Many of us feel a lot of negative emotions when we think about practicing self defense.  Sometimes old traumas are triggered, or recurring fears resurface.  Often we want to avoid the subject entirely.

Home Alive believes that our society tends to view issues of violence and self defense in skewed ways that make us feel powerless, isolated and afraid.  Most media reports about violent incidents seem designed to foster fear and titillation, and they rarely include accounts of the self defense that people do successfully practice.

For example, media covering a story about a man trying to abduct preteen girls in a small city reported breathlessly on how nine different girls were grabbed on the street as the man tried to shove them into his car.  The story inspired terror in the community and created a lot of fear in young women; it also led to increased control of young women’s movement and behavior by well-meaning family members.  However, what was missed in the uproar was the fact that eight of the young women successfully resisted their attacker.  And when the ninth girl was abducted and assaulted, she was able to escape, and remembered enough details about the attacker that police were able to arrest him later that day.

That’s a lot of unrecognized, totally badass self defense being practiced!  While violence and abuse are scary, it can make a big difference how you look at it.  In this section, you’ll find exercises designed to break down the myths and help us find our strength and power.