The Department of Justice reports that sexual assaults against women occur every two minutes in the United States. To counter this disturbing statistic and gain some peace of mind, some women turn to self-defense. Women are taking time out to do some heavy bag work as part of their Krav Maga training, but the heavy bag does not hit back, nor does it attack. That's a concern Krav Maga addresses head-on. “We want to give them the tools so if they are attacked, they know techniques on how to get out of a particular situation,” said Steve Woolridge, who is Chief Instructor at the Krav Maga & Fitness Center in Kansas City.

Krav Maga is the official defense tactics system of the Israeli defense forces and is becoming more popular in the U.S. Instructors say it's based on instinctual fight movements.

Pam is a student with Steve, who says learning self-defense is empowering - a feeling other women need to experience. Pam says her training gave her confidence recently after encountering two men in an elevator. “I started going through my training in my mind if they come up behind me,” she said. “There are two of them. What do I need to be prepared for?” Pam works out three or four times a week. She says everyone can benefit from self-defense, especially the smaller women who never shy away from working out with the guys. “They would have no problem knocking you three feet over their head to get up and get to safety.”

Erik Hulse, another instructor at the Krav Maga & Fitness Center in Kansas City, says he firmly believes that self-defense gives women a fighting chance to survive an attack. “It's important that whatever you do first is strong and explosive,” he said. “It not only makes a point physically but psychologically against the attacker.” A good workout and preparing for the dangerous encounter that hopefully never comes - that is what these women stay focused on.