Recently I got to do some training in June and July. Training really isn't the right word in my opinion. Training brings to mind physical exertion. Yeah, sure there's some physical exercises practiced, but it so much more educational than that.
The program I went to in June was the one I had been eagerly anticipating. 500 Rising is the beginning of a paradigm shift. I am so thrilled to be in on it from the get go. Having lived a life of more than 5 decades, 4 of them in the martial arts world and 16 of those specializing in women's personal defense. I knew there was something brewing in this industry and I am fortunate enough to be among movers and shakers that will stand and deliver.
If you've read previous posts you know that 'martial art is not self' defense is stated more than once. Rory's got a saying, "You don't have to justify martial arts. You do have to justify self defense." Along with that, martial arts defense techniques are task-oriented if 'A' then 'B' maneuvers give easy answers to unrealistic problems.
What do I mean? Well, most skills taught are for stranger attacks. The person you don't know that comes out from the so called dark alley or from the bushes, so to speak. But 85% of the attacks come from someone the target knows, not a stranger. Yes, those stranger attacks happen, but chances are that you'll have to defend against a person you know. That's the reality problem that instructors who teach self defense won't address. Why? Because it's not easy. It is the reality and there are no simple 'A then B' answers. Reactions and responses must to be goal-oriented. This is hard to teach in a martial arts arena where testing and rank are determined by how well you can replicate what the instructor wants to see.
To get an endorsement for the Instructional Foundations for Women's Self Defense with 500 Rising I had to submit letters of recommendation. Pretty sure I am the only one that got one from a Buddhist Zen master. She was one of the first people I shared my want to educate women about personal defense. It was at her monastery that I came to that realization. 😊
There was also a lot of reading involved. One book, Sapiens, I had on audio and already listened to it twice. My kinda nerd reading. Most of the reading list had already been done a long time ago. There is much to know to be able to give the source of the whats and whys because that is what educators do. We research to give the most accurate information possible.
Seriously, understanding how and why violence happens is a huge part of educating others on what to expect. Not only from the assailant but from themselves. So after many many hours of pre-class material online before our in class days, three intense days about 9 hours each, we graduated as the first class.
A couple of weeks after the 500 Rising Rory Miller was in Boise doing the very first presentation of his Situational Awareness class. He asked me to present the Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs section. We use it as a model to show where conflict and violence comes from and how it differs. I started learning from Rory in October 2010, he has taught this concept several times a month every year since. So, I had the opportunity to present. In front of him and several cool people at the seminar. It was fun, and exhilarating. (scary too, but that was just my monkey mind freakin' me out) When all was said and done, I felt good about how it went.
So with these past few weeks of meeting up with amazing people, creating another network of colleagues working toward shifting a paradigm and experiencing a real burst of joy of presenting to others, the time has come for me to up my presentations. Looking forward to putting together my visuals and advancing my presentation skills.
So, enough of writing this and on to working on a presentation.
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