Travel and Training - 500 Rising is rising

 

   I've returned from Ashburn, VA attending my third 500 Rising training. It was a good trip. I hadn’t planned on attending, really. I knew one was coming up, but didn't think it was going to work with my schedule. Turns out Tammy put it on a weekend that worked too well to pass up. Seriously though, I  attended because I knew if I stayed home during spring break I would slip deeper. Not bad, but not good. Definitely not good. I went because I knew hanging with tribe  would be the best ‘self care’ I could do right now. The material covered is also very important and I could never hear it enough.

    Getting away and going there was a very good decision. I left Ashburn with a much better energy. I returned exhausted because of the very late nights and long, long days, red eye flight and the lengthy drive home. Even through all of that I am lifted in spirit.

    500 Rising has a goal of changing the statistics on violence against women. Imagine if so many women were trained that assailants would not have much choice in targets. That is how stats could really change. It’s not about target hardening, it’s about targeting education.

    Much of that change will happen when subtle skills are brought to the forefront. Recognizing what to look for, how to read what’s happening, understanding human nature and patterns. Comprehension and perception of our nature and make up gives data to make informed choices and decisions in her actions and safety. Knowledge is power. That is how statistics change. Self defense begins way before it ever goes physical. That’s where change starts. The change in statistics and the change in mindset. 

    The certificate I received after this training is pretty. I don’t say that much, not really attached to my certificates. They are simply nice reminders. But none have struck me like this one. It was pretty. Very, very nice looking, like shiny, classy, high-quality really special on its own. I think I might actually put it in one of those ‘important-document-I-have-earned’ frames.

“Licensed Instructor”

    Recently I was told by someone in charge at my workplace, “If I didn't like it, then maybe I should get my teaching certification.” I thought that an interesting statement. While looking at my certificate I had an odd recall of his words. Wonder what he would think if he walked into my classroom and happen to see it framed and hung on my wall?

    When I say I started in the martial arts 40 years ago it sounds like a long time. Which it is, but to me it isn't that big a deal. Yet it is. It very much so is. My presence in that space for all those years was important. More so than I could have ever imagined. Not that I set out on any kind of journey or quest. It was more like my usual tactic of winging it. In reality, I actually started to get away from myself. I was a mess. A wreck. Huge train wreck waiting to happen. So I started just to get away from myself and all the inner turmoil. I could not have predicted I would be at the place I am at now.  

    One doesn’t always know they are totally on a journey or quest until, IDK - the universe reveals it? Could be decades, may not be what you think it's suppose to be and it may not be something you realize you're capable of. I often think of those who have gone before, the ones who didn't set out to be amazing, who where just doing what they do and ended up forging a path.

    Apprehension flairs up when thinking of the facing the masses. It’s like banging ones head against the wall when trying to explain that personal safety is not only the physical, but so much more on so many levels. Physically defending happens when all else has failed, and you have no other choice. Ambush, as in pounced on suddenly without warning or without expectation. When statistics are that more often the assailant is someone known or familiar to the woman, like 85% of the time - that ambush is more than just a physical ambush.

    So, from strength to strength we stand on the shoulders of those who have gone before. What does that mean? That means I am not by myself in this mission. I am surrounded by many women and men who understand that women’s safety must be wholeheartedly about her strengths and resilience on all levels and all frameworks. Combat sports and fighting arts do not address those deeper areas. But those areas can make her combat fighting styles even more effective. If only…

 Go check out the website 500Rising.com