Empower Yourself: Women’s Self-Defense Classes with Brighton Jiu Jitsu

“Violence against women and girls is a significant and growing problem, affecting one in 12 women and causing significant harm.”*

According to a report published in January 2025 by the National Audit Office, With this information, you might wonder what to do to protect yourself. What options do you have when it comes to defending yourself?

what can I carry?

In the UK you aren’t legally allowed to carry self-defense items such as pepper spray. You are permitted to carry a rape alarm, which will help to deter attackers and draw the attention of passersby, but it might not necessarily be as effective if an attacker is not easily deterred.
So what is the next best thing that you can do? Learning how to defend yourself. There are a wide variety of combat sports and martial arts out there; each will offer you techniques that will expand your knowledge when it comes to defending yourself, and there is not one “best” martial art for self-defense.

One option, particularly for self-defence, is Japanese Jiu-Jitsu. This style of Jiu Jitsu under The Jiu Jitsu Foundation, focuses on using your opponent’s momentum, weight, and balance (or lack of balance) against them. It means that regardless of size, gender, or strength, you learn techniques that can be used to help you get out of scary and intimidating situations.

What does this look like in a self-defence session?

At Brighton Jiu Jitsu, our senseis prioritise teaching you what is needed to escape a threat, without it having to look like a choreographed stunt scene from a film. There is a focus on learning a technique so that you can use it smoothly and then develop it so when you are off the mat, you can act almost instinctively. In our sessions, you will be introduced to several effective wrist and arm locks, which prioritise technique over strength when confronted by a potentially stronger opponent. You will also be shown a variety of throws, which will demonstrate that even if you are significantly smaller than your opponent, you can still use their balance and weight against them to proactively defend yourself. There is also a mental aspect to learning how to defend yourself. Learning the technique in a training environment is different from applying it in real life; when you are in fight or flight, your mind has gone blank, and you can hear the blood pounding in your ears. In order to assist with this gap between training and real-world situations, we often incorporate a pressure testing part into the class, where you will be asked to practice the techniques shown in that class against fellow students who confront you in quick succession. This pressure work helps to train you to perform when you’re stressed or in a tough situation. An integral part of the session is learning how to fall safely. Most fights off of the mat go to the
ground; the ability to be able to fall safely and recover quickly is incredibly important. It will allow you to reduce injury to yourself and help you to react quickly to a rapidly escalating situation if the attacker follows you to the floor.

If you are looking for self-defence classes in Brighton, come along and give us a try. We run sessions every Thursday at the Ki Centre, 7:45pm – 9:30pm. We are a friendly bunch who can’t wait to meet you.

The first session is free, and after that, sessions are £5 each, pay as you go.

• Tackling violence against women and girls, National Audit Office.
  

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