Women's Self Defense

A unique space where the women rule…

danielle — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 02:07:54 +0000

Every once in a while, I find myself stopping and reflecting on how truly amazing our dojo is. Last Monday night, the last four students to leave were all women. I can’t claim to have noticed that on my own — Dennis was the one to point it out with a smile and a comment [...]

Funneling fear into fire…

danielle — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 03:20:27 +0000

Tonight I was fortunate to be in the dojo parking lot when Joe discovered that the space between two cars was cramped. He stood at the edge of the lot between the cars and said simply, “This is fire.” We played in the space a few minutes and then a light bulb went off in [...]

defeating the giant

jessb — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 17:30:30 +0000

Last night I got the privilege of working with Jason. For all those who do not know him, Jason is very tall- long legs and arms. I am pretty sure my head reaches his hips.Yes, his legs are as tall as me. We were messing around with a club. He would swing and I would [...]

It’s not paranoia if they really ARE out to get you…

danielle — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 13:41:04 +0000

A couple of weeks ago, I ventured out in the dark to do a little bit of photography. I actually prefer shooting at night because the relative quiet and calm of a world with less people affords me the opportunity to find details often overlooked in the light. There is a downside to this same [...]

Response to “Risky Situation”

danielle — Sat, 21 May 2011 04:36:11 +0000

This was going to be a comment, but it grew a bit too long so I figured it could be a post instead… Wow! Great post. Great question. First let me say that your immediate response would not be far from my own had this been some of my female friends. Some, not all. I [...]

Risky Situation

heather — Fri, 20 May 2011 18:03:51 +0000

I have been thinking about this story for some time now, unable to find my own satisfying solution. I thought I would share it here to see what ideas or thoughts others may have on the situation. I was talking to a friend of mine from New York a few months back. She texted me [...]

Why SMAC?

heather — Thu, 19 May 2011 19:33:29 +0000

To answer the questions as to “Why” I joined SMAC is simple and can be simply stated “because this was something my husband and I could do alone-together” An odd statement I understand coming from a stay-at-home mom with a husband whom works from home-when hes not traveling. As we so often get caught up [...]

Thanks to the “Holy S***” Moment

jessb — Sat, 14 May 2011 20:44:41 +0000

So this week in wind level we’ve been working ground fighting where the attacker is sitting over you and choking you. A very real attack for women…. its a” holy s***” moment type of attack. We worked on it in class on Wednesday and today Dennis made me teach it to Mike who had not [...]

Bruises: A strange badge of honor

danielle — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 04:15:00 +0000

When I thought last week about writing a post on how I’ve changed since I started training at Shinobi Martial Arts, my brain shot off in a million directions. My experiences have been as uniquely my own as they are similar to others, I suspect. I could rattle off a whole host of things that [...]

Words are dangerous things, Part Two: Power

danielle — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 03:15:00 +0000

In my previous post, I mentioned that we as humans attach meaning and significance to the words we use. In doing so, we also imbue them with a certain amount of power. We can most clearly see this in class and racial epithets and other derogatory remarks. In fact, words can be so powerful that [...]