Brain freeze

[carnivalnights]

Lately, I have been hunting around Amazon and eBay trying to expand my cardio DVD collection. I find that the more variety I have, the more inspired I am because the less bored I get. I have come across several S.W.A.T. and military DVDs... and from those popped up some self-defense DVDs. It really got me thinking about how one actually goes about

Comments

[fragilemuse]

i've taken Wen-Do a couple times, it's a pretty good course that teaches women to get out of situations without having to learn fancy moves, and in ways that focus on the fact that most women are physically less strong and heavier than men. would definitely be worth looking into!

http://www.wendo.ca/

[carnivalnights]

Wow, that is awesome! Thanks for the link. I am going to look into that. It is really good that they actually take those things into consideration. So did you just do the 2-day courses?

Thanks again, Mel. :)

[phoenixdreaming]

I've heard of classes specifically geared towards self-defense where the classes aims to create similar emotions to real life - having to defend against/attack/escape from a realistic attacker (who's wearing protection so you can attack at full strength). I think this was the course I'd heard mentioned - http://www.impactbayarea.org/ It looks like there's a Canadian version: http://www.preparecanada.ca/ Maybe somewhere near you?

I will say, though - my own /wish/ would be to fight back against a mugging, both from pride and from simple desire to keep my belongings, /but/ in practice it's an incredibly dangerous thing to do. Even though it felt like the wrong thing, freezing was probably very much the right thing to do. There was a knife involved, and people who commit muggings tend to be reckless, unreasoning and desperate. I don't know the details of the incident. (I looked through your journal just now - I felt

[shadowdream]

I agree with it being the right choice, in certain situations it just is.

But, as far as remembering how to do things.. One self defense course isn't going to help a whole lot. It is better than nothing, for sure! But it isn't going to help with the freezing up, more than likely. Learning how to defend yourself, like via a martial art, is a much better idea. The idea is that those reactions, those motions, become muscle memory, and so you do them before you think. Also, with practice comes confidence, and comfort with what you are doing.

[flourishing]

I've always wanted to take self defense classes. I think it's a wonderful skill to learn, and probably the act of learning it makes it easier to implement if/when the time comes.

I've always imagined self defense classes to teach a certain level of applied confidence, too. A confidence that you'd need to deal with an extreme situation.

[isaura]

I've been getting into workout DVDs lately as well. I think that this time around, I'm way serious about getting back into shape and with that frame of mind, I'm looking for variety.

Re: Self defense classes, I think they are very helpful. Even if you are a person that is against violence, a little knowledge is better than none. I boxed and did mixed martial arts when I was younger and I've never forgotten the lessons I learned. When walking down the street, I feel confident no matter the neighborhood or time of day, because I know I can handle my own. I've been in fights before and I can tell you 100% that what you learn comes back to you.

Your default now may be to freeze up or run but once you've applied yourself in a few classes, you understand the art and the poetry behind it. It's about timing and placement and true self-defense classes teach you how to use your environment and attacker to your advantage.

I'm told to be a violent person and that is irrelevant but I think it's a beautiful thing, to be able to defend