Self Defense for Seniors

The elderly are one of the groups that is most targeted by criminals because they are often perceived as being easy targets. Many criminals are out looking for people they perceive to be easy to rob, and senior citizens often provide a crime of opportunity to the lowest of criminals. But for some seniors, this may be changing. There are now self defense courses that are taught to senior citizens specifically to teach them how to be less appealing targets and how to fight back against criminals.

Senior self defense class like a recent Ohio course teaches seniors how to use what skills they have to scare away an assailant even if their reflexes and agility aren’t what they once were. There are many ways that the course teaches seniors to discourage an attack. This includes learning about what criminals don’t want to happen during an attack and how to make the experience more trouble than it’s worth for the criminal.

It’s common sense that criminals don’t want to be caught, so the key for many of the senior self defense techniques is to scare criminals into leaving out of fear of being caught. One way to do this is to make a lot of noise if there is a problem. The noise will attract onlookers as well as security guards, police and good Samaritans. Yelling things like "fire!" and calling for help are important things to do that can attract attention and force a criminal to flee the scene.

Many senior citizens also have weapons on hand that they can learn to utilize for self defense. A walker or a cane can be used to hurt attackers and scare them from staying and harming the senior. It’s also important for seniors to have confidence. When walking tall and feeling confident, seniors are less likely to look like easy target.