Women's Boot Camp

Women's Self Defense Boot Camp

All women live with a certain level of risk of violent crime. Statistics show that a woman now 21 years old has a 1 in 4 chance of experiencing a violent crime in her lifetime. For them, much information is already available about how to reduce their risk ("stay alert") and how to respond if something bad happens

But some women are at an unusually high risk of serious assault or even murder. Just watch your local news carefully, it seems that every month or two a woman is murdered, usually by abusive ex-spouses or ex-boyfriends. Most of these tragic deaths could have been prevented.

Betsy McCandless Murray knew her ex-husband was out to get her. She did everything that women are conventionally advised to do, including obtaining a restraining order, filing criminal charges, going into hiding, changing her address, hiring a private investigator, and taking a self-defense class. Despite all these precautions, she was murdered by her ex-husband.

Janice LaCava of Worcester, MA also used the normally recommended avenues for protection, filing two restraining orders against her estranged husband. Yet he murdered her in the parking lot of her apartment building in Worcester.

Shelters and other programs offer much information on personal security matters, ranging from what to pack in an "emergency get-away bag" to how to go into hiding. That is good and useful information, because it is always better to avoid a violent attack than to try to survive one. But hiding doesn't always work, and someone else can't be there to protect you every minute of the day and night.

Sometimes, violence comes despite the best possible avoidance measures, and when it does, there is often no opportunity to summon help. In those cases, a woman is forced to face her attacker alone, using only her own resources and knowledge to survive. Fortunately, women who are properly trained and confident in their ability to protect themselves can do so quite effectively.

After the McCandless Murray tragedy, the media was full of stories that said things like "Betsy's murder is proof that safety is not reliably within reach." But this is not the right conclusion to draw, as evidenced by a Letter to the Editor in the Boston Globe written by Ellen Gugel: "I've heard the claims. To make women safe, we must change the judicial system, police departments, the way little boys and girls are raised, society's ideas of marriage. . . A woman in a violent attack doesn't have time for that; she needs to be able to defend herself."

"Fighting back" is a difficult and uncomfortable subject for many women to think about, but it does not have to be that way. The concept is easy to understand, and was expressed eloquently in the article "Teaching My Daughter to Fight" by Margaret Dean Daiss in Ms magazine: "Maybe, I reason, if more girls -- the next generation of women -- learn to defend themselves physically, harming their attackers instead of walking away or crying, then maybe, just maybe, they could begin to turn the tide of abuse from themselves and their sisters. Maybe if boys and men knew that they could be seriously hurt if they lifted their hands or opened their pants against the opposite sex, their abuse could be kept at bay."

• Can a woman hurt a man by punching him?

• How about if you kick him?

• Can you block his punch or slap?

The answer is a resounding ... NOT LIKELY ! ! !

In this "Women's Self Defense Boot Camp" you will learn techniques that do not depend on size or strength.

You will learn how to use your attackers size and strength against them.

We will cover:

Common Attacks on Females
  -          Wrist grab
  -          Wrist grab with pulling back or to side
  -          Grabbing from behind (bear hug)
  -          Rear choke
  -          Front elbow grab, two arms
  -          Grab and punch
  -          Take down to ground fight
  -          Weapon situational awareness

Tactical Breathing – Using breathing techniques to remain in control of situational reactions and thinking. Mind over body.
 
Defense Development
  -          Break away techniques to regain freedom from attack
  -          Addition of resistance to breakaway techniques
  -          Effective falling techniques to remain in control of
             take-downs
  -          Ground defenses
 
Scenario Training
  -          College student attack
  -          Vehicle entry defense
  -          Mugging
  -          Street encounters
 
Less Lethal Weapon Introduction
  -          Pepper (OC) spray
  -          Kubaton or car key usage
  -          Stun Gun usage
  -          Knife strikes

Robert House (Martial Arts Instructor) & Jody Thompson (Athens - Clarke County Police Officer) will guide you through this boot camp and start you on your journey of personal growth.

                
       Robert House Sensei                Officer Jody Thompson



Eva doing some techniques we will be teaching.