Why? Why do women and girls need to learn self defense? This was the underlying and motivating question that hounded me as I developed W.O.W.’s Fundamentals of Self Defense Curriculum. When I first started out, I needed introductory material for a self defense course. As the years went on and participants asked more probing question, I needed more answers and attempted to answer them with more material, such as another article. This section is a compilation of those articles and introductory material. Each chapter can stand alone as an article or can be used in combination to address the looming question, “Why should women and girls need to learn self defense?” (more…)

Teaching and coaching skills are not inherited, they are learned. Just as instructors assess their student’s performance, the instructor’s performance can also be assessed. A scientific approach can be taken to measure the teaching-learning environment so that improvements can be made to the environment for better learning to occur. Easy to learn and use assessments use subjective and anecdotal methods. Eyeballing, anecdotal evidence, check lists and rating scales are examples of such assessments. Unfortunately, these types of assessments lack objectivity and reliability. (more…)

Since “Why?” was the underlying and motivating foundation to The Need section of W.O.W.’s Fundamentals of Self Defense Curriculum, then “How?” is the basis for this section. How do I teach others how to teach self defense?
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“Why do women and girls need to learn self defense?” was addressed in The Need section of W.O.W.’s Fundamentals of Self Defense Curriculum. Both the Performance Standards and the Instructional Standards sections focus on “How to teach self defense.” In Structuring the Learning, the spotlight is on the “what” - What are the essential self defense moves that women and girls should know?
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Sooner or later most people will come to realize that what they eat will affect their performance, especially in a physical fitness event. If you are an athlete, then this realization might happen earlier in your life. If you are not an athlete or started battling the bulge, then perhaps you are first now taking a look at your nutritional requirements. Since self defense is mostly a physical event, then logic prevails and you must conclude that what you eat and how you train will influence your performance in your self defense training or in a real life self defense situation.

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Emily Dickinson wrote, “We never know how high we are till we are called to rise and then, if we are true to plan our statures touch the skies.” The way that I interpret this quote is that with a little planning, we can do great things. This is applicable in all aspects of life, from financial planning to planning our own safety. You do not have to put stringent limits on your schedules or travel routes because you are afraid. Nor do you have to take unnecessary risks because you are determined not to be scared. There are things that you can do to plan for your safety in addition to you learning and practicing the Safe-Chi Kata. Hopefully, you will find the following pages of safety tips practical and easy to implement. (more…)

I wonder if the great orators of our time lamented over their words before they gave the speech that would unite so many people and motivate them to do something. I pray for those inspirational words – a call to rise and take our safety into our own hands, out of the dangerous grasps of sociopaths and away from the false hope and misleading rhetoric of government officials that there are enough, well-trained officers. You must know that our police officers are over-worked and have a back log of files to work on so that they can only respond in a reactive, defensive manner. It is up to you to take a proactive approach to your safety. (more…)