The danger of new groups that could turn out to be dangerous is a very good reason to make good friends that you can depend on in a crunch, BEFORE you need them.

Don't isolate yourself, thinking that you don't need anyone. In a SHTF situation, you could end up 'dead' wrong. What a time to discover that!

Sue

People I already know are a different story! I was responding to the part of the question if As A Woman I would be more likely to join a group I did not know for social/safety/survival reasons(my wording). Like I said, nobody's an island.

Even though some "back and forth" is now going on, I would like to comment on the origional question and maybe also on several other points.

I think that both the "average" woman OR man would gravitate to a group rather than continue alone. Why? Because the average person regardless of gendor has not prepared themselves or possess the physical and mental toughness to endure hardship over the long-term.

Is a woman of value in a situation involving long-term survival? Of course. She might just be the brains of the outfit that keeps everyone else safe....or not. I suspect that most people over estimate their abilities, anyway. After all, how many times have you read some armchair commando post about how they would just "live off the land". Yeah, right!

A small organized group could eek out an existance for awhile. But, it would take making the right decisions of a large, well-organized group to survive long-term and prosper, IMHO.

Regardless of what skills a woman may have and how well she is able to "get along", there is (and always will be) this one very important thing about a female, and that is SEX. A woman alone or even an unattached woman in a group will always be prey of sorts to interested males. Sorry gals, but in a SHTF sceanrio as described where rule of law is absent, you could find yourself being the evenings entertainment...for a lot of evenings! I mean to be blunt. I hope not to offend anyone, but what I've told you is simple truth. Do your preparations now with a group you are familiar with and trust.

In an ideal situation you would be with people you know, but a disaster is no such thing. A woman could easily find herself on her own and should be prepared for the possibility both mentally and as physically as possible as well as carrying something(s) to protect herself with because more than one male could be involved.

Speaking for myself there is absolutely no need to be blunt, I don't kid myself that there is no danger to women or that somehow I can always avoid it, rather I am well aware of the danger and try to prepare as best I can.

Honestly I think most women are aware of the danger and don't need it pointed out, but they could use info/tools that would help them be prepared.

Just a quick anecdote: anyone who thinks a woman cannot defend herself in a unarmed contest/fight has obviously never been a newbie at judo.

Incidentally, for any women seeking personal defense techniques I would highly recommend a grappling art such as Judo, Wrestling or Brazilian ju-jitsu. They are designed for people to overcome superior strength and I've read more than my share of news stories about 70+year old grandmothers subduing young vandals for 20 minutes using judo

Of course, I also recommend learning things which can provide assymetrical advantage to you such as weapons training. Always a plus to know how to use a knife or gun. But yeah. Bottom line is women are stronger than you think guys, especially if they've been doing judo for 6 months and it's your first day.

never heard of Brazilian ju-jitsu. What is it?

Go you youtube and search for Gracie for a sample. The early UFC's were a springboard for BJJ/GJJ entrance into the US and is a pretty good example of the effectiveness of someone that’s trained their whole life in the sport Vs other disciplines.

An effective form of submission grappling, designed for smaller opponents to overcome larger or more powerful ones.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazilian_Ju-Jitsu

I’d be very careful in stating that 6 months of any kind of martial arts training is any type of advantage above 6 months of training sparing for that sport.

I am.

Moreover, I was citing from personal experience within judo. Many other judoka can and have also cited similar experience to me on other boards. This was not an arbitrary statement.

Considering that I'd already been taking martial arts for 10 years prior to this, I'd say that it was no small task and yet I was handed my posterior by both a girl and also a 15 year old boy of comparable weight to me.

Are you familiar with Judo at all? Are you familiar with the terms "randori" or "ne waza"? Are you aware of how they are trained and how they are trained EVERY CLASS? Sorry if I seem defensive but I thought it was pretty clear I was making a comical anecdote. Hopefully taht's been made clear here. Sorry to derail the thread.