Introduction

In the first article of this series, several personal and professional reasons/benefits for including personal safety and self-defense training into a comprehensive corporate wellness program were identified. Like health education and fitness training, the outcomes resulting from personal safety and self-defense training include both direct and indirect financial benefits for a company or organization.

“It will never happen to me.” “It can’t happen here” – these are common, but naive beliefs typically held by the public, especially by those who live in “safe” neighborhoods. There was a time when it wasn’t necessary for personal safety to be a high priority concern in daily life. But today’s society is very different. Our behavior and thought patterns need to adjust. We need to take responsibility for maintaining our own personal safety. In the corporate world, employers need to be proactive in protecting their assets – employees. If a corporate entity is going to take on this responsibility, it should be done in a cost-effective way, while still providing the most comprehensive, high-quality program possible. The program should be designed according to the specific needs of the corporation and its employees.

An employee personal safety and self-defense training program can provide a positive return on a company’s investment – this should be understood and accepted. The next step is to identify the potential program options that could be included in a comprehensive, quality training program.

A quality self defense training program should include:

  • Personal Safety Training, and
  • Physical Self-Defense Skills Training.

Personal Safety Training

Personal Safety training can be provided in a live (in-person or virtual webinar) format or as an online course. An online course provides numerous advantages (contact EmpowerUSA for more information about the advantages of online personal safety training).

Personal safety training provides in-depth information that enhances an individual’s knowledge, skills, and abilities to recognize & avoid, recognize & deal with, and/or recognize & exit from potentially violent situations. Comprehensive personal safety training should address most or all the following:

  • Why Learn Personal Safety/Self Defense
  • Legal Liability of Self-Defense
  • Confidence & Fear
  • Assailants – Who Are They?
  • Preparation For and Understanding the Consequences of Conflict
  • Principles of Personal Safety
  • Pre-emptive Self Defense – When, Why, and How?
  • Martial Arts Training versus Self Defense Training
  • Fitness Training versus Self Defense Training
  • Body Language Interpretation
  • Personal Safety Situational Tips
  • Predator Lures
  • Personal Safety ‘Weapons’ – What You Can Use & How To Use Them

A comprehensive Personal Safety Awareness training program covers mental, emotional, environmental, and physical awareness.

  • Mental awareness – is necessary to be able to use the other types of awareness proficiently and effectively. It provides the ability to interpret and analyze input from emotional, environmental, and physical awareness. Mental awareness is necessary for quick decision-making.
  • Emotional awareness – this is two parts:
  • Awareness of your own emotional state so you learn to control the external symptoms of emotions like fear, nervousness, etc. If you appear confident and in control, you are less likely to be a target of random violence.
  • Awareness of the emotional state of other people. If you learn to recognize the external symptoms of someone’s emotional state, then you can interact in a more positive way. For example, if you see that someone is getting angry, then you can try to defuse the anger.
  • Environmental awareness – awareness of the physical environment you are in. Comprehending and evaluating environmental “situations” and/or conditions could impact decisions needed for a potential or existing personal safety situation.
  • Physical awareness – two-parts:
  • Awareness of your own physical abilities and capabilities.
  • Awareness of the potential physical abilities and capabilities of an aggressor.

PHYSICAL SKILLS TRAINING

A quality physical self-defense skills program progressively teaches easy to learn, simple to master, practical, realistic, and effective physical strategies and techniques. It should provide the ability to proficiently learn and practice the skills with a partner. A program must consider the following:

  • Physical self-defense should be the last choice for action, but training for it is necessary to gain the greatest possible level of confidence.
  • Physical skills training provides the best chance for a successful outcome, if physical self-defense becomes necessary.
  • The general physical skills that should be taught include:
    • Evasion movements – how to move away when an attacker moves towards you.
    • Re-Direction techniques – how to deflect or block an attacker’s grab or strike attempt.
    • Striking techniques – how to execute strikes (to maximize power, speed, and accuracy), what parts of the body can be used for striking and where the target areas are for the various strikes.
    • Loosening/Escape techniques – how to get out of and move away from various grabs and holds.
    • Self-defense against weapons
    • Ground fighting – how to apply physical techniques while on the ground.
    • Environmental & Situational-specific considerations – how can the specific environment you are in, impact your ability to defend yourself. Subjects could range from objects in a specific environment that could be potential defensive weapons to how a specific environment (small room, elevator, airplane cabin, car, ground surface, weather conditions, etc.) could impact your ability to move and perform self-defense actions.
    • How to exit, safely and effectively, after physical self-defense actions are performed.
    • Identification of everyday items that could be used as self-defense “weapons” and how to use these weapons.
    • Physical Conditioning for Self-Defense

A good program progressively teaches easy to learn, simple to master, practical, realistic, and effective physical strategies and techniques.

  • It is better to learn, repetitively practice and become proficient at performing a few techniques than it is to learn (but not perfect) dozens of different techniques.
  • Training should be progressive – gradually increasing in complexity (combination of multiple movements and techniques) and intensity (speed of movement, power of movement, resistance to movement, etc.).
  • Biomechanics should be taught to allow an individual to reach his or her maximum potential for technique performance speed, quickness, power, accuracy, etc.

It is better to have the skills and never need them than it is to need them and not have them!

SUMMARY OF ‘WHAT?’

A quality program provides participants with practice time against “realistic” attacks performed by an instructor wearing full protection so the trainee can fight back with full power and speed. In this situation, the trainer “attacks” the trainee slowly, with little force at the beginning, but gradually increases the speed and power of the following attacks until the trainee can perform at full speed. Experiencing the “adrenaline rush” in this “safe” environment helps people to deal with it, if it really happens!

A good program also educates participants on legal liability issues related to self-defense. Each state may have different laws. An individual should become familiar with what is allowed for self-defense. For example, pepper spray is illegal to carry in some states.

I would like to give one final training guideline – the program you participate in should make it fun to learn self-defense. Yes, this is a serious subject and should be presented as such. But, if you enjoy the training activity, you will retain the information and skill instruction better! And, if you enjoy this training, you might be discovering a whole new program in which you can participate to enhance your physical fitness! But please understand that fitness-specific training cannot be self-defense training. However, self-defense training can be a fitness program. This will be explained in a future article!

For those corporations who choose a proactive approach in protecting their corporate assets (employees) with a personal safety and self-defense training program, I hope I have provided you with practical and useful guidelines by which to evaluate and choose a program that will meet your needs and desires.

The next article series describes ‘How’ to design and implement a comprehensive personal safety and self-defense training program that provides the greatest impact for employees of any corporation:

  • Determine the exact needs (or what is initially perceived as the exact needs) of a specific, unique group of employees, and
  • Design, structure and implement a quality corporate self-defense training program.

Until then, remember “ONE BODY, ONE LIFE, ONE CHOICE!”