Women's self-defense training
Hughes Karate-do regularly holds clinics for women who wish to learn some simple
expedient self-defense techniques. Please see the calendar page for the next available class.
Why you should take this class (short version)
It's a dangerous world out there. One moment of inattention or distraction is all
an attacker needs to take advantage of you. Once you have been grabbed, or placed
in a choke hold, you may have seconds to defend your life. Can you do it?
In this class you'll learn a variety of simple, effective responses to common self-defense
situations. Conducted in a friendly, no-stress environment, you will have ample
opportunity to practice various techniques on our helpful volunteers. You will learn
techniques that will enable you to respond appropriately to an attack.
You don't need strength. The techniques we will teach you use movement, physics,
and positioning, not brute force. In this class you will see the smallest woman
effectively deal with the attack of the largest, strongest man. This stuff works.
The long-winded version
It is an unfortunate fact of life that criminals select the most vulnerable members
of society as their prey. Women are natural targets of such miscreants due to the
differences in size and temperament compared to your average criminally-oriented
male.
Many women, aware of these disadvantages against a larger, stronger, more agressive
attacker, take responsibility for their own self-defense by arming themselves with
mace, pepper spray, or a firearm. While it is admirable and righteous to do so,
in reality such countermeasures are not always effective and in some unfortunate
cases can be turned around and used on the victim.
In our seminars we teach the ultimate self-defense technique: awareness.
Our first defense is to not get into the situations that require your superior martial
arts skills in the first place. We cover typical hazards of modern life including
shopping mall parking lots, dark streets, and overeager suitors. Staying aware of
your surroundings and projecting confidence is explained. Liberal use of real-life
examples (plus the intermittent good thumping of several of the volunteer "male
scum") helps drive home the points in a clear manner.
When all else fails and the attack occurs, we teach simple, effective counters to
a variety of scenarios. We don't teach a 105-lb teenager to beat a 220-lb gargoyle
senseless; realistically, that isn't going to happen. What we do teach is how that
105-lb woman can use her body postioning, movement, and physics to escape and gain
distance from her attacker.
We don't fight force with force. If we did, simple physics says the bigger force
would always win. That doesn't usually work out to the advantage of the woman.
The techniques we teach are the same kinds of techniques developed and used by the
Okinawans who were fighting for their lives. They were dead serious about their
karate, as it provided life protection skills and enabled them to come back home
to their families. At Hughes Karate-do, we are all about the study of those time-tested
skills, and we will show you how they work just as well against today's rapist as
they did against the foreign invader of 500 years ago.
The best thing about these techniques? Simplicity. This is the kind of stuff you
can actually do in a panic after attending one 3-hour seminar. You don't
need to study for years to do these techniques. (If you are inclined to study for
years, then you should see the stuff we do in the regular classes!)
The environment is friendly and informal. Humor is widespread. Male students of
Hughes Karate-do provide the cannon fodder for actual practice of the techniques--
So when you learn the technique for a wrist grab, you actually have a big, strong
guy grabbing your wrist and yanking you along. Many women are somewhat shell-shocked
the first time this happens (like you would be if it happened to you in a dark parking
lot?), but within minutes they have gained confidence, mastered the technique, and
can make it work against anyone.
Keep in mind that the volunteer male scum are martial artists who have been training
for years. If anyone knows how to put someone into a choke, they do. The beauty
of it is, the women end up tossing these guys all over the place by the end of the
class! This is Karate. Simple, effective, and not dependent on strength.
Interested? put on some comfortable clothes and get ready to learn realistic ways
to fend off attacks in a safe, fun, environment. This class is open to women of
all ages (at least 13) and physical condition. Bring your friends. Bring your daughters,
especially.
To register, please contact Sensei Hughes.