Self Defence is an open system. In a closed system there are known factors and there are right and wrong answers based on these factors. In an open system there are many ways to be right and wrong .
The difference between self defence tarining and martial arts training is that self defence teaches students and martial arts teaches subject matter. 2 simple examples are; self defence teaches power generation, martial arts teaches multiple different strikes or self defence will teach a 20stone man differently then a 8 stone female, martial arts teaches everybody the same syllabus. The reason for this is a 20 stone man doesn’t need to worry about being draged into the back of a van and raped, a 8 stone female will not need advice with how to deal with a monkey dance.
Self defence training must give each student the tools and freedom to solve their problems in their own way.
To understand and defend yourself correctly on the street you must understand the difference between social and asocial violence, and the tactics that must be used to deal with each.
Social violence = the monkey dance, the interview, sparring/dueling, sorting it outside, have a knockabout. Social violence is violence used for social status, dominance or to teach a lesson. Examples Dave’s mad he took on that huge bouncer last Friday, or how dare he do that, I’ll teach him.
All predatory animals have social violence or some sort of play fighting. Think dogs, foxes, lions or tigers wrestling and playing. This is how they learn to fight, hunt and display dominance. It is never lethal Humans social violence is designed not to be lethal and when it is it is usually from falling and banging their head. With social violence it is for dominance/status or to teach a lesson, ie punching someone to teach them to show you respect. The mindset for this has to be justified. You will subconsciously be hitting to communicate, not to eliminate,
Asocial violence = the group monkey dance, violent crime, a predator. If you go to kill an insect do you need to get worked up or get angry? Do you need to convince yourself that this is a bad insect? Do you need to justify it like its justice? Do you give the insect a chance and fight it or just kill it. This is asocial violence. This can be lethal. Experienced violent crimals have gotten past this and treat people like animals, which gives them a huge advantage. Most people defending themselves cannot. Unless you train to flip the switch.
The things that can prevent or de-escalate social violence can invite asocial violence and vice versa. In a predatory approach you must be able to distingush between a crime motivated by cash from one motivated by cruelty.
Bad guys don’t fight, they’re not in this to lose. They use surprise or bitz attacks. Martial arts work well in social violence where you have time and choices. Asocial violence comes as a surprise and you will be surprised, don’t kid yourself that you wont be surprised.
Self defence is not a physical skill its an emotional skill, it is all about how fast you can recover when injured or surprised. What to do is almost never the problem. Actually acting or beating the freeze is the issue.
See other articles on the monkey dance, the group monkey dance
ELITE KARATE ACADEMY NEWSLETTER MARCH 2019
Elite Karate Academy Expo
Our 8th Elite Karate Academy Expo will take place on Sunday 14th of April between 2pm-6pm, in the Clayton Hotel. Liffey Valley. Doors open at 1.30pm. All students will be taking part, those not grading will be involved in demonstrations. All students must wear their karate uniform. The aim of the Expo, as always, is to allowing students demonstrate their skills and abilities to their family and friends, whilst educating parents about the aims and ethos of Elite Karate Academy, in a relaxed fun environment. This event is open to anyone, so extended family and friends are welcome, this year’s Expo will include;
- Grading (students eligible to grade below)
- Club Sparring Competition (semi-finals and finals only, entries closed)
- Demonstrations (Instructor & Students)
- Award Ceremony (Grading, Competition, and Special Awards, including Student of the Year)
- Unveiling of Elite Karate Academy’s newest Senior Black Belt
- Bake & Cake Sale. Why not bake something to bring on the day?
- Raffle (asking parents to donate a price if they can, donations can be brought to the dojo)
Grading
Those eligible to grade must pay their grading fee (€25 for below 18 and €30 for over 18) before 31st of March to insure they receive their certificate at the Expo. Students names are listed below if eligible to grade. Students may only grade at the expo. Students may only grade if they are eligible and hold a current up to date grading licence, which must be presented with their grading fee. If passport is out of date the yearly fee is €10 to renew.
If you need to get a new passport the fee must be accompanied by two passport photos.
Tickets
Tickets are now on sale for the Expo. Buy them before 12th April to avail of the cheaper rate. Grandparents, family or friend’s tickets can all be bought before the day. Presold tickets simply check in on the day.
Tickets cost: Before 12th April On Door
Adult Ticket €8 €12
Child Ticket* €5 €8
*Current students only or under 5’s do not need to purchase tickets.
Family Ticket (2 adults & 2 children) €20 €30
Bake sale and raffle
Once again, we will have a bake sale in aid of Barretstown and a raffle. Parents/students are encouraged to bake or bring something for the day. We need your help in getting prizes for our raffle!!! Give a prize or a voucher from your work. Please bring your donations on the day or as soon as possible to the dojo.
St Patrick’s Day Parade
Once again this year the Academy will be walking in this year’s Clondalkin Parade. Students, families, and their friends are all invited to join us on the day. Assemble point is 1.30pm in the car park of Clondalkin Sports and Leisure, Old Nangor Rd on (obviously) 17th March 2018. If the weather is poor, please wear normal clothes under your karate uniform.
Character Education Program
Once again, we start our Word of the Week program in class. Our specially designed word of the week program teaches 14 core values to your child in a 5 minute ‘mat chat’ within their normal class. Your child will grow as people not just stronger and fitter. No other club offers this type of program.
Our 14 words are: Courtesy, Growth, Honesty, Obedience, Courage, Sincerity, Humility, Perseverance, Honour, Loyalty, Self-Control, Knowledge, Respect, Integrity.
Each week these lessons will be posted on our Facebook page or the full course can be viewed here in our blog section of our website. I strongly urge parents to get involved with their child’s learning by reading these posts or discussing after each class what they learnt.
Website
Check out our Student Zone /blogs on our website. Click here to read about them
Dojo Kun Programme – Most club’s dojo rules consist of no shouting, no chewing gum etc. Our Dojo Kun program teaches your child 25 rules of life. These rules teach your child how to follow and make their dreams come true, through hard work, passion, and dedication.
Elite Mental Training – This program teaches students the mental strategy of fighting, topics introduced can be used in all areas of life, reducing stress, and increasing mental wellbeing. Read some lessons covered in our Student Zone /blogs section below.
Anti-Bullying Programme – We teach your child how to deal with bullying in a non-aggressive way without having to resort to violence. A great program for boosting confidence and self-belief. This starts in September.
Newer material will be shared weekly on our Facebook page, much will be of interest even to those who don’t train.
Coming later in the Year
Other events coming up this year after the Expo, will be our Elite Karate Academy Summer Camps
Testimonials Request
That so many of you praise our Academy is huge source of pride to me. Please write a review/testimonial on our Academy Facebook page. They will then be added to our website. Student / parents or both may write a review and you may write a new one if you wrote one before.
Students eligible to grade. If your child is not on the list and you think they may be eligible to grade please talk to Sensei
For Yellow Tip
Adonai Vey, Aubree Marshall, Cian Union, Conor Magee, Gloria Vey, Joaquin Pitt, Justin Luca, Leo Li, Miya Dong, Niall Li, Paula Cretu, Sean Kearns, Sebastian Luca, Zoe li
For Yellow Belt
Karlene O’Carroll
For Orange Belt
Alex O’Neill, Bobby Sneyd, Calibe Devereux, Chloe Lynch, Derek Mulligan, Eric De Luca, Gabriel Bernardez, Kai Keegan, Louise Foley, Zoe Sneyd
For Green Belt
Aoife Richards, Callum Mooney, Chloe O’Dowd, Darragh Grikss, Darya Grikss, Eva Kelly, Marco Li, Markas Koskus, Niamh Kelly, Rian O’Dowd
For Blue Belt
Alex Reilly, Miriam Kimani, Peter Kimani, Ben Pitt, Henry O’Brien
For Purple Belt
Dylan Carolan, Oscar Mungai,
For Brown Belt 3rd Kyu
Lucy Fairweather. Matthew Kavanagh
For Brown 1st Kyu
Sean Smith
What is Social Bullying?
Social bullying, sometimes referred to as relational bullying, involves hurting someone’s reputation or relationships. More likely to happen in primary school then in secondary school, and also more likely to happen to girls more then boys.
Social bullying includes:
*Leaving someone out on purpose
*Telling other children not to be friends with someone
*Spreading rumors about someone
*Embarrassing someone in public
The effect o social bullying?
There are many effects of social bullying. There are effects like depression that can lead to suicide. think the four main effects are low self-esteem, the victim feels rejected, unwanted or hated. Rejected and unwanted because if a group of person bullies you and treat you like if you’re nothing, you’ll feel like nobody likes you and then you’ll feel rejected. Hated because when you’re a victim, you know that the bully hates you. Your self-esteem won’t be as good as a normal person. These four words are the ones that say the most about how the victim of social bullying feels. I think the word unwanted describes better how the victim feels than unloved and unpopular, but they are still good words to show how the victim feels. Humiliated, intimidated and inferior are also good words to describe the victim’s feelings.
Dealing with it
Support your child emotionally. Let them know its ok to feel upset, talking can have a huge effect, also knowing someone will listen can greatly help. Concentrating on other friends can help also. Ignoring the excluding children, or making light of their behaviour or focusing on friendships with other children can be good tactics in trying to move on from the situation. However, it is important to acknowledge that for many children who feel socially excluded these tactics can be very hard to put into practice. Feeling excluded can make you feel powerless and isolated, especially when there is more than one child involved.
For advice on dealing with it read this report from the Irish Times
