ideas for SD class

[clovisc]

i studied hung gar and chin na for a little while... then taught classes in my village daily and trained pretty intensely when i was in the peace corps in africa. kinda burned out on it... although recently, i was invited to teach a basic SD seminar.

cost will be $5 to be donated to a local charitable project.

now, i realize i'm not the supreme and master ninja of hooplatown, but i've done a lot of teaching at the kwoon where i trained (at my sifu's request), and in africa... i definitely know enough to teach this sort of class without giving people a false sense of security, or teaching people unsafe or ineffective techniques.

the plan is to make it a one-time deal... in large part because i'm moving soon (to alaska!!!!). while a single class on SD is far from ideal, i think it still will be productive to familiarize people with some of the basic techniques that might help them out of a bad situation.

thought i'd cover some of the very basics... how to block/not get hit, how to punch, where to punch, how to escape from someone who's grabbing you... and maybe try out some basic take downs, chin na techniques, arm bars, etc. at the end, time permitting. (also depends upon how quickly the students pick up on what i'm teaching them).

the theme is "don't get hit, repel the attacker, and get away safely."

i'm hoping to make it as practical and responsible as possible, working under the constraint of limited time (a single 90-120 minute session).

i'm pretty excited about this, but also a bit apprehensive... i haven't taught for a little while. its weird -- i know what it takes to run kung fu classes daily over a longer period of time, and did so every day for over a year, teaching for 2-4 hours per day in africa (using african languages!)... but i'm less certain about how to make a single class as effective as possible.

i also want to make sure to have a quality program -- there might be some people in attendance with more martial arts experience than myself, and with that in mind, i don't want to seem like a disorganized nincompoop.

i'd be interested in hearing any input you SD guys might have, in regard to what to teach, and how to teach it.

also, i'd be interested in hearing some ideas from people with little/no SD experience, in regard to what might be useful.

thanks!

[Dr. Snubnose]

My advice would be to stick to some very basic things...as many might not have any Martial Arts experience at all...those more experience will understand that the basics are what is most important in such a limited time span of this type of class...If the class is mainly women teach some Chin-Na to incompass basic releases from wrists, biceps,and hair grabs...maybe some releases from frontal and rear choke holds...women always appreciate if you teach them how to defend against an attacker when they are thrown to the ground and someone is pinning them down (like in rape prevention)...a safety lecture on what to look out for can be worth more weight than gold for those who are unaware and they walk away with knowledge they can use...men like it when shown how everyday items can be used as SD weapons...their combs, belts, briefcase, book, boots, pen, credit cards, wallet and umbrella. I would stay away from teaching the obvious....empty hand defenses against kicks and punches, because that all requires constant practice for the correct timing....Make it fun for everyone and you will be the hero of the day...with people talking about how successful the class was and what valuable information they took with them from your class...and that my friend is more of a service than one could ever hope for in the small time frame they will be with you...Remember It will be your need to teach them something worthwhile...it won't be their need to learn blocks, kicks and punches and become instant Kung Fu Masters...Stick to lots of information that will be important for them....just teaching them how to be aware (what to look for) and how to avoid is a powerful tool...When it comes to SD....Hope that helps....Doc :D

[Billy]

Stick to lots of information that will be important for them....just teaching them how to be aware (what to look for) and how to avoid is a powerful tool...When it comes to SD....Hope that helps....Doc :D

From a non (formal) SD person, this is what I believe would be most beneficial along with the other things Doc suggested, specifically, escapes from holds. Another thing that I think would be most helpful is an opportunity to go full speed with some of the simple striking techniques you teach (if you have access to pads). When my daughter took Ishin Ryu, (age 4-5), two things really made a difference with my shy little blondie:
1. being able to really kick and hit hard on pads
2. a little game called flag tag which really rewarded aggression and hard-charging to get in on your opponent

I think for many people who might sign up for a class like this, they quite possibly have never thrown a full speed strike at a human. Just the simple act of striking something full-force and actually feeling it, could produce that little bit of confidence in themselves that could help them avoid becoming a target. Besides that, just whacking the crap out of a bag or pads can be some great therapy! :D Good luck with your class!

Billy

[clovisc]

thanks for making an appearance, doc... and for your really good suggestions. i knew you'd come through! :)

[Michael Cook]

:spyder: Hubad-lubad and finger jabs to the eye. There's nothing about a good eye poke that doesn't work. :spyder:

[clovisc]

:spyder: Hubad-lubad and finger jabs to the eye. There's nothing about a good eye poke that doesn't work. :spyder:

i agree... and hung gar has some interesting ones... :D :D

[KaliGman]

If you have a single training session of 1 1/2 to 2 hours you should really scale back your syllabus. Teaching awareness (I suggest some quick examples and the use of Jeff Cooper's color codes), movement, one parry/block technique (make it generic enough to cover most of the body's centerline), and a strike or two and you are out of time (maybe over your time allotment). Footwork/movement should probably be limited to stepping off line--forward or backward at a 45 degree angle to the attack. You need to have lots of repetition--if you show an elbow technique, three kicks, a punch or two, and a couple of grappling techniques, they will retain almost nothing, because they will be suffering information overload and none of it will have been practiced enough for them to remember much. I prefer a longer seminar and the ability to work on front and rear grabs, and other techniques. With the small amount of time you are talking about, rear attacks should probably be handled only through awareness training--i.e. don't let the bad man get behind you.

The above training syllabus is similar to what I sometimes do in the first hour or so of a basic seminar for law enforcement--then we move on to knives, grappling attacks, and lots of evil stuff.

I suggest you write down your ideas for the class in a syllabus, then practice it yourself and see how many repetitions of the techniques you can get into your time frame. Then, divide this by three. You now have an approximation of the number of times your student will get to practice each technique (time is lost in your explanation and demonstration, and time is lost in correction and the fact that they are going to be going slower than you--they know none of what you are teaching them). When you look at it this way, you will see why I say you should really limit the number of techniques you are teaching.

[dete]

for me I divide it like this:

Long term training - like for martial artists, people into health, like the culture and study. People who are looking for a deep meaning, and self-improvement.

Short term training - military and LEO, those that need it, just because of their work, but don't have time or the interest to really train it.

example using Brazilian jiu-jitsu

long term
-people want to learn submissions, but really we need to start from defense.
how to posture well, keep tight, and then fight for position. once we get the position we hold it, wear them out a little. We need balance, we need to be able to control our breathing, to not panic, to be able to see stuff comming.
To know what their strategy would be.

short term
-submissions, I don't care if you have to bite the guy, use pure power, whatever it takes, the form can be horrible, just get the submission, and take them out.

When I first started grappling(ground fighting) I knew only 3 moves, and I beat a lot of bigger guys mainly because of determination, and attitude.

[ducktapehero]

I'll throw my 2 cents in there. I'm am not a martial arts master or anything but I've studied some self defense and to be honest I used to be a drunk butthole that got into fights. I will say that I never started any but I wasn't going to back down either. I wasn't big enough or talented enough to fight conventionally so I learned how to fight dirty.

Please don't think I'm trying to brag or act tough or anything. I'm not trying to glorify what I did. It is not my intention. It was stupid, immature and I'm still paying the price of that and other stupid things I did in my 20's. My bad shoulder reminds me everyday of the poor choices I made in my youth. I have had 4 surgeries on it and will probably have to get it replaced some day. All this because of a fight that I should have just walked away from. I'm also 36 and on most days, walk with a cane. I thank God that I have outgrown that.

That said, I'd comment on improvised weapons, show people how a hairbrush or a big magic marker can be used like a kubotan. Of course nothing fancy but the most simple basic moves. Something I think that is sometimes underestimated is a downward attack on the trapezius muscle and/or collar bone. They're simple, effective and "Mr Bad Guy" may not be used to defending an attack there. Possibly they're expecting you to strike at the face or the typical groin shot. Not down to where the neck meets the shoulders. A hair brush, driven hard into the general area where the neck meets the shoulders is gonna hurt BAD. Of course like anything it is NOT a miracle shot, merely another option.

Another thing that is sometimes taught is "scratching the eyes". Well, maybe, maybe not. Instead, I teach the women in my life that given a chance at their eyes, GOUGE them out if you have too. Gouging is much more effective than a scratch. I also don't trust the whole "kick them in the groin". If a mans adrenaline is pumping that won't hurt. I've been kicked in the junk during fights and it didn't hurt then. Of course afterwards it did but at that moment it merely pissed me off. One thing I do believe in is the "grabbing, twisting and pulling" of the "groin parts".

Besides my oak cane that I carry, I also carry an ASP Defender. Basically a kubaton with pepper spray. Pepper spray should work but if it doesn't maybe it will at least distract them enough for me to get a good hit in with the kubaton.


Like I said, just my 2 cents. Take it for what it's worth.