Women’s Self-Defense in NYC: How to Stay Safe Amid Rising Attacks

Recent reporting on TikTok and across news channels has brought renewed attention to random, unprovoked attacks on women in New York City. The fear this creates is real, and it is understandable. What most people fail to account for, however, is that public reporting only captures a fraction of what actually occurs. The majority of harassment and assaults never reach the news and never enter official statistics. When people rely solely on reported incidents to assess risk, they underestimate the scope of the problem while still feeling its emotional weight. That gap between lived reality and visible data fuels anxiety and confusion.

As fear rises, more people are seeking self-defense training. This response makes sense. When the environment feels unstable, people look for agency. What does not help is panic or denial. These attacks are horrifying, but they are not anomalies. They exist on a spectrum of daily harassment and violence that many women already navigate. Pretending otherwise delays meaningful preparation.

Women are targeted regardless of intelligence, income, education, or status. That is not a moral failure on their part. It is a reality of how predatory behavior operates. Long-term change requires education and cultural correction. Short-term safety requires action. Self-defense training is not about paranoia. It is about responsibility toward oneself.

Self-defense begins with self-respect. That includes self-love. This is not language borrowed from wellness culture. It is a practical requirement. If you do not value yourself, you hesitate when it matters most. You second-guess. You freeze. People who care about getting home alive fight harder, move sooner, and recover faster. Loving yourself is not sentimental. It is operational.

Many women hope that one or two classes will be enough. That belief is understandable, but it is false. No meaningful skill develops that way. Self-defense is a learned behavior that requires time, repetition, and exposure to stress. It involves physical conditioning, decision-making, awareness, and emotional regulation. Expecting competence after a single session creates a dangerous illusion of readiness.

Feeling confident after two hours does not equal being capable. Confidence without depth often collapses under pressure. Real safety comes from familiarity, not optimism.

Change works the same way everywhere. You do not change your body in a day. You do not learn a language in a weekend. You do not undo years of conditioning without sustained effort. Safety is no different.

Lack of time is the most common excuse for avoiding training. It is also one of the weakest. Time will pass either way. The question is whether you spend it reinforcing fear or building capacity. When people train consistently, many situations that once felt threatening lose their emotional charge. Awareness replaces anxiety. Posture replaces hesitation. Calm replaces hypervigilance.

Predatory behavior relies on opportunity, not bravery. Attackers select based on perception. Body language, awareness, and confidence matter. When those are absent, vulnerability increases. This is not blame. It is mechanics. Walking distracted, uncertain, and disconnected sends information, whether you intend it or not.

I am not willing to move through the world without the ability to protect myself. That choice comes with responsibility. Preparing for violence reduces the likelihood of being harmed by it. Readiness changes outcomes long before contact occurs.

There is no single technique that guarantees safety. There is no secret move. No universal answer. Violence is unpredictable. What matters most is the story you carry about yourself. Are you someone who believes you are helpless, or someone who knows you are capable even under imperfect conditions?

Being attacked without warning is not a personal failure. Losing a confrontation does not define you. Defenselessness does. Training changes that narrative. Even when things go wrong, trained people recover faster because they know who they are.

Self-defense provides tools, but more importantly, it reveals capacity. Through training, people discover strength they did not know they had. Fear becomes fuel instead of friction. That transformation carries far beyond the gym.

This is not about becoming aggressive. It is about becoming grounded. Capable people walk with more peace because they are prepared.

Do something amazing – for yourself.

Tsahi Shemesh
Founder & CEO
Krav Maga Experts

Continue Reading:  

Can Women Fight Men?
This piece confronts physical reality without fear or fantasy, and explains what training must account for if safety is the goal.

The Body Language of Confidence
Long before contact happens, predators read posture, awareness, and presence. This article explains how.