For women, self-defense needs a completely different approach.
One of the best ways you can get started on your journey to women's self-defense is to take a look at the broad coverage of women's self-defense over at the Women's Self-Defense Community.
The Community is made up of women's self-defense instructors and its mission is To empower women through education and training for self-defense, rape prevention, and personal protection.
This intentionally formed group is designed to support you and students like you to improve and grow in a very specialized area of self-defense. The difference between self-defense which teaches fighting concepts usually directed at the male versus male scenario is dramatic when compared with the female defender versus the male attacker. Physical characteristics and abilities of larger, stronger male attackers pose challenges for any female defender. A deeper discussion on this is found throughout the first module of Never Defenseless: Empowering Women's Self-Defense.