Women's Self-Defense
/In the 680 or so posts on this blog I have not had all that much to say about self-defense in general. (It's not even on my "Category" list in the side bar.) Of all the things which interest me about martial arts, self-defense has rarely risen to the top. But lately I have found myself thinking, reading, and teaching about it more and more. Most people think of martial arts and self-defense as synonyms. That leads to a lot of confusion.
Devi Protective Offense is a site dedicated to clearing up the confusions. It is specifically designed by women, for women. Teja is selling a product and a service which looks great.
You can watch a few of her videos for free, and she has this overview (click to enlarge).
She isn't dealing with historical development however, which in my opinion means she is too quick to discard traditional methods and forms. In the video below she says that men have created unrealistic strategies for self-defense because they have trouble comprehending what it is like to be small and weak. She is correct, but to me that is an argument for preserving traditional arts not discarding them. Women were involved in the creation of many traditional martial arts particularly those related to performance and hospitality. But even more importantly, I was a kid once. I know exactly what it is like to fight someone three times my size. Northern Shaolin was designed specifically for kids and it is extraordinarily well designed for kid's self-defense. The internal arts take a long time to learn and require adoption levels of intimacy, but all the techniques I teach do assume that you are fighting a much stronger opponent (weakness with a twist is my motto). Everything else she says is spot on. (hat tip: Chiron)
Devi Protective Offense is a site dedicated to clearing up the confusions. It is specifically designed by women, for women. Teja is selling a product and a service which looks great.
You can watch a few of her videos for free, and she has this overview (click to enlarge).
She isn't dealing with historical development however, which in my opinion means she is too quick to discard traditional methods and forms. In the video below she says that men have created unrealistic strategies for self-defense because they have trouble comprehending what it is like to be small and weak. She is correct, but to me that is an argument for preserving traditional arts not discarding them. Women were involved in the creation of many traditional martial arts particularly those related to performance and hospitality. But even more importantly, I was a kid once. I know exactly what it is like to fight someone three times my size. Northern Shaolin was designed specifically for kids and it is extraordinarily well designed for kid's self-defense. The internal arts take a long time to learn and require adoption levels of intimacy, but all the techniques I teach do assume that you are fighting a much stronger opponent (weakness with a twist is my motto). Everything else she says is spot on. (hat tip: Chiron)
