“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.
Life would sure be a lot easier and safer if we had an accurate profile of a rapist. Unfortunately these criminals come in all shapes, sizes and colors. It is true that a rapist usually picks his victim from the opposite sex and same ethnic origin. In fact, more than 90% of all rapes occur in the same race and socio-economic class. However, this is not always the case. It is also true that rape is a crime about power, the over-powerment of the victim and that sex is the means by which the criminal attains his goal. But these facts don’t help us identify a rapist. So how can we identify a rapist?
Although not a new phenomenon, there is growing concern about the different types of “date-rape drugs” – those drugs used to facilitate a rape or sexually assault by sedating their victims and causing them to be incapacitated and unable to fight back. Among reported cases, the perpetrator most commonly laces an intended victim’s drink with the drug. Because most of these drugs dissolve quickly and can be produced as colorless, odorless, and tasteless – a victim can ingest it unknowingly. Within 10 – 20 minutes a victim can become ill, disoriented or very sleepy and unable to move or think clearly. If the drink that was laced contained alcohol then the drugs effects can be intensified. The effects can last anywhere from 2-24 hours and can leave the victim incapable of remembering what happened.
Should we be calling the student-athletes criminal-athletes instead?
“Scary Stats” – that is what I call the rape statistics that I present to my self-defense students. Some of the facts that they are told about rape in the United States is that rape is the fastest growing violent crime; it is the most under-reported crime with 84% of the victims never reporting the crime; women ages 16-24 are at the highest risk of being sexually assaulted, four times that of all women; most rapists are 15-29 years old; more than 90% of all rapes occur in the same race and socio-economic class and 70% of female rape victims knew their rapist (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2003).
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…)