Tag Archives | children’s self defence

Intensive Hard Skills (diary entry)

November 1, 2022 | Diary / Training Notes [ssba]

26.10.2022 My first junior client requested a lesson on self-defence. This is not an ideal situation due to the amount of time required to go through important soft skills, however, we still covered the basics on preemptive striking – handling both same size and much larger attackers – and a small amount of anti-grappling. I layered in advice on attitude and situational awareness. We also had a discussion on the importance of understanding the difference between self-defence and retaliation. My […]

Anti-Bullying Teacher Programme 2 (diary entry)

October 6, 2022 | Diary / Training Notes [ssba]

05.10.2022 The continuation of my Anti-Bullying Teacher Consultation broke down how to present the concept of bullying to 9-14 year olds. However, before we explored this topic with Drum Kempo Ju Jitsu and Fitness, we had another re-examination of our teaching landscape. This is best explained in my “3 Tribes” vlog on the subject, which can be found here. I was impressed by the work DKJF do in intervention and mediation. They actively work not just with victims of bullying but […]

Quarrying Technique (diary entry)

May 25, 2022 | Diary / Training Notes [ssba]

25.05.2022 Hour 14 with my client from Drum Kempo Ju Jitsu and we continued to explore his Bullyproof Programme. The layout of this programme is very impressive and there isn’t anything I disagree with on a basic level. A strong feature of the course led me onto advising on how I grow good tactical movement in students. The feature was the way Will, the client, uses simple activities like ice-breaking as self-protection teaching methods. As he rightly points out, making […]

Anti-Grappling Children’s Self-Defence (diary entry)

March 23, 2021 | Diary / Training Notes [ssba]

forest school karate anti grappling WPAA session

22.03.21 Forest School of Karate invited me back for the fourth and final hour of the anti-grappling section. The previous session finished covering the basics of grappling to lie a foundation for the anti-grappling. Having confirmed the behaviour of striking whilst being grappled and retaining strong grappling positions, it was time to look into more serious clinch and ground situations when striking options were less attainable. This included sprawling, biting, eye gouges, head-butts and elbow strikes. As is the case […]

Grappling/Anti-Grappling (diary entry)

November 18, 2020 | Diary / Training Notes [ssba]

17.11.20 Tuesday night began with my second of a four-part short course on managing grappling in self-defence. Last week we established the role the clinch played in self-defence situations. We discussed when to grapple. Tonight we revised clinching positions – collar and elbow, underhook/over-hook and we also looked at sprawling to defend low line takedowns and we also trained lowline takedowns in the form of the double-leg. With some of the students getting the hang of the pummelling flow of […]

Open Mind (diary entry)

September 28, 2020 | Diary / Training Notes [ssba]

When Parents Aren't Around front cover (small)

26.09.20 “Let us keep our minds open, by all means, as long as that means keeping our sense of perspective and seeking an understanding of the forces which mould the world. But don’t keep your minds so open that your brains fall out!” – Walter Kotschnig Saturday morning concluded my 5 hour “When Parents Aren’t Around” series adapted for webinars. We covered the fifth tenet: “Open Mind”. Besides explaining the importance of adapting to different situations, being open to evolving […]

Awareness Children’s Self-Protection for Forest School (diary entry)

August 12, 2020 | Diary / Training Notes [ssba]

29.07.20 Wednesday night saw the Forest School of Karate booking me back to teach my “When Parents Aren’t Around: Awareness” webinar. This is the second tenet and phase of my course adapted for online learning. Topics included inattentional blindness, tunnel vision and situational awareness. In addition to delivering a presentation appropriate for the children in attendance, I also taught physical activities to help better demonstrate how easy it is to be switched off to changes.

Courage for Children’s Self-Protection at Ryukyukan Shorin Ryu (diary entry)

August 12, 2020 | Diary / Training Notes [ssba]

26.07.20 On Sunday I was booked back by Ryukyukan Shorin Ryu Karate Matsuri Dojo to teach the third part of my “When Parents Aren’t Around” webinar. We addressed the third tenet of my book: Courage. The webinar deconstructed the myth of fearlessness and the physiological science behind “fear”. Through understanding, the children can learn how to recognise their survival instincts and apply them without the stigma often attached to them. The webinar also included a series of exercises that helped […]

“When Parents Aren’t Around” Denmark 2019 (Part 2)

November 15, 2019 | Diary / Training Notes [ssba]

10.11.19 “When Parents Aren’t Around” Children’s Self-Protection Seminar in Denmark (Part 2) The second day of my children’s self-protection seminar in Denmark mainly focused on anti-grappling and anti-abduction, but we also covered transitioning through postures and regaining the initiative. The seminar began with a revision of yesterday’s warm-up where we began with commentary walking, promoting awareness of environment and we gradually increased our heart rates to draw attention of changing cognitive abilities. We then drilled in escaping […]

Self-Defence Returns to Kingham (diary entry)

May 2, 2019 | Diary / Training Notes [ssba]

01.05.2019 Wednesday afternoon kick-started my fourth term with Kingham Hill School, teaching self-defence. I saw some new faces and some returning faces from previous courses. Although self-defence is my mandate, I believe all good self-defence should be underlined by some solid soft skills information. We began with a quick overview of how the course would be taught. I would introduce progressive activities and techniques with an explanation of how it fell within the basic principles, strategies and tactics. […]

Clubb Chimera & “The Art of Survival” (diary entry)

April 29, 2019 | Diary / Training Notes [ssba]

25.09.19 “The Art of Survival” is an exciting new youth movement, helping young people (11-17 years of age) to learn new skills and to become productive citizens. Each Thursday the youth leaders host different mentors to teach and motivate the movement participants. I was honoured to be invited to provide a two-hour version of my “When Parents Aren’t Around” course. Unfortunately I didn’t get enough time to teach all I had planned, […]

End of Spring Term Lesson (diary entry)

April 4, 2019 | Diary / Training Notes [ssba]

03.04.19 Wednesday afternoon saw the completion of this term’s course in Self-Defence for Kingham Hill School. I put it the assembled class what would like to go through and we also had a fair amount of discussion time on self-protection in general. Topics included going in depth into using the fence – setting boundaries, training an automatic pre-emptive strike, mentally turning off the inner-nice guy, putting the metaphorical breaks on during a counter-assault and the effects of stress upon […]

Kajuen Ryu Hosts “When Parents Aren’t Around” Seminar (diary entry)

September 25, 2018 | Courses, Diary / Training Notes [ssba]

23.09.18 I was kindly invited to teach two mini-seminars for Kajuen ryu Ju Jutsu. My mandate was to teach a shortened version of my children’s self-protection programme and to teach martial arts cross-training in a short seminar to the adults. This diary entry details the former. My shortened version of “When Parents Aren’t Around” covered the following topics: Respect & Attitude. In essence, believing you are worth defending, respecting the material being taught and avoiding potentially violent […]

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Sibling Muay Thai Training (diary entry)

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