Sexual dimorphism.  Sounds a great deal more exciting than the reality.  The phrase simply means that men and women have distinct physical differences, most noticeably when it comes to size.  As a general rule, human women tend to be smaller than males.  Hardly a surprise.

Although a big part of the self defense course is the use of my handguns under close supervision in the classroom and shooting range, I certainly do not supply firearms to my students for their defense.  But there have been times when circumstances forced them to go about a large portion of the day unarmed.  An example would be graduate students who work and study at a college or university.  Since Federal law in the United States prohibits carrying a firearm on school grounds if one is taking part in activities offered by the school, some of my students would have to leave their guns at home or risk arrest.

In that case, I would work to train my charges in the use of less-lethal options.  Particularly expanding batons and defensive spray.

If there was only one student, then there would be no issues to speak of.  I would choose the size of the baton based on the relevant physical capabilities of the student.  Hand size, upper body strength, and body size would all factor in deciding the length and weight of the self defense tool.  As long as they can wield it effectively, and are big enough to carry it comfortably, then they would get the object best suited to their needs.

But if there was a couple involved?  Well, that was a different story altogether!

It has been my experience that the dominant partner would insist on a larger baton, even if it was unsuitable for them.

One would think that the traditional pairing of male-female would produce this tendency, with the male being the one to insist on the larger impact device, but this was not always the case.  It seems to be a universal law, with the sexual orientation of the couple making no difference whatsoever.  Whoever is dominant would see it as necessary to have bigger, more intimidating self defense tools.

Although males tend to be the dominant partner in traditional pairings, that is not always the case.  If the woman was dominant, and her mate received the larger baton because it suited his physical size, then it wouldn’t be long before she would insist that they switch weapons.

I dealt with this tendency for the more aggressive member to appropriate the larger baton by simply choosing an impact weapon that was the right size for the submissive partner, and then offering a baton one size larger to the dominant.  I mean, what the hell!  They were going to grab the big one anyway.  Might as well make sure that at least one of them had the tool that best suited their needs.

Defensive spray was easy enough.  Manufacturers have been offering their products in bright colors for some time now.  I would simply supply a basic black container to the dominant partner, and one adorned with a bright color to the submissive.  Pink or red if that person was female, and blue for the males.

Keep in mind that I wouldn’t bother to tailor anything if conducting a group class.  Then they would all get standard, nothing special batons and defensive spray. But since the vast majority of my students were taught singly or in pairs, I decided to go the extra mile and try to add a personal touch.