Dana:
I had just finished agreeing to do a one-hour self defense class for a group of office workers next week, when the chilling realization that I teach Uechi and not self defense, and that I hadn't taught a self defense class since my days of teaching at the YWCA in the 70s set in. Fortunately, the terror soon passed when I remembered I have, as Tony Soprano would say, options and friends. I am told the group will be mainly women office workers with varying levels of fitness and a broad spectrum of age.
What are the key themes self defense classes for women focus on today? Is there any literature you would recommend (it's been quite a few years since I lost my copy of Pi Bateman's treatise)? I have been asked to focus on defenses for being grabbed from behind; any suggestions? Thanks for any help, wisdom or insight you can send my way. Wait a minute, what are you doing next week?
Peace
Robb in Sacramento
An Hour of Quality Time
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Robb in Sacramento
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- Location: Sacramento, California, USA
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Rick Wilson
Robb:
I have developed a course and have written up a manual.
Email me at wilson@wilsonkarate.com if you are interested.
I have always enjoyed your posts on the forums and would be happy to share this with you and would trust you not to pass it on.
It is very hard to try and find something to teach for an hour.
I would focus on awareness and striking.
Teaching a lot of techniques will go in one ear and out the other.
In the course is a very simplified striking method that is easily taught and learned. While it is not what we would teach over time in a Uechi class it is effective and every strike works off the same principle. It is very empowering for women to see the kind of force they can actually generate.
You do need a few hand held striking pads to teach it though.
I did a two hour session for a group of women office workers and concentrated on awareness, striking and then NLD. I did NLD a little differently in that I had a group of women stand in a circle with eyes closed and they did not know which one was going to be attacked. You could cut the anxiety with a knife.
I had been asked by the person who arranged the training how to defend against an attack I told her to wait and see what happened. I did not show her what to do. She was the first one I attacked in NLD and I attacked her the way she had asked about. She defended herself very well.
I have developed a course and have written up a manual.
Email me at wilson@wilsonkarate.com if you are interested.
I have always enjoyed your posts on the forums and would be happy to share this with you and would trust you not to pass it on.
It is very hard to try and find something to teach for an hour.
I would focus on awareness and striking.
Teaching a lot of techniques will go in one ear and out the other.
In the course is a very simplified striking method that is easily taught and learned. While it is not what we would teach over time in a Uechi class it is effective and every strike works off the same principle. It is very empowering for women to see the kind of force they can actually generate.
You do need a few hand held striking pads to teach it though.
I did a two hour session for a group of women office workers and concentrated on awareness, striking and then NLD. I did NLD a little differently in that I had a group of women stand in a circle with eyes closed and they did not know which one was going to be attacked. You could cut the anxiety with a knife.
I had been asked by the person who arranged the training how to defend against an attack I told her to wait and see what happened. I did not show her what to do. She was the first one I attacked in NLD and I attacked her the way she had asked about. She defended herself very well.
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Dana Sheets
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- Joined: Mon Feb 25, 2002 6:01 am
What a wonderful offer!
Rick's offer is really great. I completely defer to experience on this one. I would offer that verbal boundry setting is really, really key. Get women to get their hands up and say no. Help them to understand that it's OK to say no to unwelcome advances and that their body language and their faces need to match.
So laughing and saying no doesn't send a clear "no" message.
Smiling and saying no doesn't send a clear "no" message
Saying "no" but allowing the aggressor to continue to close physcial space doesn't send a clear "no" message.
And it is a question of continuum. You may smile and say no the first time out of politeness if you feel the need to do that. But if that doesn't work they should feel that they can, without reservation, stop smiling and give a clear expression of their needs.
And I agree with Rick on doing only basic strikes. Everything else will be lost. I've seen women pick up palm heel hits, elbows, groin slaps, and (once they're on the ground) thrusting and ax type kicks with the legs.
An hour really isn't much time - so I'd start with the verbal and personal boundry setting skills. I'm going to bump up a couple of threads on this that I've written - one about FAST Defense and one about a local Women's SD class I took.
Dana
Rick's offer is really great. I completely defer to experience on this one. I would offer that verbal boundry setting is really, really key. Get women to get their hands up and say no. Help them to understand that it's OK to say no to unwelcome advances and that their body language and their faces need to match.
So laughing and saying no doesn't send a clear "no" message.
Smiling and saying no doesn't send a clear "no" message
Saying "no" but allowing the aggressor to continue to close physcial space doesn't send a clear "no" message.
And it is a question of continuum. You may smile and say no the first time out of politeness if you feel the need to do that. But if that doesn't work they should feel that they can, without reservation, stop smiling and give a clear expression of their needs.
And I agree with Rick on doing only basic strikes. Everything else will be lost. I've seen women pick up palm heel hits, elbows, groin slaps, and (once they're on the ground) thrusting and ax type kicks with the legs.
An hour really isn't much time - so I'd start with the verbal and personal boundry setting skills. I'm going to bump up a couple of threads on this that I've written - one about FAST Defense and one about a local Women's SD class I took.
Dana
Self defense classes
Hey Robb, Rick, and Dana,
I too am very interested in coming up with some kind of program for women's self defense. My daughter's Girl Scout troop are all in high school and either 9th or 10th graders. The leader and I talked about the possibility of having a self-defense class taught as one of the meetings for the girls. I would love to have resources for this possibility.
I know Bruce Witherall teaches great stuff along this line at George's summer camp but really has no videos at this point. I would love for him to put that great stuff on a video.....I would buy it.
Any women's self defense material you three can share or pass on would be greatly appreciated.
Regards,
Vicki
I too am very interested in coming up with some kind of program for women's self defense. My daughter's Girl Scout troop are all in high school and either 9th or 10th graders. The leader and I talked about the possibility of having a self-defense class taught as one of the meetings for the girls. I would love to have resources for this possibility.
I know Bruce Witherall teaches great stuff along this line at George's summer camp but really has no videos at this point. I would love for him to put that great stuff on a video.....I would buy it.
Any women's self defense material you three can share or pass on would be greatly appreciated.
Regards,
Vicki
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Rick Wilson
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RACastanet
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Robb in Sacramento
- Posts: 181
- Joined: Fri Sep 25, 1998 6:01 am
- Location: Sacramento, California, USA
Dana, Rick, et al.,
Under the heading good intentions…The sponsors of the self defense class told me on the day of the class that there had been a problem, and the class had not gotten scheduled, but, they have high hopes of doing it sometime in the future. So, I was all dressed up, with no place to go. But, thanks to all the help from this forum, I felt exceedingly well dressed up.
Rick, the material you shared with me is awesome. Your course outline for a self defense class is well organized, sensible, and thorough. You obviously put much thought and hard work into this project. It is clear you spent extensive time mining the literature on the topic, and your efforts produced gold. I feel quite privileged that you shared it with me.
Dana, thanks for taking the time to move the discussion threads into one very convenient location. The information on the threads reinforced Rick’s material. I found it very helpful.
On the day I was to have taught the class, I spent some time monitoring a legislative hearing on domestic violence. Between the material you all shared with me, the hearing, and the latest thread on walking while female, I can only wonder when will things change. I first posted my plea for help because I was concerned that the material I used twenty-five years ago to teach self defense might not be relevant in a world that had been exposed to a women’s movement, Title IX, a changing workforce, and essentially what I mistakenly perceived as progress toward gender equality. What I have found from this experience, however, is a culture more in need of addressing its gender issues than ever.
What was particularly scary about the testimony at the hearing, and about the material Rick has prepared, and the discussion on walking while female, is the victimization faced by adolescent and young women. It must stop. For the sake of our daughters, and their daughters, and all the generations of daughters to come, we must do a better job empowering young women, and showing them that they do not need to be victims of violence. Rick’s course does an excellent job of touching on this topic, and offers a good start. As martial artists we can make a difference by sharing our knowledge of self defense, but more importantly, by ensuring that our dojos and training halls are places where gender bias is not tolerated. We must ensure that as we teach and as we train, our message is one of self development and self empowerment regardless of gender. I plan on working on it.
Peace
Robb in Sacramento
Under the heading good intentions…The sponsors of the self defense class told me on the day of the class that there had been a problem, and the class had not gotten scheduled, but, they have high hopes of doing it sometime in the future. So, I was all dressed up, with no place to go. But, thanks to all the help from this forum, I felt exceedingly well dressed up.
Rick, the material you shared with me is awesome. Your course outline for a self defense class is well organized, sensible, and thorough. You obviously put much thought and hard work into this project. It is clear you spent extensive time mining the literature on the topic, and your efforts produced gold. I feel quite privileged that you shared it with me.
Dana, thanks for taking the time to move the discussion threads into one very convenient location. The information on the threads reinforced Rick’s material. I found it very helpful.
On the day I was to have taught the class, I spent some time monitoring a legislative hearing on domestic violence. Between the material you all shared with me, the hearing, and the latest thread on walking while female, I can only wonder when will things change. I first posted my plea for help because I was concerned that the material I used twenty-five years ago to teach self defense might not be relevant in a world that had been exposed to a women’s movement, Title IX, a changing workforce, and essentially what I mistakenly perceived as progress toward gender equality. What I have found from this experience, however, is a culture more in need of addressing its gender issues than ever.
What was particularly scary about the testimony at the hearing, and about the material Rick has prepared, and the discussion on walking while female, is the victimization faced by adolescent and young women. It must stop. For the sake of our daughters, and their daughters, and all the generations of daughters to come, we must do a better job empowering young women, and showing them that they do not need to be victims of violence. Rick’s course does an excellent job of touching on this topic, and offers a good start. As martial artists we can make a difference by sharing our knowledge of self defense, but more importantly, by ensuring that our dojos and training halls are places where gender bias is not tolerated. We must ensure that as we teach and as we train, our message is one of self development and self empowerment regardless of gender. I plan on working on it.
Peace
Robb in Sacramento
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RACastanet
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Rick: I occasionally do a self defense class at the health club. Would you email me the info you have created?
uechirich@aol.com
If you do not want to proliferate your work that is ok as well.
Regards, Rich C
uechirich@aol.com
If you do not want to proliferate your work that is ok as well.
Regards, Rich C
Member of the world's premier gun club, the USMC!
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Rick Wilson
Robb: Thanks for the kind comments, they are appreciated.
Rich: Email on the way. I hope it is useful.
Dana: I emailed you then read your PM.
The manual is on the way to you as well. (As long as the email on your profile is correct.)
Robb is very correct that we must end the victimization of women. This forum is an excellent venue to try and figure out how.
Rich: Email on the way. I hope it is useful.
Dana: I emailed you then read your PM.
The manual is on the way to you as well. (As long as the email on your profile is correct.) Robb is very correct that we must end the victimization of women. This forum is an excellent venue to try and figure out how.
