The Self Defense Seminar on Saturday was quite a success. For those of you who missed out, you should really consider coming to the next one, already scheduled for September 1.
Some of the Skills Portion
The seminar was about the Three Fights: (1) The fight with yourself, your misconceptions, fears, reluctance to train, and the effects of adrenaline. (2) The actual physical fight. (3) Legal and moral issues of the fight, injuries & post traumatic stress.
We discussed the Third and First Fights in great detail, including how to correctly describe your self defense actions to the police so that you aren’t accused of committing a crime and to reduce your chances of being successfully sued, and how we get screwed up by our misconceptions about the nature of violence and what we think we’d do in a violent situation. We spent a little time working on front and rear ambush defense, as well as some simple striking techniques.
The remainder of the class was spent doing scenarios, which were very eye-opening for everyone. We tied those scenarios back into the ideas of the First and Third Fights, and really gave the participants a feel for how your brain and body function in a stressful situation.
The biggest feedback that I got from the participants was that the seminar was not at all what they were expecting. Many other self defense seminars before focus on physical techniques, while this one is much more about the mental and emotional components of violence and the aftermath of such an encounter.
The next seminar is already scheduled, and you can sign up for it in the Members Area. Attendance is limited, so sign up ASAP. I’m also planning to have child care available for the next one.
Be safe!
Very interesting seminar, thanks Nick. Wasn’t what I expected (3 hours of hand to hand and grappling etc,) was much more interesting spending time on understanding the other aspects of self defense. The scenarios were quite effective and I look forward to more classes.
J
It was an invaluable experience. There’s obviously a chasm between our imagination of a real life violent crisis scenario (or as Nick would say, the stories we tell ourselves”) and what the experience would be like in reality and the self defense seminar basically bridges that chasm and gives us a feel for what a crisis situation might actually be like instead of how we would imagine it. I personally wish that ALL of my loved ones would take it so that they would be better prepared not just to deal with a situation but even more so to read the signs and avoid it altogether.
I got SO much out of this seminar. Like Justin said, I too expected something different but was in fact more fascinated by what was presented: the nature of violence, the legal aspects of defending yourself, who is violent, how to protect yourself, etc. Just scratching the surface here of what was covered. NIck is an informed, well-prepared and engaging instructor and those three hours were well worth my time (I left wanting more).
I was able to put some of the ideas to good use last night while in the City at the Orpheum Theater. In the parking garage, I found myself using the tactics that Nick imparted — find your exits (only one way out that I can see), where can I take cover (other cars, vending machine), what can I use as a weapon (not much — keys? husband?), etc. — I won’t give all of his secrets away here, fellow Cavers. Take Nick’s next seminar to find out more. You will NOT be disappointed.
“There’s obviously a chasm between our imagination of a real life violent crisis scenario (or as Nick would say, the stories we tell ourselves”)”
This was a huge part of it for me, and Nicks intro was very good at bringing this differential to light.
The awareness that you come away from this seminar with is invaluable. When a situation turns bad (threatening/violent) what you have always believed you would do often turns out to be a far cry from what you actually will do, or even what you believe is happening in the moment! You will learn the hows and whys of this, and much, much more. The content really has an impact and will make you think about what you are doing and how you react to situations in all aspects of your life.
Sign up for the next one. You won’t be sorry!
Thanks for the awesome comments, guys. You were a really good group!
I hope to attend the next one. My goal is to beat Nick up one day soon. I’m almost there