Assault Awareness and Prevention 101

This weekend I will be traveling back to Grand Rapids, Michigan to see my kids and to help teach a self-defense workshop at Innovative Martial Arts (title link). You can go to the school's website for info, but here's a brief overview. Photo from a different seminar at the IMA dojo.

We begin with raising awareness of the psychological factors at play in a typical assault as well as environmental factors to be mindful of. We get people thinking about the little things in their routine life that may be risk factors, such as:walking alone, at night, across campus through the woods with a heavy backpack and headphones on. This is one very common scenario.

We typically split the day up with a combination of awareness training; both general and situation specific as well as some very simple and effective physical skills. We teach these skills primarily through instructor demonstration, followed by partner drills and some group drills performed under supervision, and with on-the-spot corrections. All of this is done with respect for the participants personal boundaries; but bear in mind that it is preparation for avoiding, or if necessary confronting an attacker.

This is a very good starting point and I believe that it offers a lot for the time and money. I encourage this type of workshop for anyone who is concerned about their own or their family's safety. These workshops can be tailored to fit the needs of a group. Recently we did one focused on ladies leaving home and entering college. (statistically this is a very at-risk group)

I recommend some form of awareness and personal-defense training for everyone. Look on-line for instruction in your area. Some keywords to look for are as follows: reality-based, practical, functional, street-based, or combatives. Unless you are looking to preserve an art form for the sake of preserving an art form you are looking for a reality-based system. Competence in all ranges of combat as well as an understanding of modern weapons (both purpose built and improvised) should be your goal with longer-term training. For short-term training, focus on avoidance of assault scenarios and also escaping them.