"you can learn that the best defensive device is a pair of shoes you can run in"
When I was younger and left the house more often, I'd always run up and down aisles in stores when trying on shoes to make sure I could run in them (including heels). Most of my shoes in my 20s had straps or were easy to kick off for this reason.
I signed myself and my two adult daughters up for a brief self defense workshop for women a few years ago. It was wonderful and truly empowering, but I realized not extensive enough training for us. Awareness of your surroundings and trusting your gut we’re emphasized and I think very important. That said, I would still really love to learn to levitate!😂
Thanks so much for this, Tom. I’ve just reached out to my local Krav Maga studio, fingers crossed. I’ve walked towards violence before but since I don’t really know what I’m doing I’m not that helpful & I’d like to be.
"If you ever meet a pro boxer, try to touch them. (I would ask first.)" LOL. Solid advice!
There's a group you've probably heard of called Pink Pistols that advocates self-defense, particularly firearm ownership & carrying, in the gay community. Their motto "Armed gays don't get bashed" cuts right to the point. I have no problem with that & used to be deeply involved in promoting gun ownership options among left-wing communities (Pink Pistols isn't left-wing themselves to be clear). I burned out after a point from repeated dead-end arguments with gun ownership absolutists on both sides--no guns allowed ever vs no restrictions allowed ever--and stopped going to my shooting club a few years ago after it turned into a MAGA club house. When I first applied for a concealed carry permit, the state I lived in required extensive training in deadly force laws & a had a practical component where you had to prove you could actually hit a target (far different than hitting a person, let alone one that's armed and moving, but better than no requirement). Currently, too many states have done away with any requirements for concealed carry, with predictable results, and now any idiot can carry, and too many do.
But beyond developing a personal attitude and skills for self-defense, I think the community aspect of self-defense is really what needs to be stressed. First, see something, say something. Yes. And have cops who actually follow up in arresting people and taking guns away from the violent. But beyond that, having a gun holstered in the small of your back isn't going to save YOU personally if someone suddenly appears with a high-powered, semi-automatic rifle in your face (ownership & carry of THOSE is a whole nother topic, tl;dr: IMHO civilians should not have weapons of war). But you could use that pistol (or Krav Magra training) to save others, which is more what concealed carry, and I think to a point martial arts training, is really about: community, collective security. Having the confidence to step in, and the ability to intervene with force if necessary when those around you are threatened. And the first part of that is no longer putting up with the bigotry of our friends and family, or even strangers, since as we've seen snide comments lead to hateful comments lead to stochastic terrorism. Babbling, I guess. Tired of daily murders and massacres all around, worried for...for us all.
"you can learn that the best defensive device is a pair of shoes you can run in"
When I was younger and left the house more often, I'd always run up and down aisles in stores when trying on shoes to make sure I could run in them (including heels). Most of my shoes in my 20s had straps or were easy to kick off for this reason.
I highly recommend this article by Lauren Hough on going to gay bars for the holidays. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/22/opinion/club-q-colorado-springs-james-dobson.html?smtyp=cur&smid=tw-nytopinion
Thanks for the great info!
I signed myself and my two adult daughters up for a brief self defense workshop for women a few years ago. It was wonderful and truly empowering, but I realized not extensive enough training for us. Awareness of your surroundings and trusting your gut we’re emphasized and I think very important. That said, I would still really love to learn to levitate!😂
Thanks so much for this, Tom. I’ve just reached out to my local Krav Maga studio, fingers crossed. I’ve walked towards violence before but since I don’t really know what I’m doing I’m not that helpful & I’d like to be.
"If you ever meet a pro boxer, try to touch them. (I would ask first.)" LOL. Solid advice!
There's a group you've probably heard of called Pink Pistols that advocates self-defense, particularly firearm ownership & carrying, in the gay community. Their motto "Armed gays don't get bashed" cuts right to the point. I have no problem with that & used to be deeply involved in promoting gun ownership options among left-wing communities (Pink Pistols isn't left-wing themselves to be clear). I burned out after a point from repeated dead-end arguments with gun ownership absolutists on both sides--no guns allowed ever vs no restrictions allowed ever--and stopped going to my shooting club a few years ago after it turned into a MAGA club house. When I first applied for a concealed carry permit, the state I lived in required extensive training in deadly force laws & a had a practical component where you had to prove you could actually hit a target (far different than hitting a person, let alone one that's armed and moving, but better than no requirement). Currently, too many states have done away with any requirements for concealed carry, with predictable results, and now any idiot can carry, and too many do.
But beyond developing a personal attitude and skills for self-defense, I think the community aspect of self-defense is really what needs to be stressed. First, see something, say something. Yes. And have cops who actually follow up in arresting people and taking guns away from the violent. But beyond that, having a gun holstered in the small of your back isn't going to save YOU personally if someone suddenly appears with a high-powered, semi-automatic rifle in your face (ownership & carry of THOSE is a whole nother topic, tl;dr: IMHO civilians should not have weapons of war). But you could use that pistol (or Krav Magra training) to save others, which is more what concealed carry, and I think to a point martial arts training, is really about: community, collective security. Having the confidence to step in, and the ability to intervene with force if necessary when those around you are threatened. And the first part of that is no longer putting up with the bigotry of our friends and family, or even strangers, since as we've seen snide comments lead to hateful comments lead to stochastic terrorism. Babbling, I guess. Tired of daily murders and massacres all around, worried for...for us all.