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Self Defence Training

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Self Defence Training

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Self Defence Training

This self-defence course gives you the practical skills to protect yourself and the people you care about in real-world situations. You'll train striking, blocking, clinch control, and ground escape using proven techniques built for everyday people. No prior experience required — just the commitment to show up ready to learn.

Dedika for businesses

What you will learn:

You will learn how to read threatening situations and de-escalate confrontations before they turn physical. You will develop reliable striking combinations using your hands, elbows, and knees, along with solid blocking and evasion skills. The course covers clinch control, takedown defence, and ground escapes so you can handle close-range attacks with confidence. You will also train scenario-based movement drills that put your skills under realistic pressure. By the end, you will have a complete personal safety system grounded in practical technique and sound decision-making.

How you study practically Self Defence Training

How you practise Self Defence Training

For companies looking to train their teams

With Dedika for businesses, the course includes exercises and examples tailored to your own business and the way your company needs.

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Course content

8 Chapters • 40 LessonsDuration between 4 and 360 hours (you decide)

Chapter 1See details

Foundations of Personal Safety

Lesson 1 • Developing a Defensive Mindset
Addresses the psychological readiness required to act decisively under stress. Establishes mental frameworks that support every physical skill taught later.
Lesson 2 • Legal and Ethical Use of Force
Introduces the concept of proportional force and the legal duty to retreat where applicable. Ensures learners understand accountability before practising any technique.
Lesson 3 • Situational Awareness Principles
Teaches the colour-code awareness model and environmental scanning habits. Connects proactive observation to threat avoidance before physical contact occurs.
Lesson 4 • De-escalation and Avoidance Strategies
Covers verbal and behavioural tactics to defuse confrontations before they become physical. Positions avoidance as the highest-priority self-defence tool.
Lesson 5 • Understanding the Threat Landscape
Examines common assault patterns and attacker profiles to contextualise why self-defence skills matter. Grounds all subsequent technique training in real-world scenarios.

Chapter 2See details

Body Mechanics and Safe Training

Lesson 1 • Footwork and Directional Movement
Develops stepping patterns that maintain balance while closing or creating distance. Efficient footwork is prerequisite to effective striking and evasion.
Lesson 2 • Core Engagement and Power Generation
Explains how hip rotation and core tension transfer force into strikes and defences. Learners learn to generate power without relying solely on arm strength.
Lesson 3 • Warm-Up, Cool-Down, and Injury Prevention
Provides structured warm-up and cool-down protocols specific to self-defence training. Reduces injury risk and prepares the body for high-intensity practice sessions.
Lesson 4 • Stance and Balance Fundamentals
Teaches the defensive fighting stance and weight distribution for stability. Proper stance underpins every strike, block, and movement covered in later chapters.
Lesson 5 • Safe Falling and Impact Absorption
Teaches breakfall techniques to minimise injury when thrown or knocked down. Safe falling is essential before any grappling or takedown work is introduced.

Chapter 3See details

Core Striking Techniques

Lesson 1 • Elbow and Forearm Strikes
Introduces horizontal, vertical, and rear elbow strikes for close-range defence. Elbows are emphasised as high-impact tools when punching distance is unavailable.
Lesson 2 • Hand Strike Fundamentals
Covers the straight punch, palm heel, and hammer fist as primary hand weapons. Each strike is selected for reliability and low injury risk to the defender.
Lesson 3 • Combination Striking Sequences
Chains two to three strikes into fluid combinations that overwhelm an attacker's defence. Builds on individual technique mastery to create continuous offensive pressure.
Lesson 4 • Striking Under Stress Conditions
Drills strikes with elevated heart rate and simulated pressure to replicate real encounters. Stress inoculation ensures techniques remain accessible when adrenaline spikes.
Lesson 5 • Targeting Vulnerable Anatomy
Identifies high-value targets such as the throat, nose, eyes, and solar plexus. Accurate targeting maximises the effect of each strike regardless of size difference.

Chapter 4See details

Defensive Blocks and Evasion

Lesson 1 • Integrating Defence with Counterattack
Combines blocks and evasions with immediate counterstrikes into seamless defensive sequences. Trains the reflex to transition from defence to offence without hesitation.
Lesson 2 • Defending Against Grabs and Chokes
Covers defences against wrist grabs, collar grabs, and standing chokes. Releases prioritise breaking grip structure rather than matching attacker strength.
Lesson 3 • Passive and Active Guard Positions
Establishes hands-up guard positions that protect the head while appearing non-aggressive. A solid guard is the starting point for every defensive response.
Lesson 4 • Blocking Straight and Hooking Attacks
Teaches inside and outside blocks against straight punches and wide swings. Correct blocking redirects force and positions the defender for an immediate counter.
Lesson 5 • Evasion and Slipping Techniques
Develops head movement and body evasion to avoid strikes without contact. Evasion combined with footwork creates superior angles for counterattacks.

Chapter 5See details

Kicks and Lower-Body Weapons

Lesson 1 • Knee Strikes in Close Range
Introduces rising and diagonal knee strikes for use when clinched or grabbed. Knee strikes are highly effective at close range where punches lose power.
Lesson 2 • Low-Line Kicks for Disruption
Covers shin kicks, ankle stomps, and instep strikes targeting the lower leg. Low kicks are difficult to see and effective for disrupting an attacker's base.
Lesson 3 • Side and Stomp Kicks
Develops the side thrust kick and downward stomp for lateral threats and downed attackers. These kicks exploit the hip's natural power axis for maximum force.
Lesson 4 • Front Kick Mechanics
Teaches the push kick and snap kick to the midsection and knee as primary distance tools. Front kicks are introduced first for their simplicity and balance retention.
Lesson 5 • Integrating Kicks with Hand Techniques
Combines kicks with punches and elbows into full-body combination sequences. Integration ensures learners can flow between upper and lower weapons fluidly.

Chapter 6See details

Clinch, Control, and Takedown Defence

Lesson 1 • Clinch Strikes and Dirty Boxing
Applies short punches, elbows, and knee strikes within the clinch to damage and destabilise the attacker. Clinch striking converts a defensive position into an offensive one.
Lesson 2 • Clinch Entry and Posture Control
Teaches how to enter and establish a dominant clinch position against an aggressive attacker. Controlling posture limits the attacker's ability to strike or throw.
Lesson 3 • Off-Balancing and Throws
Introduces hip throws, foot sweeps, and push-pull off-balancing to create space or end the encounter. Throws are taught as tools to disengage, not to continue ground fighting.
Lesson 4 • Disengaging from the Clinch
Covers safe methods to break clinch contact and create distance for escape or continued defence. Disengagement is the preferred outcome when the threat is neutralised.
Lesson 5 • Takedown Defence and Base Maintenance
Develops sprawl, hip-drop, and underhook defences against common single and double-leg takedowns. Staying upright is prioritised as the safest outcome in a street encounter.

Chapter 7See details

Ground Defence and Recovery

Lesson 1 • Guard Position and Defence
Teaches the closed guard as a defensive position to control an attacker and limit damage. Guard work provides a platform for sweeps and stand-up escapes.
Lesson 2 • Ground Strikes and Defensive Biting
Introduces palm strikes, elbows, and eye gouges applicable from inferior ground positions. Teaches last-resort tactics when mechanical escapes are temporarily unavailable.
Lesson 3 • Escaping Common Ground Positions
Covers escapes from mount, side control, and back control using leverage and hip movement. Each escape is selected for reliability against a larger, stronger attacker.
Lesson 4 • Ground Survival Priorities
Establishes the mindset that ground fighting is a temporary state requiring immediate escape. Teaches position awareness and the hierarchy of ground survival goals.
Lesson 5 • Standing Up Safely Under Pressure
Drills the technical stand-up and combat base rise against an attacker attempting to keep the defender down. Returning to feet is the primary goal of all ground defence.

Chapter 8See details

Scenario-Based Training and Application

Lesson 1 • Post-Incident Response
Covers immediate actions after a self-defence incident including safety checks and reporting. Prepares learners for the physical and psychological aftermath of a real encounter.
Lesson 2 • Multiple-Attacker Awareness
Introduces movement strategies and priority targeting when facing more than one threat. Emphasises escape over engagement when multiple attackers are present.
Lesson 3 • Environmental Constraint Scenarios
Trains defence in confined spaces, against walls, and in low-light conditions. Environmental constraints force adaptation of techniques to real-world limitations.
Lesson 4 • Scenario Design and Training Methodology
Explains how realistic scenarios are structured to replicate street encounters safely. Establishes roles, safety protocols, and feedback processes for scenario training.
Lesson 5 • Single-Attacker Scenarios
Applies striking, blocking, clinch, and ground skills against a single resisting partner. Develops fluid decision-making when the attacker's behaviour is unpredictable.

Certification

Your valid completion certificate

This course is for you:

First-time learner: wants foundational safety skills with zero prior physical training background.
Frequent traveller: regularly navigates unfamiliar or potentially high-risk urban environments alone.
Fitness facilitator: seeks to expand professional offerings into personal safety programming.
College student: newly independent and motivated to build real-world personal protection habits.
Caregiver or parent: responsible for others' safety and wants reliable protective knowledge.
Outdoor enthusiast: spends time in remote or isolated settings with limited immediate support.

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