Learn to fight back

Gotham Jiujitsu
In one-on-one lessons, second-degree jujitsu black belt Peter Tay demonstrates how to pit the strong points of your body against the weak spots of your attacker’s. Various locations (646-284-1461, gothamjiujitsu.com). $100 for men, $75 for women.

RECOMMENDED: Fitness guide to NYC

Prepare, Inc.
Over the course of IMPACT, a hard-core, 20-hour group program (typically five weekly sessions of four hours), students learn verbal skills as well as physical moves, which they rehearse full-tilt with a well-padded instructor. Attack simulations are designed to be realistic enough to give rise to an adrenaline state, training students to respond quickly under stress. Prepare Inc, 147 W 25th St between Sixth and Seventh Aves, eighth floor (212-255-0505, prepareinc.com). $495, students $395.

Society for Martial Arts Instruction
Part crash course in mental preparedness, part physical training, the Good Guy/Bad Guy Workshop here—cotaught by Sensei Michelle Gay (pictured in “The Move”) and jujitsu teacher Maria Van Dessel—focuses on “special exercises to help decode subtle signs of potential attack,” says Gay. They help individuals build on the self-defense methods they already possess. 4 W 18th St at Fifth Ave (212-677-7228, sfmai.org). Jul 22 10:30am–1pm. $45, SFMAI members $35.

Center for Anti-Violence Education
Founded in 1974 as a women’s martial arts center, CAE’s five-week course for women and transpeople imparts realistic verbal and physical tactics for identifying and dealing with a potentially harmful situation, and it gives people tools for recovering from past abuse. 327 7th St at Fifth Ave, Park Slope, Brooklyn (718-788-1775, cae-bklyn.org). Fee is a sliding scale based on your income. Free for assault survivors.

Energy Fitness
Laszlo Huve, a tae kwon do black belt and former Romanian soldier, offers a weekly seminar at his midtown gym—free for female members and nonmembers alike. “Self-defense is a mental awareness,” explains Huve. “In class, we work on what it takes to defend yourself physically: not just getting out of basic grabs, but how to avoid being grabbed altogether.” 15 W 39th St between Fifth and Sixth Aves (212-354-7946, energymfitness.com). Sat 10am. Free.