4 Surprisingly Simple Self-Defense Moves Every Woman Needs to Know

​Gabrielle Rubin, founder of the New York City self-defense course Female Awareness, has studied martial arts for more than two decades. But it was an impromptu meeting with her mother's real estate colleagues a few years ago that led her to dedicate her career to teaching women how to protect themselves. "I taught them how to be safe around strangers and in empty houses and unfamiliar neighborhoods, and I realized that more women need to have these skills," says Rubin.

The first step in protecting yourself? Avoid bad situations. "Attacks begin before it's physical," Rubin says. A few pointers:

1. Pay attention

"Bad guys are looking for someone who's distracted," says Rubin. That means, yes, you should try to resist the urge to bury your face in your phone. Even talking on the phone can announce that your mind is elsewhere. With the phone to your ear, "you can't hear someone approaching, you have no peripheral vision, and you don't have use of that hand to defend yourself," Rubin explains.

2. Consolidate your stuff

Rubin recommends that women carry their handbags on their less dominant shoulder and use that hand to hold other bags or coffee. "Women tend to want to distribute their stuff to both hands, but, again, that leaves you without either hand for protection," she says.

3. Exude confidence

Just holding your shoulders back and walking tall can help you avoid an attack. "Self assurance is a big deterrent for bad guys," says Rubin. "They're looking for an easy target."

​How to Fight Back

In the unlikely event that you find yourself in a close encounter with an attacker, one (or more) of these moves—demonstrated by Rubin below—can help you defend yourself. "Self defense is not about strength," says Rubin. "It's about body mechanics and the element of surprise."

Move 1: Answer the phone (to defend against an attack from the front)

Make a tight fist with your dominant hand at your waist and your elbow pointing behind you. Raise your fist toward your ear as if you're picking up a telephone receiver. Swing your elbow backward, then under the attacker's chin.

Move 2: Tennis Serve (to defend against an arm grab)

In a quick motion as if you're serving a tennis ball, lock your elbow and swing your arm behind above your head in a circular motion, then slam it down diagonally across the attacker's forearms.

Move 3: Flamingo (to defend against an attack if your arms or hands have been grabbed)

​Stand on one leg, flamingo style. Bend your non-standing leg with your foot behind you. Swiftly kick your attacker's shin. Keep your kick low to avoid it being grabbed.

Move 4: Air Guitar (to defend against a grab to your upper arm, shoulder or neck)

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Raise the grabbed arm straight up outside the attacker's hand. Move your arm in a circular motion toward your face back up as if you're playing an air guitar.