What is Self-Defense for Solo Travelers?
- Nicole Snell
- Jan 14
- 3 min read
What is empowerment focused self-defense for solo travelers? Here's a hint...it's about more than physical skills or carrying a gadget.
There is nothing quite as freeing as solo traveling where you have complete control of your schedule, itinerary, and decisions! However there remains a significant amount of social stigma and myths that try to convince women that traveling alone is dangerous. Despite that, studies have shown that solo traveling for women has increased in recent years and that women solo travel more than men.
I've visited 35 countries, the majority of them solo, and my experiences have truly shaped my perspectives and my growth as a person. I don't have to wait for anyone else's schedule or budget to align with mine, I don't have to hope that someone will want to do the same activities as I do and I don't have to check in with anyone about how I want to spend each day because when I'm solo, I am free. And I'm fully capable of protecting myself and managing my safety anywhere in the world!
Being solo while traveling doesn't mean you are unsafe or helpless. Learning how to navigate interactions with other people while traveling can build your confidence and independence. Self-defense and personal safety training is designed to empower solo travelers with realistic verbal and physical skills that can be used in just about any situation. Being prepared with these skills ready to use at your fingertips, that means you can explore the world without limits!
Solo traveling doesn't mean you have to start your trip solo. Have you ever been on a group trip and decided you wanted to do your own thing while everyone else did another activity? That means you were also solo traveling! And let's be honest, when you're solo traveling you're actually meeting people all of the time -- at restaurants, hostels, hotels, tours, and walking around. You're rarely ever completely alone.f
Fear doesn't have to hold you back. Self-defense isn't about being fearless, it's about learning how to acknowledge the message fear is sending and how to respond so that you can continue moving forward with your life. I highly recommend the book, The Gift Of Fear by Gavin DeBecker. Traveling solo may seem scary at times and having the tools to handle yourself is how we overcome that.
You don't need to carry any external weapons or "self-defense tools" (if you're traveling by plane, you can't carry any weapons or self-defense tools anyways) or memorize a list of things to do/don't do in order to be safe! Those are are often burdens to your safety or offer a false sense of security vs. realistic strategies for the most common situations. Externalizing our safety doesn't make us safer. In fact, it increases our dependence on others to make safety decisions for us and I want to return that power to you. You ARE a weapon. Your body and your voice are weapons.
Have you been told not to talk to strangers in order to be safe while solo traveling? Well I talk to strangers daily when solo traveling and I bet you do too when you think about it. Learning realistic self-defense skills for our verbal, mental, emotional, and physical safety promotes us to CEO's of our own security and decisions. You can build the confidence and the independence to evaluate situations as you encounter them and defer to your self-defense options for how to address them.
Whether you're exploring unfamiliar cities, embarking on adventures, or reveling in the vastness of nature, empowerment-focused self-defense training equips you to recognize situations that require you to switch into self-defense mode and protect yourself without apology so you can travel smart, safe, and empowered.
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