Teaching Women Self-Defense: Pedagogical Issues

Abstract

Fear of being raped is so pervasive among women in the United States that it interferes significantly with activities, including recreational athletics and physical fitness regimens (Gardner; Gordon et al.; Henderson and Bialeschki; Riger and Gordon; Warr). Community organizations and colleges often respond to violence against women by offering self-defense courses for women, assuming that teaching women self-defense is a solution to the problem of violence. Researchers and anecdotal accounts also suggest that victims can enhance feelings of control and reduce feelings of vulnerability by enrolling in self-defense courses (e. g., Brady; Cohn et al; Smith). Yet, teaching self-defense raises pedagogical issues regarding effective components of programs. We argue that such issues are especially important in these courses because ineffective programs may disempower individuals who are already psychologically vulnerable. Some issues regarding self-defense courses and violence against women are philosophical in nature and have been addressed in Madden and Sokol (Empowering)- In this article, we address feminist pedagogical issues concerning whether the instructional methods and content of courses truly result in the empowerment of women in response to a basic misogynistic mechanism of control over women, violence against them. Our perspective has evolved from empirical research on reactions to martial arts courses, from teaching self-defense, and from questions of students, audiences, and professionals working with violence survivors. We cite empirical evidence to support our position when it is available, although admittedly some issues are better researched than others.

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