New Self-Defense Fitness Classes

At our Vancouver area martial arts school, we pride ourselves in offering a full schedule of adult Can-ryu Jiu-jitsu classes, which offer students a wide range of self-defense skills, including striking, throwing/takedowns, breakfalls, joint locks, sparring, ground techniques and more. Our standard classes start by introducing the most practical, easy-to-learn defensive skills with strong emphasis on gross motor skills while also providing foundations for higher level learning that is developed as a student progresses.

Having taught these types of classes for 5 years now, and we do our best to make these classes accessible to anyone and have people of all ages (even a 65-year-old!), fitness, levels and physical abilities. That being said, some people have different comfort levels in terms of what we do, or are not necessarily looking to learn a comprehensive martial art, but still want a place where they can develop and maintain their defensive skills as well as their fitness levels. It is for this reason that we developed our new Self-Defense Fitness classes.

Using the simplest, most effective self-defense techniques in Can-ryu Jiu-jitsu, we've created a program that improves students' cardio, strength, coordination, balance, flexibility, etc, AND teaches students how to apply them for personal protection should the need arise. Unlike our regular Jiu-jitsu classes, these one-hour classes leave out higher impact activities such as breakfalls, throws, joint locks and sparring making it accessible to everyone. It's designed to be a solution for people looking for a lower-impact martial arts fitness option. It also can appeal to people who don't like the idea of being thrown or having their joints locked up, whether they're getting over an injury or just a little intimidated at the prospect.

I never really liked the idea of cardio kickboxing or boxercise classes, finding that these types of classes were more about getting fit with only a minor association with the martial arts, and little to no application as to how to use the martial techniques taught. That's why I wanted to make this class different. Around 1/2-2/3 of the class would be spent on fitness and circuit training with practical striking drills with the remaining time spent on the practical applications of the techniques. This class will not require uniforms and will have no belt system. The only equipment required would be a groin protector.

I am hoping that this class will help broaden our reach by offering a more simplified training option that addresses different people's needs. It would also serve as an ongoing training option for women who do our 2-hour women's self defense class. Additionally, I hope it will also serve to attract curiosity in our regular Jiu-jitsu classes from people who develop a desire to progress further. At the same time, it would also serve our regular Jiu-jitsu students should they want a different format class to help improve fitness levels or give them a training option while recovering from injury.

What do you think?

Pressure Point of the Day: Lateral Femoral

This blog has been moved to our new address: http://pacificwavejiujitsu.com/blog/pressure-point-of-the-day-lateral-femoral

The Difference between Panicking & Choking

This blog post has been moved to our new address: http://pacificwavejiujitsu.com/blog/the-difference-between-panicking-choking

The Gift of Fear vs. the Price of Worry & Ignorance

This blog post has been moved to our new address: http://pacificwavejiujitsu.com/blog/the-gift-of-fear-vs-the-price-of-worry-ignorance

Standing up to Bullies: The Case of Casey Heynes

This blog post has been moved to our new address: http://pacificwavejiujitsu.com/blog/standing-up-to-bullies-the-case-of-casey-heynes

Understanding Physical Biases in the Martial Arts

This blog post has been moved to our new address: http://pacificwavejiujitsu.com/blog/understanding-physical-biases-in-the-martial-arts

How Do Your Assumptions Hold You Back?

This blog post has been moved to our new address: http://pacificwavejiujitsu.com/blog/how-do-your-assumptions-hold-you-back

Muscle Memory & Its Role in Self-Defense

This blog post has been moved to our new address: http://pacificwavejiujitsu.com/blog/muscle-memory-its-role-in-self-defense

Safety Rules for Women at Bars/Clubs

Over the last year, I taught around 8 women's self-defense classes in Vancouver. During that time, in nearly every group I taught, there was at least one woman who either knew someone personally who had had rohypnol slipped into their drink, or had had it slipped into her own drink. Back when I used to go to bars regularly, it was something that you only read about in the papers. Unfortunately, these incidents have become commonplace in recent years. Read more about rohypnol.

To avoid this type of situation, there are a number of safety rules I teach women to follow in my self-defense class. Here they are:

1. Avoid going to bars alone. You're more vulnerable to these types of situations when you're alone. No one is there to intercept if someone attempts to "take you home" in a suspicious way, nor will anyone miss you if you're suddenly gone.

2. Avoid drinking to excess. I understand that it's fun to let loose, but drinking to excess impairs your judgement. You may not recognize a dangerous situation if it happens to you. You're also more likely to take risks you wouldn't normally take when sober. If you're with friends, you might not notice if your friend is in a situation and needs help.

3. Keep track of your drinks. It's not just about staying close to your drink, but actually keeping it in sight. Many women have looked away just for a few seconds, turning around to look for a friend or put their wallet away, and have had their drink drugged in that time.

4. Don't let strangers buy you drinks. Sure, it's nice to save money, not having to buy your own drinks, but when you let someone buy you a drink it can give a man the opportunity to put something in it. Even if the guy isn't looking to drug you, he may feel that you're now obligated to him in some way, and may get angry if you don't feel any such obligation.

5. Look out for your friends (and make sure they're looking out for you). It can be easy to lose track of your friends in a crowded club. Try to stay together, at least with one other friend. Let each other know where you're going to be. It's easier to stay safe and stop bad things from happening if you're all looking out for each other.

I give this advice to women, not to scare them, or to make them feel unsafe when they go out. These are just a few simple practices one can easily make a habit of doing without having to dwell on it overly. By following these practices, women can worry a lot less about what "could" happen, and focus more on just having fun.

My next women's self-defense class is taking place on Sat. Feb. 5. More information.

Women's Self-Defense: Dealing with Assaults from People You Know

This blog post has been moved to our new address: http://pacificwavejiujitsu.com/blog/womens-self-defense-dealing-with-assaults-from-people-you-know

The Importance of Surprise in Self-Defense

Surprise is a very important fundamental to understand when it comes to self-defense, but it's difficult to incorporate into one's training. There are two sides to the coin to consider; removing an attacker's ability to surprise you and using surprise to add effectiveness to your own physical defense.

Removing An Attacker's Ability to Surprise You

This is accomplished by being aware of your surroundings and taking sensible precautions. When out and about, whether you're walking home from a transit station, walking to your car in a shopping garage, out for a run for exercise, etc, you should always be generally aware of all the people and vehicles that are in close proximity as you move about.

As part of this practice, you should avoid closing off your hearing and outward focus by listening to an MP3 player or talking on the phone while walking about. You should avoid going close to areas that could allow a person to jump out at you quickly. You should also avoid allowing people to follow you into an isolated area or to triangulate around you as a group.

Even if you're as good a martial artist as Bruce Lee, if you let yourself be caught by surprise, you may not have the opportunity to put those skills to use for self-defense.

Using Surprise to Add to Your Own Self-Defense

Catching an attacker by surprise is one important way a person can make up for lack of size or numbers in a self-defense situation. Women have been known to successfully repel much larger attackers by using the element of surprise. Most of the time, if a woman has been targeted for an attack, she has been perceived as an easy victim, which makes using surprise that much more effective a tactic.

I remember one example of a woman in Ottawa who was attacked while rollerblading. A man jumped out of the bushes and took her to the ground. He may have thought that she would be helpless while wearing a pair of those cumbersome skates. He was wrong. The woman managed to kick him in the groin using her skate. She successfully immobilized her attacker and was able to flee to safety.

Weapons of opportunity make for great elements of surprise because they're usually not accounted for by the attacker, whether it's sand thrown in the attacker's eyes, a pen used a striking implement, or a trash can thrown in their path to trip them up.

Even when you're not using a weapon of opportunity, you should do what you can to conceal your attacks. This is why we try to avoid telegraphing our strikes and kicks with exaggerated motions. You should also save any strikes you intend to use for a moment in which they can be used most effectively. For example, you shouldn't try to knee someone in the groin from far away. They're more likely to see it coming and if you miss, you can better believe your attacker will be even more ready to defend against it the second time.

These are but a few examples of how surprise can be used. Please feel free to share your own examples of how you've used surprise to keep yourself safe.

4 Common Problems with Women's Self-Defense Classes

I've been teaching women's self-defense classes for many years now. I've seen all sorts of classes offered by a wide variety of martial arts instructors. The problem is that while many of these instructors are skilled martial artists, they are not necessarily self-defense instructors, and don't run a class that takes into account the realities of what women face.

Here are 4 common problems with women's self-defense instructors:

1. Lack of understanding of the anatomy of an attack on a woman. There are a lot of misconceptions of what the typical assault or attack on a woman consists of. Many people imagine the worst, a woman being brutually and mercilessly attacked and/or raped by some stranger in some back alley. The truth of the matter is that the majority of assaults on women in North America (I won't generalize about the rest of the world) are performed by men that are previously known to the woman. Also, the majority of attacks are performed in a home or motor vehicle. Knowing these facts, an instructor should provide information to help prevent these situations, which leads to the next point.

2. Underemphasis on awareness, avoidance and de-escalation tactics. Many women's self-defense courses place more emphasis on physical combat because that is what the instructors know more about. But ultimately, the vast majority of the incidents women face can be avoided though awareness skills and knowing what actions to take when something is up.

3. Over-complicated defensive combat techniques. Whether a class is only a few hours long or several classes over a few weeks, women's self-defense classes are generally short-term classes. Women don't usually continue to train the techniques regularly once the course is over. That being the case, it's a waste of time to teach women techniques that take lots of time to learn and become proficient at. Even if they do manage to learn them, it's doubtful they'll retain the skills over the long term and be able to apply them under the stress of an attack.

4. Lack of Emphasis on the Psychology of Self-defense. In North America, the typical man who attacks a woman is not looking for a challenge, they're looking for an easy victim. If a woman is targeted, part of their physical defense strategy should encompass the idea of unequivocally demonstrating that they are not one. Whatever physical defense is taught, women should also learn to be loud and vocal to gather witnesses and increase the risk of the attacker getting caught, which they obviously don't want. They should also be taught to fight the response of freezing in fear by harnessing anger so they can channel the resulting adrenaline dump into a fight response that is more likely to make an attacker think twice about his choice of victim.

At the end of the day, without extensive training, a woman is not likely going to be able to mount enough of a physical defense to stop a determined male attacker who refuses to back down no matter what the consequences. Fortunately, most attacks are not like this and can be stopped simply by being an unappealing victim and can be altogether prevented just by understanding and applying safety measures in daily life. This is why a proper, useful women's self-defense class is NOT just a bunch of physical combat techniques. It teaches the whole package. And if a woman wants to learn more and become better equipped at the physical aspect, they can always sign up for ongoing martial arts training that continues to build on that foundation.

Getting in Touch with Our Own Knife Psychology

(*This is a continuation of my last post Fear of Knives: Exploring the Roots.)

There really is no definitive answer as to whether humanity fears knives more than other deadly weapons or why this might be the case. Moreover, the fear (or lack of fear) that is experienced when faced with any weapon will vary quite widely from person to person simply based on their own individual psychology, making it impossible to predict how anyone would react when the moment comes.

In Jim Wagner’s Reality-Based Personal Protection, he asks the following:

"How will you perform at the moment of truth in a conflict situation? What’s going to happen to you emotionally when you’re facing the real possibilities of injury or even death? Will you have the will to survive, or will you be so paralyzed with fear that you will not be able to move at all? The answer is: You won’t know until you can say, 'Been there, done that.'"

What is generally agreed upon, however, is that knives, being a deadly weapon are likely to cause an increase in combat stress. And combat stress, no matter what kind of attack situation one is facing, has the potential to greatly harm one’s ability to mount an effective defense.

When one is scared, adrenaline levels are high, which cause perception, coordination and thinking to be impaired. People can have impaired sensory experiences including tunnel vision, auditory exclusion and time distortion. When one has gone beyond the levels of being scared to being terrified, a person can freeze up, unable to react or even move.

To prepare yourself for combat stress, you have to learn to handle yourself both physically and mentally with equal emphasis. You need to experience the physical and mental effects of combat stress in your training so you can better equip yourself for what you would experience in a real attack. As Professor Sylvain puts it: “Without both, you can only remain combat illiterate, no matter how well you perform your techniques or how fit you may be.”

A further contributor to the effects of combat stress when faced with a knife is the fear of death and mutilation. While it is impractical to practice death so to speak, a person can visualize their death regularly as a way of combating this fear. The Samurai were well aware of this fact, encouraging warriors to “practice death”:

"The way of the Samurai is, morning after morning, the practice of death, considering whether it will be here, or be there, imagining the most slightly way of dying, and putting one’s mind firmly in death. Although this may be a most difficult thing, if one will do it, it can be done." (From Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai)

While this may considered a bit morbid for the average person who is unlikely to face lethal violence in the entirety of their lives, a soldier or other type of military or law enforcement officer might see the benefits from this type of psychological training. Of course, many strains of philosophy also contend that there is much spiritual benefit to be had from this kind of mental visualization because a complete acceptance of our inevitable deaths allows us to more fully experience life, or so they say.

(**A quick note of thanks to all blog commenters who contributed to my formulation of this aspect of my thesis, particularly ones who contributed without lowering themselves to personal attacks.)

Fear of Knives: Exploring the Roots

(*This article is the more developed and elaborated version of my original post last week, Why We Fear Knives? in which I was exploring one of the questions that was put to me for my Yondan thesis. This article is split into two parts. Please read both and if you have comments, post them in the second article, Getting in Touch with Our Own Knife Psychology.)

The knife is a deadly weapon and people are naturally going to fear an attack with a knife more than one with no weapon involved. There is room to posit theories that humans may psychologically fear knives more than other deadly attacks like guns, bludgeoning weapons or even multiple attackers. Many scientists believe that evolution has produced natural fears in the human psyche which evolved to help protect us from things that would cause us harm (i.e. fear of snakes, spiders, heights, etc). Research shows that mammals in general have developed the perceptive ability to focus on things seen as threatening, such as snakes and spiders, and to respond emotionally with a feeling of fear. (See reference article.)

It’s not a stretch to suggest that humans might have a latent fear of knives which could easily be associated with other natural cutting weapons that go way back in our evolutionary experience, like the teeth and claws of predators that once threatened us. Guns, bludgeoning weapons, even swords, don’t have the long history of being a life threat that small cutting weapons have in our evolutionary background. That being said, Richard McNally, an associate professor of psychology at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, stated: "The biggest challenge that we face in considering these theories of evolution is we cannot recover the evolutionary history—there is no fossil record," he said. "People seem to have different thresholds for saying what is a plausible account of evolution."

Even if we don’t subscribe to the evolution theory, we can consider our own experiences. Pretty much everyone has been cut at least once in their lives even if it was just a simple a paper cut. They can actually remember what it feels like to be cut. The memory of that pain could theoretically cause a visceral fear reaction in people when they are threatened with a knife. Most people have never been shot so it does not evoke the same intensity of response when a gun is pointed at them.

What we see and read about in popular media may have an effect on how we perceive knives, whether the perception is accurate or not. When you see people cut with knives on TV or movies, they usually feature a close-up of the victim’s face showing him in extreme pain. When people are shot, on the other hand, the pain isn’t as prominent. Usually the victim just drops to the ground or goes flying back from the impact. To go further with the point of how knives are depicted in movies, the most horrible serial killers in movies are usually depicted as being hackers and slashers. All of this could theoretically contribute to a stronger emotional reaction to a knife.

As children, many people are exposed to toy weapons, most often guns and swords. This familiarization at a young age could theoretically make a person less fearful as an adult. You don’t usually hear about kids playing with toy knives on the other hand so one could surmise that the lack of familiarity in that way leads to a greater level of fear.

Why Do We Fear Knives?

You may think that the answer to this question seems a bit obvious at first, but it isn't really. It's a knife! A lethal weapon. of course we fear them! But the fear that comes when a knife is pointed at you as a weapon is so much more visceral than the fear that comes when a gun is pointed at you. This is a question I'm answering as part of my thesis for my Yondan.

Everyone has been cut at least once in their lives even if it was just a simple a paper cut. The memory of that pain causes a visceral reaction in people when they are threatened with a knife. They can actually remember what it feels like to be cut. Most people have never been shot so it does not evoke the same intensity of response when a gun is pointed at them. The same goes for bludgeoning weapons like a baseball bat.

Moreover, when you see people cut with knives in film, they usually feature a close-up of the victim’s face showing him in extreme pain. When people are shot, on the other hand, the pain isn’t as prominent. Usually the victim just drops to the ground or goes flying back from the impact.

These factors contribute to a stronger emotional reaction to a knife, so when people actually face a knife in reality as a weapon, they are more likely to freeze up and cower behind their arms in response. This is something every instructor should try to address in their teachings to help prepare their students mentally for the psychology that might trip them up even if they do become as technically proficient at knife defense as one can get.

Reacting to Aggression: How to Avoid and De-Escalate Conflict

This blog post has been moved to our new address: http://pacificwavejiujitsu.com/blog/reacting-to-aggression-how-to-avoid-and-de-escalate-conflict

The Practicalities of Conflict Avoidance

This blog post has been moved to our new location: http://pacificwavejiujitsu.com/blog/the-practicalities-of-conflict-avoidance

5 Rules of Ground Defense

This blog post has been moved to our new address: http://pacificwavejiujitsu.com/blog/5-rules-of-ground-defense

Can-Ryu Ground Defense Concepts Applied

This blog post has been moved to our new address: http://pacificwavejiujitsu.com/blog/can-ryu-ground-defense-concepts-applied

What to Do When Your Bell Gets Rung

This blog post has been moved to our new address: http://pacificwavejiujitsu.com/blog/what-to-do-when-your-bell-gets-rung