On Thursday, September 20th, we hosted a free self defense clinic for members of the surrounding community. The goal of the clinic was to educate people on how to avoid dangerous situations, and how to escape a dangerous situation if you found yourself in one.
We kicked things off by going over some very practical tips for saying out of danger. We discussed how something as simple as constantly being aware of your surroundings can go a long way in keeping you safe, and how distractions such as your cell phone can limit this awareness. We also talked about how it is best to say in well lit, populated areas, how it is best to travel with a friend, and how important it is to listen to your gut if it is telling you that something is not right.
We then shifted our attention to learning some simple techniques for dealing with an attacker, techniques that can be applied in a variety of situations and be effective against a larger attacker. After explaining these techniques, describing where and how to apply them, we practiced them as a group. Instructors walked around the room helping participants with the techniques and holding striking shields so the participants can try the techniques out.
After covering the techniques, we went over a few scenarios of how somebody may attack and how we could use the techniques we practiced earlier to escape the attack. Participants then practiced each of those scenarios with a partner.
We finished up with some Q&A from the group, where we discussed what to do when followed, and the differences between different self defense weapons on the market (pepper spray vs Taser, etc).
We had a great time, and raised $151 for SOS Children’s Villages of Illinois and Suzy’s Caring Place in the process.
Thank you to all that came to the clinic. I hope you all had as much fun as we did. We look forward to doing this again soon.
- John going over self defence tips with the group
- Practicing a defensive stance
- Practicing a defensive stance
- Practicing a defensive stance
- John helping a mother/daughter pair with their defensive stance
- John introducing striking from a defensive stance
- John explaining some core concepts
- John demonstrating an elbow with Jeff
- John demonstrating an elbow with Jeff
- The group practicing elbow techniques
- John demonstrating an eye attack
- John demonstrating a palm heel strike
- Participants working on some scenarios with a partner
- Escaping a front choke
- Practicing escaping a front choke
- John demonstrates the importance of keeping your hips in
- Mother and daugher practice scenarios
- Mother and daugher practice scenarios
- Practicing some self defence scenarios
- John and Jeff demonstrating escaping a grab from behind
- John and Jeff demonstrating escaping a grab from behind
- John making a few closing points to the clinic
- John and Jeff answering questions from the group
- Group photo
- Mike and his daughter