I spent Sunday afternoon learning skills that every woman needs to know.

I took part in a ladies self-defence seminar in Westbury-on-Trym.

Two Bristol martial arts experts put on the class in response to fear felt by local women after the "Bristol Groper" sexually assaulted seven females in Clifton over five weeks late last year.

In the Avon and Somerset police force area, 1,548 sexual offences were reported in a 12-month period between 2007 and 2008.

How many more weren't reported is anybody's guess.

Nationwide, 11,648 women reported being raped and 20,534 reported being sexually assaulted over the same time period.

And the British Crime Survey says that 40 per cent of serious sexual assault victims don't tell the police, making these stats even more chilling.

Instructors Lea Welsford and Paul Hobday from Bristol School of Self Defence spent four hours arming all 25 of us in the class both physically and mentally.

They gave us lots of personal safety tips, including things I'd never have thought of, and they explained the psychology of attackers and their methods, which can often seem deceptively innocent at first.

Lea and Paul advise that if somebody threatens you for your mobile phone or handbag, just hand it over.

As Paul said: "Your phone and bag can be replaced – you can't."

They taught us how to avoid confrontations and stay alert and safe in various circumstances, such as while walking or driving alone, dating, on a night out, at a cash point and so on.

They also taught us how to fight off a sex attacker.

Strength on strength, most men can overpower most women. But Lea and Paul taught us how to use technique, not brute force, to escape.

I can't reveal their methods in case that information got into the wrong hands, but to give you an idea there's a way of punching that can break your fingers, making it harder to escape, but if you punch a different way you don't injure yourself and can trigger a chain reaction that could knock someone out.

There are also certain points on the body (some obvious, others less so) which, if struck, could gain a potential victim vital seconds to get away.

If you think this sounds far-fetched, a friend of mine who's a warder at a high security prison up North is 5ft nothing, yet by using certain pressure points she can instantly stop a 6ft 4in brick outhouse of a prisoner in his tracks.

Of the 208 women who were killed last year nationwide, many were strangled, so we learned various ways of wriggling out of strangleholds.

We also learned how to get away if pinned against a wall or on the floor.

Lea, Paul and some of their martial arts friends got padded up and let us punch, kick and knee them. Hard.

There was nothing alarmist about the session – unfortunately, these are real crimes that happen to real people.

This was a ladies-only self-defence seminar, but Bristol School of Self Defence runs lots of classes for all types of people covering different threats.

The class I did cost £15, but the skills and peace of mind it gave are priceless. Paul told me: "We're not out to make huge profits, we work full-time in other jobs. We keep the courses affordable as our main aim is to help as many people as possible lead a safer life."

For more about Bristol School of Self Defence call 07872 831 418, email info@bristolselfdefence.com or visit www.bristolselfdefence.com which has lots of useful safety tips.