're a complete idiot. Taking up running as a hobby would be wiser.

DC crime stats don’t support the assumption that random attacks are up from the year before. All those news articles are distorting your perception.

https://mpdc.dc.gov/page/district-crime-data-glance

Dude wants to learn some martial arts to feel safer and asked for help finding a class. Why did you choose to comment only to degrade him instead of helping? Why not just move on instead of calling him an idiot ?

My comment was more genuinely helpful than recommending some scam self defense class that's more likely to get the guy killed (in the event he even ever gets randomly attacked, which is so unlikely as to be effectively 0% probability in the first place).

Everyone I know who is hard core into martial arts says that the industry sees self defense classes as actively harmful because they give you way more confidence than they give you skills. For 99.9% of people, some combination of complying and/or running away is the safest option. Self defense classes will not put you in the .1% who could consider fighting back but it could make you think you are.

Feeling safer (which you noted is what OP wants) without actually being safer is far more dangerous than being unsafe and knowing it.

OP said defense classes/martial arts. If you know self defense is pointless and martial arts is better, you could be helpful OP and steer him/her in the right direction. Don’t justify the other dude calling him an idiot because OP just doesn’t know what the scene is like.

Yeah dude you’re not getting it. My comment was letting you know you were being a dick, not that you were wrong lol.

"instead of helping"

Hi I've been doing martial arts for about a year. I just want to warn you that no self defense class or martial art will really help all that much especially if your attacker has a significant size advantage or even more so if they have a weapon.

The good schools will teach you some things like situational awareness and de-escalation tactics but many schools will just take your money and try to convince you that you are now a jedi. Please keep this in the back of your mind as you move forward.

Now all that being said I F!@#ing love martial arts. They're great and they are a ton of fun and will get you into amazing physical shape. So don't take this as a "don't bother" just understand that the reason you are getting into it it will only take you so far.

Lies. Judo. Flip them and run! /Judo places are rare though. But yea awareness is best and lots of people will rob you with like 2-3 guys which makes it ...less useful, lol.

>Lies. Judo. Flip them and run! /Judo places are rare though. But yea awareness is best and lots of people will rob you with like 2-3 guys which makes it ...less useful, lol.

or if they're serious about robbing people and bring a knife or a gun or have a serious weight / athletic advantage getting the flip off is going to be extremely tough.

Well, knife or gun is a nonstarter but you definitely flip someone who is bigger and stronger than you. If you're really good at it you can faceplant someone 3x your size. Shrug, judo gives you way more percentages than anything else with physical differentials imo, especially since you don't need to win a fight just get them down and book it.

Right!

One thing that sucks is that sometimes the perpetrator in violent crime is often an acquaintance. This is particularly true for sexual violence.

Kind of hard to recommend anything without more info. Your size, gender, time you can dedicate, threat environment, etc. all change what would be most appropriate.

For example, I'm a large dude, so chances are the crimes I will be subject to are likely multiple armed males taking my stuff. I've accepted that is likely a scenario I would never have a chance of winning by resisting and I concealed carry all the time. The amount of training and just luck one would have to have for even a chance against multiple attackers isn't small.

That being said, in spite what a lot of others on here are saying, its good to give yourself a skill set for something other than armed robbery, especially for women or smaller men. Something as simple as taking some boxing classes or classes that teach some open hand skills are worth doing. Its amazing how many people can't throw an effective punch. Not advocating punching someone who is robbing you at gun point, but if you are worried about other types of assault then having some experience in fighting back is a good thing.

First thing to do is just keep up situational awareness and practice it. Eventually it just becomes a habit.

I would keep mace on you at all times and get some of the practice cans. I have my concealed carry on me most of the time and I still carry mace. It can buy you valuable time to get out of a situation and get to safety. Be sure to use the practice cans to make sure you can confidently draw and deploy it quickly. No point in it if you can't find it in your pockets or purse or whatever.

Honestly, I would just take some boxing classes close to you and go from there.

Is this satire

You’d be better off with a carry permit and sufficient training. And society would be better off with fewer groups of 2-4 armed robbers, or others who physically prey on people minding their own business.

As a certified internet tonight guy TM, this is good advice.

I learned a while ago not to challenge Judo people on their ideas of judo lol.