Self Defense Workshop

Use your voice! Don't be afraid to say no! Stand up for yourself!

All of these advice pieces were given at the self defense workshop I attended. I found this training to be quite empowering. It gave me confidence to know what to do in a stressful situation, as well as practice and safety to employ the defense tools in front of the class.

The instructor was a Boise Police Officer. She has done many workshops and has been on the force for quite a while. Since she was an officer I felt as though she knew what she was doing and talking about. And because she was a woman I felt as though she understood where each one of ladies in the class were coming from.

Another reason why I really liked this training was the fact that she said she is teaching us tools. She is not saying that we should use them every time and every time they will work. She is simply giving us the ability to be confident in stressful situations. Also, she made it quite clear that when a person comes in contact with an attacker do whatever it takes to get away. Don't hesitate to think about how the proper way is to get away - just do it! She also gave a personal story in which she did this herself. As a participant I felt very comfortable knowing that.

This made me think of classes or trainings I would teach. More than likely they will be communication related. From this self defense workshop I recognized how useful having 'tools' is, just like in communication. No matter how many times I teach conflict management or effective communication it doesn't mean that it will work perfectly each time a student uses it. However, it does mean they have tools in which to pull from in any situation in which they may need them. I think I can get so stuck on "this is how I should do it every time" or "this is the way YOU should do it", but really that's not the case. As in instructor of communication I am enabling them to communicate better by pulling from their toolbox.

Challenge - Give them tools.