Have you ever thought of taking a self-defense course? It's more than just learning how to defend yourself, it can help you make new friends, give you more self-confidence, and even help you help others. The benefits, in my opinion, outweigh the cons.
For one thing, you would be surprised by how much you can learn and remember. With the right instructor, you can accomplish so much and with practice, the motions become pretty much ingrained in your brain. This includes even the more complex ones. There are so many ways to learn that you just need to find the one that fits you the best, whether it be a video or an actual class.
Just imagine some of the possibilities. I feel learning it in person would be more beneficial then a video though. When you have someone there to show you the many different ways to get out of different holds someone could put you in. Between Wrist same side and opposite side wrist grabs, bear hugs, choke holds and more. You can learn so much if you take about an hour or two to go to a class and learn these things, and then time at home to practice them. In so little time, you will realize you have learned so much from hands on instruction rather then just hearing it and seeing it on video.
Taking a self-defense course can also help you meet new people you might have not met otherwise. Often in a class, you will be paired up with someone to practice the techniques. You'll always be meeting new people if you go more than once. Eventually, you may even meet a new friend. You're all there to learn for the same or different reasons, why not strike up a conversation?
Taking a class can teach you so much about your limits and how to extend them. You really never know what you can do until you try right? Learning what you can really do can help so much with your self-confidence. And every time you take a class you can learn even more about these limits and your true potential as a person. You can grow so much, and have a little peace of mind when you're by yourself because you know ways to defend yourself.
So what's stopping you from taking a self-defense class? Trust me when I say, you will not regret it. You never know what tomorrow might bring, so why not invest today and pick up a class or two?