Learn to Fight: Upcoming Self Defense Classes

A short-term self defense class can give you the skills to fight back when all else fails. Knowing you have options even if things get physical will also increase your self-confidence, which makes you much less vulnerable on the street.

At the beginning of each month I'll provide a list of upcoming self defense classes in different locations. This month's list include classes in Washington, D.C., northern and southern California, Boston, Santa Fe, and New York City.

Defend Yourself, an organization in Washington, D.C., offers a variety of self defense classes at reasonable prices -- a nine-week class is listed as $209. Their next class begins on Monday Oct. 22.

Here are some October self defense classes taught by local affiliates of the Impact Personal Safety self defense program. I took the Impact course many years back when it was called Model Mugging and found it excellent. It's more expensive than other programs --
about $450 to $550 for the basic program -- but the teachers have extensive training and the program is intensive.

• Boston Impact has a weekend-long basics class for women on Oct. 12-14.
• Santa Fe Impact has a women's basics class on Sundays beginning Oct. 14.
• San Francisco Bay Area Impact has a weekend-long basics class for women on Oct. 19-21.
• Impact in Santa Monica has two series of weekly basics classes for women, one on Tuesdays beginning Oct. 16 and one on Sundays beginning Oct. 28.
• Washington, D.C., Impact has a women's basics class on Sundays beginning Oct. 21.
• New York City Impact and Prepare has a basics class for women and teens on Mondays beginning Oct. 29.