Self-Defense Certification
Self-Defense Certification
Build your personal safety knowledge with online self-defense training
Study the ExpertRating Self-Defense Certification course, featuring video instruction from Sifu Wong. Explore situational awareness, conflict avoidance, defensive techniques, and escape strategies through step-by-step course materials and demonstrations.
Learn at your own pace, then pass the online exam to earn your ExpertRating Self-Defense Certification.
For just $99.99
Certification
About the Self-Defense Certification
Build your personal safety awareness and foundational self-defense knowledge with the ExpertRating Self-Defense Certification. This online self-defense training course features video instruction from Sifu Wong, combining step-by-step demonstrations with explanations of situational awareness, conflict avoidance, and physical self-defense techniques.
Explore defensive positioning, responses to punches and grabs, escape techniques, and ground survival. The course includes demonstrations filmed in street settings and shows techniques performed with a training partner.
Study at your own pace and prepare for the online certification exam. Throughout the course, the emphasis is on recognizing potential trouble, avoiding unnecessary confrontation, and understanding options for getting away from danger. Developing physical skills requires ongoing practice beyond watching the demonstrations.
Why Earn Your Self-Defense Certification?
Build your knowledge of personal safety, conflict avoidance, and self-defense principles through structured online learning. Passing the ExpertRating certification exam gives you a credential you can share with prospective employers and clients to document your achievement.
Your course includes video demonstrations, scenario-based explanations, and self-study questions. Study at your own pace, then take the online certification exam. ExpertRating estimates 2–4 weeks to complete the course with 1–2 hours of daily study; your timeline will depend on your experience and study schedule.
After passing the exam, you receive a downloadable certificate and an online transcript showing your exam score. A printed certificate is available for an additional fee.
Curriculum
What You Will Learn
Explore the ExpertRating Self-Defense Certification curriculum through four topic groups. Video demonstrations, explanations, and self-study questions cover personal safety awareness, defensive techniques, and responses to different situations.
Foundations and Positioning
- Self-defense principles, recognizing potential trouble, basic fitness, and stretching.
- Stances, body positioning, and hand-position awareness.
- An introduction to Sifu Wong’s Wing Chun-based approach to self-defense.
Defensive and Offensive Techniques
- Defensive responses to punches and kicks, plus escapes from grabs and holds.
- Striking techniques, including palm strikes, elbow strikes, and hammer fists.
- The potential defensive uses and limitations of everyday objects.
Ground Survival and Weapon Defense
- Ground survival concepts and demonstrations addressing takedowns, ground chokes, and other ground attacks.
- Demonstrations addressing edged-weapon threats, alongside additional lessons on gun disarming and walking-stick techniques.
Applied Scenarios and Conflict Avoidance
- Scenario-based demonstrations involving chokes, pushes, and grabs from different directions.
- Situational awareness, recognizing escalating threats, and avoiding unnecessary confrontation.
- “Fighting Without Fighting”: personal safety principles focused on preventing conflict and identifying opportunities to leave.
Author
About the Author: Sifu Wong
Sifu Wong, also known as Master Wong, is the martial arts instructor who developed the ExpertRating Self-Defense Certification course. His instruction draws on Wing Chun and uses step-by-step video demonstrations to explain body positioning, defensive techniques, and responses to different situations.
Throughout the course, he demonstrates techniques with training partners and introduces principles of personal safety awareness, conflict avoidance, and escape. These lessons connect the physical techniques with the course’s emphasis on avoiding unnecessary confrontation.
Watch the Course Introduction
Credentials
Understanding Self-Defense Credentials: R.A.D. Systems and ExpertRating
The ExpertRating Self-Defense Certification combines self-paced online course materials with an online multiple-choice exam. It provides a way to study foundational self-defense principles and document successful completion of ExpertRating’s certification requirements.
Self-defense credentials differ in their purpose, training format, and assessment requirements. For example, R.A.D. Systems offers a three-day, 30-hour Basic Physical Defense Instructor Certification for its women’s self-defense program, with eligibility requirements that vary by applicant category. Completing the ExpertRating course does not confer R.A.D. instructor certification.
If you plan to teach self-defense, check whether your intended employer or training organization accepts the credential and requires additional practical training or assessment.
ExpertRating is not affiliated with, approved by, or accredited by R.A.D. Systems. The ExpertRating Self-Defense Certification is ExpertRating's own credential. ExpertRating’s stated ISO 9001:2015 certification relates to its organizational quality management system. Its I.C.E. membership does not constitute accreditation, approval, or endorsement of this course.
Choosing between the options generally comes down to prerequisites, cost, and how you plan to use the credential:
R.A.D. Systems Basic Physical Defense Instructor Certification:
an in-person, multi-day program with an application and background-check process, most often adopted by law enforcement agencies, universities, and community organizations.
ExpertRating Self-Defense Certification:
Self-paced online courseware and an online exam designed to build foundational self-defense knowledge for personal learning or to supplement existing training. The certification does not provide transferable credit or fulfill another provider’s instructor-certification prerequisites.
Career
Career Prospects with Self-Defense Certification
Build foundational knowledge for your interest in self-defense instruction with the ExpertRating Self-Defense Certification. For fitness professionals and martial arts practitioners, the course can supplement existing training through structured study of personal safety awareness, conflict avoidance, and defensive techniques.
Qualified self-defense instructors may teach in health clubs, gyms, schools, colleges, and community centers, or pursue independent instruction. Opportunities depend on practical experience, teaching ability, and each organization’s qualification requirements. Additional hands-on training and assessment may be needed.
For career context, Salary.com reports an average annual base salary of $52,601 for martial arts instructors in the United States, with a typical range of $45,498–$59,687, representing the 25th–75th percentiles, as of October 1, 2026. Glassdoor’s U.S. martial arts instructor page shows a higher median total pay estimate of approximately $74,000 per year, with a typical total pay range of $57,000–$98,000, as checked in October 2026.
These estimates cover the broader martial arts instructor occupation and use different compensation measures and methodologies. They are not earnings outcomes for ExpertRating graduates. Actual income varies by location, experience, employer, and working hours.
Brandessence Market Research estimates the global self-defense training market at US$4.10 billion in 2026 and projects it to reach US$7.76 billion by 2034. These figures represent one publisher’s market estimate and forecast, rather than evidence of employment or earnings outcomes for certification holders.
Certification
Certificate and Trust
After passing the ExpertRating Self-Defense Certification exam, you receive a downloadable PDF certificate and an online transcript showing your exam score. You can save, print, and share these documents with prospective employers and clients as evidence of your ExpertRating certification.
A printed certificate can be purchased separately and delivered to your physical address for an additional fee.
ExpertRating holds ISO 9001:2015 certification for its organizational quality management system and is a member of the Institute for Credentialing Excellence (I.C.E.). These are organizational credentials; they do not establish accreditation of the Self-Defense Certification course. I.C.E. membership does not constitute approval or endorsement.
Over 6,500 companies rely on ExpertRating for training and testing, including Walmart, IKEA, Google, Ericsson, Gap, and Dell. ExpertRating delivers over 3 million online certifications and tests annually, with an 86% reorder rate among corporate clients.
Testimonials
Our Customers Love Us
A must take certification program for all! The course was an excellent opportunity for me to learn the tools of self-defense at a great value.
Website was easy to navigate and the instruction was straightforward and to the point.
It was really easy to get the information on the class I want to take.
As a self-defense instructor at a martial arts school, I’ve found that the lessons from ExpertRating’s certifications have added to my knowledge of self-defense.
As a former federal self-defense instructor who continues to teach, I’ve found ExpertRating helpful in expanding my knowledge and supporting my work helping others.
As a self-defense and Taekwondo instructor, I’ve gained confidence in teaching.
As a freelance self-defense instructor teaching Shaolin Kung Fu, I’ve found ExpertRating helpful in opening a studio and operating my business remotely.
Having the certificate helped open new doors and gave me opportunities to try my training methods. I also share videos showing people ways to stay in shape and learn self-defense.
As a freelance fitness professional, I gained knowledge about personal fitness training that incorporates self-defense for beginners of all ages.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
The ExpertRating Self-Defense Certification is by Far the Best 'Value-for-Money' Option
Self-Defense Certification - for just $99.99