Any martial arts instructor can teach you the basic techniques of self defense fairly quickly. After all, these techniques are simple and straight forward. It isn't as crazy as the stuff you see in the movies. It isn't about jumping in the air and doing a 360 degree turn and kicking someone four times before you land. It is as easy as reaching out and poking someone in the eye.

The techniques are the easy part. The difficult part of learning self defense is in your mind. It's about understanding that your body is yours. It doesn't belong to anyone else. Understanding that defending yourself by doing whatever is necessary is the key. Although kicking someone in the face may be necessary from time to time, it is not the essential part of learning self defense.

Self-defense is what you do to keep yourself safe, and in control of one's own choices. If you believe you could never hurt someone, then you need to think again. It may be the only way to protect yourself from getting the same thing done to you. You don't need to go around and pick fights, but you do need to defend yourself if you are in a situation where there is no other choice.

It may not be your preference to hurt someone. But it may be the only option. The other person is forcing this unfortunate situation on you. Their intent is to injure and maybe even kill you. You must understand that hurting them is saving yourself. Tell yourself the following. If someone is trying to hurt me or someone I care about, I will do whatever is necessary to stop them. The easiest, most efficient, and safest way to do that is to stick your thumb in the attacker's eye.

The point isn't to hurt the other person, or destroy him. The point is to stop them from hurting you with the minimum amount of effort and the maximum amount of effectiveness. I can't emphasize enough how much of self-defense is in the head.

For the ladies who have had unwanting touching by a guy, condition yourself. This is your body, those are his hands on you. His hands do not belong on your body unless you choose so. It may be difficult to allow oneself to think that way since most people are trained to be polite. Look the guy in the eye, stand up straight, and say in a clear, firm tone: "Get your hands off me." And most of the guys out there will immediately take their hands off you.

You need to understand that your body is yours, and you make your own choices. And that no one else has the right to do that for you, without your permission. In most situations, violence isn't necessary. It just means that you need to explain yourself more clearly, not by putting the person in the hospital. Communicate the point clearly.

If you are sitting down, stand up. If you are standing, step to the side, turn and face the person, and again, say louder "I will say it one last time. Take your hands off me." Most every guy at this point will do so. Most people aren't complete idiots.

The techniques you could learn from a weekend seminar, will help you get out of casual attacks, such as someone just gets out of hand, or starts a fight, or grabs you. Even then, no training is perfect, and without practice, no one gets good. But the most important part is still the mindset. Just reading about what to do won't do you much good. Practice with someone, but remember, it starts with the mind.