Great to see so many of our students along for their free seminar last Monday night, good to have the full range from beginner to black belt! This seminar was our ‘Self Defence Part 1’, a core subject to all of us who study and teach martial arts in all its various forms. It’s why most of us joined in the first place!
We wanted, as always, to give something extra. In our main lessons we teach and train the body to react in certain ways, depending on the style the student is training in. So this evening we wanted to teach some of the core points of the subject and not just another way to strike a target! Tim San kicked off with the theme, which was ‘appropriate action’. This came in two forms, the first being your defence must be relevant to the situation. We might be able to avoid conflict by not reacting with physicality straight away! Thus avoiding crossing with the law. Secondly, appropriate action had to be a physical movement, that gave space and vision, only then could the reaction fit the action. The physical lessons that sprang from this concept proved great fun for all the class, but equally very challenging. Richard San and Tim San kept emphasising that the response must fit the attack, the black belts especially couldn’t just resort to their favourite techniques!
But defence for a martial artist is also about attack, just to defend is a passive response that may often cause an escalation in the situation and that may end badly. For those who study martial arts it is understood that they take the defence of their personal sovereignty extremely seriously, a decision to sort the situation out quickly is a given. The last part of our seminar ramped up this attitude. Although we can never fully train for violence in a safe environment with friends, an attitude and belief is a huge step forward, especially for a beginner. So well done everybody! Look out for ‘Self Defence Part 2’ later on in the year!
See you in the Dojo!
Richard san