Last updated on February 25th, 2026 at 08:49 am
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International Women’s Day 2026: Power To Women Self-Defence Workshops
The New Syllabus Every Women’s Corporate Self-Defence Program Must Include
📅 March 8, 2026 | 🇮🇳 For Every Indian Woman
The old syllabus taught women to fight back.
The new syllabus must teach women to NEVER be caught off guard — physically, digitally, legally, or psychologically.
Empowering Indian women through practical, scenario-based safety training designed for real-world threats — from boardrooms to bus stops, from DMs to dark alleys.
“Self-defence is not about teaching women to become fighters. It’s about making sure no one ever treats them as easy targets. The moment a woman carries awareness, confidence, and knowledge — she becomes her own bodyguard.”
— Specialist Franklin Joseph, Power To Women Workshop
Evolution of Crimes Against Women: Why Traditional Self-Defence Fails
of crimes against women in India are committed by someone known to the victim
— NCRB (National Crime Records Bureau), India
🛑 The “Tricks” Myth: Reaction-Based Tactics vs. Proactive Crime Survival Strategies
There is a dangerous misconception that self-defence is simply about memorising a few physical “tricks” to escape a hold. This often leads to the flawed assumption that a female instructor will inherently teach women better, simply by demonstrating how a woman executes these moves. However, this mindset completely misunderstands the reality of violence. Survival is not determined by the gender of the person teaching, but by the tactical and psychological depth of the instruction.
- ❌ They are purely reaction-based: Physical tricks only come into play after the crime has already started. If you are reacting, you are already steps behind the attacker’s timeline.
- ❌ The size and strength factor: Once a physical assault begins, the raw size, weight, and strength disparity commonly faced during an ambush makes fighting back an incredibly difficult path. Relying solely on physical combat when outmatched is a flawed strategy.
- ❌ Crime is planned, not spontaneous: Predators do not fight fair. Real crime is premeditated. It involves a chosen environment (ambience), a specific method of ambush, selected weapons, and sometimes multiple people.
- ❌ Instructor competence requires crime expertise: Because crime is highly orchestrated, an instructor’s knowledge must go far beyond just knowing martial arts tricks. They must possess a deep, scientific understanding of crime analysis, predator psychology, and urban survival.
“When people ask me to teach them ‘tricks’ to fight off an attacker twice their size, I tell them: By the time you need a trick, you are already in the worst possible scenario. A predator has already planned the location, the timing, and the method. You cannot out-trick a planned ambush. You must out-think it.”
— Specialist Franklin Joseph, Power To Women Workshop
🧠 The Core Methodology:
Therefore, the Power To Women program is not just about learning physical routines. It is scientifically designed to focus on four definitive pillars: Prevent, Avoid, Diffuse, and Escape crime.
The Science Behind Power to Women: Israeli Krav Maga Meets Psychological Combat
The Power To Women self-defence workshop was engineered by merging two critical, life-saving frameworks: the battle-tested, pragmatic physical principles of Israeli Military Krav Maga and advanced psychological survival factors.
This dual-engine approach goes beyond traditional martial arts by embedding the following scientific and neuro-behavioral tactics into every participant’s mindset:
- 🛡️ Pro-Active Combat Science: Stop reacting, start dictating.
- 🛡️ Guerrilla Hit & Run Deception: Tactics criminals use, flipped against them.
- 🛡️ Neuro-Behavioral Crisis Management: Your brain under threat—trained, not terrified.
- 🛡️ Warrior Mindset: The psychological separation between victims and survivors.
- 🛡️ Fear Counterinsurgency: Converting panic into tactical advantage.
- 🛡️ Pro-Failure Conversion Technique: Every mistake becomes training data.
- 🛡️ Critical Decision Life Safety Skills: Making the right choice when hesitation means harm.
- 🛡️ Psychological Anti-Stress Conditioning: Calm in chaos isn’t innate, it’s trained.
- 🛡️ Dynamic Scenario Analysis Strategy: Reading shifting dangers in real-time chaos.
- 🛡️ Pre-Conflict Situational Awareness: Detecting danger before it crystallises.
- 🛡️ Threat Perception: Sensing predatory intent before weapons appear.
- 🛡️ Post-Battle Quick Response: The 30 seconds after violence that determine survival.
- 🛡️ Stealth & Evasive Tactics: Winning fights you never have.
- 🛡️ Active Warfare Emotional Balance: Maintaining clarity when adrenaline floods.
- 🛡️ Verbal Modulation Instructions: Your voice as a de-escalation tool.
- 🛡️ Violence De-Escalation Techniques: Ending threats before physical contact.
- 🛡️ Crime Radar Deterrence Manoeuvre: Becoming invisible to predators.
- 🛡️ Criminal Profiling / Crime Psychology: Understanding the opponent’s decision tree.
- 🛡️ Pain Compliance / Pressure Methodology: Leveraging anatomy when strength fails.
- 🛡️ Emergency Risk Analysis & Management: Split-second decisions that save lives.
- 🛡️ Decrypting Pre-Crime Sequence: Reading the 1-3 second warning signs.
“In India, we teach our daughters to be polite, to adjust, to not create a scene. But I say — if your safety is at stake, CREATE THE BIGGEST SCENE POSSIBLE. Politeness never saved anyone from a predator. Tactical awareness and action did.”
— Specialist Franklin Joseph, Power To Women Workshop
12 Essential Modules for Women’s Corporate Self-Defence Training in 2026
As proposed for the Power To Women Corporate Self-Defence Workshop by Specialist Franklin Joseph
Body As The First Weapon — But Smarter
Physical Defence Reimagined
The old way: Memorise 10 moves and forget them all under stress.
The new way: Master 3 moves so deeply they become reflex.
- ✅ Palm-heel strike to nose/chin — most effective, lowest injury to self
- ✅ Knee-to-groin from clinch position
- ✅ Elbow strikes in close quarters (the hardest bone in your body)
- ✅ Wrist release techniques — single hand, double hand, from behind
- ✅ Ground defence — how to fight from the floor if pinned
- ✅ Bite-scratch-gouge protocol — when survival has no rules
- ✅ Improvised weapons: bag, umbrella, dupatta, phone, keys, chappal
- ✅ Repetition-based muscle memory drills — not just demonstration
Don’t teach 50 techniques that will be forgotten. Teach 5 techniques that will be remembered under adrenaline and fear. Simplicity saves lives.
The Voice Before The Fist
Verbal Self-Defence & Boundary Enforcement
Most dangerous situations don’t START with violence. They start with boundary testing.
- ✅ The “Broken Record” technique — repeating NO without justification
- ✅ The “Command Voice” — projecting authority, not pleading
- ✅ De-escalation language: “I don’t want trouble, but I WILL protect myself”
- ✅ How to say NO without smiling, apologising, or softening
- ✅ Recognising when verbal de-escalation has FAILED and action is needed
- ✅ The power of making a SCENE — shouting “FIRE” vs “HELP”
- ✅ Scripts for: workplace harassment, public transport, auto/cab, family settings, in-laws
Most attacks are preceded by 3-5 verbal boundary violations that go unchallenged. Training the voice IS training the first line of defence.
“In my workshops, I tell every participant — your voice is your first weapon. Before your fist, before your knee, before pepper spray. A person who can say ‘BACK OFF’ without flinching has already won half the battle. Predators look for silence, not resistance.”
— Specialist Franklin Joseph
Specialist Franklin Joseph TEDx: Personal Safety Is a Psychological Skill, Not a Physical Trick
In his TEDx talk on crime psychology and personal safety, Specialist Franklin Joseph made an argument that the self-defense industry largely avoids: that physical techniques, no matter how well taught, are the last resort in a safety system, not the foundation of one. As a TEDx Speaker with decades of practical experience in crime psychology, he used that platform to present the evidence for why the mind must be trained before the body is relied upon.
The Power to Women Corporate Self-Defense Workshop is built entirely around that argument. It trains participants to recognise and interrupt the pre-crime sequence, to manage their psychological state under pressure, to read criminal intent before it becomes criminal action, and to use physical response only when every prior layer of the safety system has been exhausted.
Read Franklin Joseph Corporate Women Empowerment / Self Defense ArticlesCall 9886769281 for Corporate WorkshopsWatch the TEDx talk here: Specialist Franklin Joseph | TEDx Talk on Personal Safety and Crime Psychology
Situational Awareness — The 360° Radar
Threat Detection Before Threat Arrives
- ✅ The Cooper Colour Code system (White → Yellow → Orange → Red)
- ✅ “Baseline reading” — what’s normal vs. what’s off in any environment
- ✅ Identifying exits in every room within 30 seconds
- ✅ Parking lot protocol, elevator protocol, ATM protocol
- ✅ The “Gift of Fear” principles — trusting instinct over politeness
- ✅ Pre-attack indicators: staring, closing distance, blocking exits, mirroring movement
- ✅ How predators SELECT targets — posture, distraction, isolation
- ✅ The phone trap — how looking at your phone makes you 3x more vulnerable
- ✅ Indian-specific awareness: crowded markets, festival crowds, late-night travel
Gavin de Becker’s The Gift of Fear — “Intuition is always right in at least two important ways. It is always in response to something. It always has your best interest at heart.”
Digital Self-Defence & Cyber Safety
The Threat That Fits In Your Pocket
This module didn’t exist 10 years ago. In 2026 India, it’s essential.
- ✅ Location sharing: who has it, how to audit, how to revoke
- ✅ AirTag / Bluetooth tracker detection — checking your bag, car, purse
- ✅ Social media geotagging risks — why posting live location is dangerous
- ✅ How to identify if spyware/stalkerware is on your phone
- ✅ Digital evidence preservation — screenshots, metadata, cloud backups
- ✅ Two-factor authentication on ALL accounts
- ✅ Password hygiene after a breakup or separation
- ✅ Deepfake and morphed image awareness
- ✅ AI-generated threats — voice cloning scams
- ✅ How to report cyber harassment — platform-wise + IT Act + Cyber Crime Portal
- ✅ WhatsApp privacy settings, Instagram story controls, UPI fraud prevention
In 2026, a smartphone can be a weapon USED AGAINST the owner if left unsecured. Digital hygiene must be treated as seriously as physical safety.
“Today’s survival requires navigating two battlefields — the physical world and the digital world. Being able to throw a punch but failing to detect a tracker on a phone means you are only half-prepared. In the Power To Women workshop, we train for BOTH worlds.”
— Specialist Franklin Joseph
Escape & Evasion — Getting Away Alive
Because Winning a Fight Means NOT Having One
- ✅ The “stun and run” philosophy — strike to create distance, then FLEE
- ✅ Running with purpose — toward light, people, open shops/dhabas
- ✅ Vehicle escape: locked inside, grabbed through window, trunk/boot escape
- ✅ How to break free from being dragged or carried
- ✅ Room/building escape under threat
- ✅ The 3-second rule: if you hesitate more than 3 seconds, the window closes
- ✅ Escape from zip ties, duct tape, rope — basic techniques
- ✅ Auto-rickshaw and cab escape drills (Indian-specific)
Self-defence success = you got home safe. Not that you “won” a fight. The goal is always escape, not combat.
Psychology of Predators & Threat Profiling
Understand the Threat to Defeat the Threat
- ✅ How predators groom, test boundaries, and isolate targets
- ✅ Difference: “resource predator” (wants something) vs “process predator” (wants control)
- ✅ Love-bombing → isolation → control cycle
- ✅ How abusers use charm as camouflage
- ✅ The “interview” — how predators assess if you’re a viable target
- ✅ Why most attacks come from known persons, not strangers
- ✅ How coercive control operates without physical violence
- ✅ Indian-specific patterns: family honour pressure, dowry threats, intimidation
Teaching individuals to ONLY fear strangers is teaching them to watch the wrong door. The danger often sits at the dinner table.
“We are often taught ‘respect your elders, don’t argue, adjust karo.’ But I teach that respect is earned, not owed. Adjustment should NEVER mean accepting abuse. The most dangerous phrase is ‘log kya kahenge’ (what will people say). When safety is at stake, the only voice that matters is your own survival instinct.”
— Specialist Franklin Joseph
Legal Self-Defence & Rights
Know Your Rights Like You Know Your Name
Knowledge of the law is a powerful deterrent against intimidation.
- ✅ Section 96-106 BNS — Right to Private Defence (when and how much force is legal)
- ✅ Section 74 BNS — Assault or Criminal Force with Intent to Outrage Modesty
- ✅ Section 75 BNS — Sexual Harassment
- ✅ Section 76 BNS — Voyeurism
- ✅ Section 78 BNS — Stalking
- ✅ Zero FIR — what it is, how to file, police CANNOT refuse
- ✅ Domestic Violence Act — protection orders, how to get them FAST
- ✅ POSH Act — workplace harassment complaint mechanism (ICC)
- ✅ IT Act Sections — cyber harassment, morphed images, online threats
- ✅ Helplines: 181 (Women Helpline), 112 (Emergency), 1091 (Women in Distress)
- ✅ NCW portal, State Women’s Commission, cybercrime.gov.in
- ✅ How to file a complaint if police refuse — Magistrate complaint under CrPC/BNSS, NHRC
- ✅ Documentation: how to build a legal paper trail from Day 1
The law is a tactical tool. Most people don’t know they can file a Zero FIR at ANY police station in India, or that the police CANNOT legally refuse to register it. Knowledge of law is self-defence.
Trauma-Informed Training
Read Franklin Joseph Corporate Women Empowerment / Self Defense ArticlesCall 9886769281 for Corporate WorkshopsBecause Many in the Room Have Already Survived Something
- ✅ Trigger-aware instruction methods
- ✅ Understanding freeze, fawn, fight, flight responses — ALL are valid
- ✅ Why freezing is NOT failure — it’s a neurological survival response
- ✅ Removing guilt and shame from past incidents — “It was NEVER your fault”
- ✅ How trauma lives in the body and affects future responses
- ✅ Breathing techniques to override panic (Box breathing, 4-7-8 method)
- ✅ Building agency: “It wasn’t your fault. And now you have tactical tools.”
- ✅ Referral pathways to counselling services (iCall, Vandrevala Foundation, local NGOs)
Self-defence training that ignores psychological realities will RE-TRAUMATISE participants. Instructors must possess the psychological acumen to facilitate trauma-aware training.
Fitness for Self-Defence — Functional, Not Aesthetic
Strength That Serves Survival
- ✅ Grip strength training — hardest to break free without it
- ✅ Core and hip power — for strikes, pushes, ground defence
- ✅ Sprint readiness — 30-second burst running
- ✅ Breath control under stress and exertion
- ✅ Getting up from the ground FAST under pressure
- ✅ Carrying/dragging your own body weight
- ✅ Endurance: a real fight lasts 15-60 seconds of MAXIMUM exertion
- ✅ Training in everyday clothing (saree/salwar/kurta) — because you won’t be in gym clothes during an ambush
You don’t need a gym body. You need a body that responds functionally when fear hits. Functional mobility and endurance override aesthetic fitness when it comes to survival.
Safety Technology & Tools
What to Carry, What to Install, What to Activate
- ✅ Personal safety apps: 112 India, bSafe, My Safetipin, Raksha, Himmat (Delhi Police)
- ✅ SOS features on smartphones (iPhone: 5 presses; Android: power button)
- ✅ Wearable safety devices — smart rings, panic button pendants
- ✅ Pepper spray: legality in India, how to use, range, wind direction
- ✅ Tactical flashlight as a disorientation & defence tool
- ✅ Whistle / personal alarm (120dB+)
- ✅ Dashcam / bodycam for evidence in threatening situations
- ✅ Emergency contact automation — “If I don’t check in by 10pm, alert these 3 people”
- ✅ Live location sharing protocols for travel, dates, meetings, late-night commutes
- ✅ UPI/payment safety — preventing financial exploitation
Technology is a force multiplier. But only if you’ve practiced using it BEFORE the crisis. Set it up TODAY. Test it TODAY. Don’t wait for an emergency.
Self-Defence for Specific Indian Scenarios
Contextual Training — Not One-Size-Fits-All
Generic training creates generic confidence. Context-specific training creates REAL readiness.
| Scenario | Specific Tactical Focus |
|---|---|
| 🏠 Domestic Violence | Safety planning, emergency bag, protection orders, shelter homes |
| 🚕 Cab / Auto Travel | Route monitoring, SOS sharing, door-side positioning, OTP verification |
| 🏢 Workplace | Documentation, POSH Act, ICC complaint, verbal confrontation scripts |
| 🎓 College Campus | Party safety, drink spiking awareness, bystander intervention |
| 🚇 Public Transport | Groping response, crowd dynamics, verbal confrontation, safe coach positioning |
| 💻 Online Dating | Meeting protocols, identity verification, escape plans, video call first |
| 🏃♀️ Running / Jogging | Route variation, time-of-day awareness, no headphones rule, buddy system |
| 🌃 Walking Alone | Shadow awareness, phone-torch strategy, key grip, route planning |
| 👨👩👧 Family Settings | Emotional abuse recognition, financial control, legal rights, Stridhan |
| 🛕 Festivals / Crowds | Crowd crush safety, groping in crowds, safe exit routes, buddy system |
| 🏨 Hotel / PG / Hostel | Room security, hidden camera detection, lock audit, emergency contacts |
“I designed the Power To Women workshop specifically for the Indian context — because the challenges here are unique. A global program doesn’t address the auto driver who takes a ‘shortcut,’ or the social pressure of family gatherings. We train for REAL scenarios, ensuring individuals have the tactical skills needed where they actually live and work.”
— Specialist Franklin Joseph
Bystander Intervention Training
Self-Defence is Also COLLECTIVE Defence
- ✅ The 5 D’s of Bystander Intervention: Direct, Distract, Delegate, Document, Delay
- ✅ How to intervene safely without becoming a second victim
- ✅ Universal bystander intervention — this module empowers all genders to act
- ✅ How to document an incident for legal evidence (video, witnesses)
- ✅ When to call police vs. when to directly intervene
- ✅ Building community safety networks in colonies, societies, and neighbourhoods
- ✅ Teaching children safe/unsafe touch reporting from age 4+ (Swimsuit Rule)
- ✅ WhatsApp neighbourhood safety groups — organised community vigilance
Safety is a collective responsibility. The strongest defence ecosystem is one where EVERYONE is trained to intervene. If you SEE something, DO something.
🔥 The 2026 Women’s Safety Manifesto: Systemic Defence Strategies
A modern, science-based safety syllabus in 2026 must recognise that:
- The threat has evolved — it is physical, digital, emotional, financial, and legal. Tactical training must address ALL dimensions simultaneously.
- One workshop is a start, not the end — self-defence must be treated as an ongoing psychological and physical practice, not an annual ritual.
- Schools must institutionalize it — not as an extracurricular activity, but as a CORE life skill mandated by national education boards.
- Corporates must fund proactive survival training — moving beyond basic POSH compliance into robust, actionable physical and digital crisis management.
- Governments must standardise it — providing access to high-level, psychologically grounded self-defence curriculums in every district.
- Allies must be active participants — training in bystander intervention and de-escalation is crucial for community-wide safety.
- Tactics must supersede tricks — replacing reaction-based martial arts with proactive crime analysis and threat neutralization.
“For 25+ years, I have trained thousands — from corporate executives to college students, from homemakers to professionals in uniform. The issue was never a lack of inherent strength. The Power To Women workshop doesn’t just hand out physical techniques; it uncovers and hones the tactical mindset that already exists within. Participants leave fundamentally transformed—equipped with the psychological armour and strategic tools to command their own safety.”
— Specialist Franklin Joseph
Stop asking: “Should we teach self-defence?”
Start demanding: “Is the training psychological? Is it tactical? Is it focused on PREVENTING crime rather than just reacting to it?”
Because someone who can break a wrist grip but doesn’t know how to detect stalkerware on their phone… is still vulnerable.
Someone who knows martial arts but doesn’t understand the psychological warning signs of a planned ambush… is still at risk.
Someone trained in generic moves rather than context-specific, legally-sound survival tactics… is still unprepared.
We don’t just need self-defence.
We need a scientifically designed SYSTEM of defence.
Prevent. Avoid. Diffuse. Escape.
That is the new syllabus.
Let’s build it. Let’s teach it. Let’s fund it.
Let’s make proactive safety a universal right.
Book the Power To Women Corporate Self-Defence Workshop in India
Specialist Franklin Joseph conducts highly customized, tactical, and psychologically grounded self-defence workshops for corporates, colleges, schools, NGOs, and communities across India. Elevate the safety standard in YOUR organisation today.
Available for: Corporate Workshops • College Programs • School Safety Sessions • Community Camps • Online & Offline
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Because awareness without tactical ACTION is just performance.
And real safety requires real training.
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Our all-encompassing strategy combines state-of-the-art Israeli Military Krav Maga self-defence methods with revolutionary psychological tactics like to help you maintain composure, assertiveness, and control whether you're negotiating a high-pressure boardroom or an unpredictable street or domestic encounter. Don't hesitate; give Specialist Franklin Joseph a call @ 9886769281 right now to learn the most important skills and become a part of the movement towards empowered life.
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