On Her Own

Life Skills

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And then she fell down

Last week, I took my Grom out for a ride around some local back roads, went into a turn a bit too fast (about 30mph is my best guess) and hit some gravel or similar road debris. I rode the bike down, landed with it on top of my left leg, and have a super

If not me, then who?

Gabe White asks this question in each of his Pistol Shooting Solutions classes, where he gathers students for two days of high-level shooting with a focus on skills and tactics appropriate for regular-person concealed carry and armed self-defense. It’s an excellent class and I took it for the second time earlier this month. I could

Ch-ch-ch-changes

Change is hard. Almost nobody enjoys having to leave their comfortable ruts, with their predictable routines and familiar habits. We stick with them because they’re what we know, because being surprised by an outcome is potentially unpleasant and we’d prefer to avoid disappointment even if it might mean missing out. It’s understandable that we would

What do you want to learn today?

Much of On Her Own focuses on teaching you more about self-defense and related areas, although those of course do not make up all of the things we might need or even want to learn. Expanding our skills and knowledge is a matter of survival in many instances, but also of curiosity, of interest, of

A September 11 memorial call to action

September 11, the September 11 marking the beginning of the War on Terror, is old enough to vote now. To show my age, it was perhaps the most defining event of my generation, the one where everyone knew where they were, what they were doing, when they heard about it. Many of us watched the

Beyond road trip safety

We’ve talked about road trips a time or two before here on On Her Own. Travel is one of the most common settings for having to manage by yourself because even if you’re traveling with another person or three, you’re likely away from the space where you are most comfortable. When you’re home, it’s easy

Boundaries 101

At its core, self defense is really about establishing and enforcing boundaries on your life. It’s deciding what someone can and can’t do with your body, mind, and heart, and then enforcing those limits against those who would intrude. It’s often easy to decide some of the big boundaries: Nobody gets to kill me. Nobody

Step 4: Profit!!

This past weekend, I spent two days with John Hearne of Two Pillars Training. Advertised as separate classes, Saturday was all about examining the characteristics of people who win in violent fights, and how we can learn from them to increase our own odds of success if we face that worst day ourselves. Sunday, we

Moving out, moving up: advice for a new girl in a new city

When I think about OHO, there are many types of women I think about. It’s hard to tell folks who OHO is for, because of all the different times in life when a woman might be on her own. One of the classic scenarios is when a young woman moves out from her family home,

In the words of William Aprill

I’d like to pause today to remember Dr. William Aprill. His work influenced mine enormously, and long-time readers will recognize my frequent references to him. He passed away two years ago this past weekend, and I still frequently catch myself picking up my phone to text him a question. Instead of my words today, I’d