The surprising roots of the self-defense movement and the history of women’s empowerment. At the turn of the twentieth century, women famously organized to demand greater social and political freedoms like gaining the right to vote. However, few realize that the Progressive Era also witnessed the birth of the women’s self-defense movement. It is nearly impossible in today’s day and age to imagine a world without the concept of women’s self defense. Some women were inspired to take up boxing and jiu-jitsu for very personal reasons that ranged from protecting themselves from attacks by strangers on the street to rejecting gendered notions about feminine weakness and empowering themselves as their own protectors. Women’s training in self defense was both a reflection of and a response to the broader cultural issues of the time, including the women’s rights movement and the campaign for the vote. Perhaps more importantly, the discussion surrounding women’s self-defense revealed powerful myths about the source of violence against women and opened up conversations about the less visible violence that many women faced in their own homes. Through self-defense training, women debunked patriarchal myths about inherent feminine weakness, creating a new image of women as powerful and self-reliant. Whether or not women consciously pursued self-defense for these reasons, their actions embodied feminist politics. Although their individual motivations may have varied, their collective action echoed through the twentieth century, demanding emancipation from the constrictions that prevented women from exercising their full rights as citizens and human beings. This book is a fascinating and comprehensive introduction to one of the most important women’s issues of all time. This book will provoke good debate and offer distinct responses and solutions.

This 19th-century self-defense manual—written by a master swordsman—will appeal to fencers and martial artists as well as fans of Victorian-era culture, steampunk, and American history Colonel Thomas Hoyer Monstery was a master swordsman who participated in more than fifty duels, fought under twelve flags, battled gangsters, and was constantly involved in the great conflicts and upheavals of his time. In the 1870s, he began writing his magnum opus—a series of newspaper articles that are now collected here for the first time in Self-Defense for Gentleman and Ladies. In this book, Colonel Monstery presents a unique look into the Victorian-era fighting world. He describes styles such as British “purring” (shin-kicking), Welsh jump-kicking, and American rough-and-tumble fighting, in addition to providing illustrated instruction in the art of gentlemanly self-defense with a cane, staff, or one’s bare hands. Fifty rare drawings and photographs from the period illuminate Monstery’s world, while an extensive glossary of terms and an introductory biography of Colonel Monstery—including fascinating details of his many duels as well as his groundbreaking devotion to teaching fencing and self-defense skills to women—update his text to make it accessible and useful to gentlemen and ladies of any era. Contents Colonel Thomas Hoyer Monstery: The Unknown American Martial Arts Master I. Introduction. II. The Logic of Boxing. III. Standing and Striking. IV. Advancing to Strike and Feinting. V. Simple Parries in Boxing. VI. Parries with Returns. VII. Effective or Counter Parries in Boxing. VIII. Offence and Defense by Evasions. IX. Trips, Grips, and Back-Falls. X. Rules for a Set-to with Gloves. XI. Observations on Natural Weapons. XII. The Use of the Cane. XIII. The Use of the Cane (continued). XIV. The Use of the Staff. XV. The Use of the Staff (continued). Appendix: Monstery's Rules for Contests of Sparring and Fencing Glossary

An examination of women's self-defense culture and its relationship to feminism. I was once a frightened feminist. So begins Martha McCaughey's odyssey into the dynamic world of women's self- defense, a culture which transforms women involved with it and which has equally profound implications for feminist theory and activism. Unprecedented numbers of American women are learning how to knock out, maim, even kill men who assault them. Sales of mace and pepper spray have skyrocketed. Some 14 million women own handguns. From behind the scenes at gun ranges, martial arts dojos, fitness centers offering Cardio Combat, and in padded attacker courses like Model Mugging, Real Knockouts demonstrates how self-defense trains women out of the femininity that makes them easy targets for men's abuse. And yet much feminist thought, like the broader American culture, seems deeply ambivalent about women's embrace of violence, even in self-defense. Investigating the connection between feminist theory and women physically fighting back, McCaughey found self-defense culture to embody, literally, a new brand of feminism.

A groundbreaking self-defense and fitness book for women by a ballerina-turned-self-defense expert. Learn how to become your own weapon of self-defense and fitness so that you can create and target your best life. After ballerina Avital Zeisler was savagely attacked as a young woman, she lived in fear—until she took action to train with experts in self-defense from around the world. Seeking a method specific to women and using Krav Maga as a base, she created her own self-defense program: the Soteria Method. It was an immediate sensation, and is now in demand by everyone from corporate executives to Hollywood stars—such as Amanda Seyfried, Megan Boone, and Keri Russell, to name a few—who seek her classes both for the self-defense and for the intense, body-sculpting workout. Unique and empowering, Weapons of Fitness will help get you into incredible shape—and just might save your life.

Can you defend yourself in the street with boxing techniques? Yes, you can, but there are critical differences between the ring and the pavement arena. For boxing to be an effective self-defense system, you must know which parts transfer directly and which ones you need to adapt. Most of all, you must know how to do that. Written by a self-defense expert with over thirty-five years of experience, this book teaches you exactly that. It covers everything you need to start your training, regardless if you are a beginner or if you already practice the sweet science. You will learn how to: Avoid going to jail by understanding how legal self-defense is different from sports fighting. Not break you fist when punching without gloves. Adapt boxing's footwork, punching and defensive techniques to the realities of the street. Get out of the clinch positions attackers most often use. Avoid common mistakes that boxers make when defending themselves. This first volume in the "Boxing for Self-Defense" series covers the fundamental information you need to efficiently defend yourself. It gives you the necessary knowledge to transform powerful ring-fighting techniques into devastating punches that can fight off aggressors. As the saying goes: You don't know punching, until you've been hit by a boxer. Buy this book today so you too can become a hard-hitting pugilist. Bonus! You receive free access to an on-line resources page with more information, videos of boxing used in street encounters, gear to use and much more.