As a karate instructor, I’ve taught thousands of people martial arts, people of all sizes shapes and ages. When kids are involved, their first attempt at yelling is usually a scream not a yell. So I have to explain the difference. A scream sends out a very different message than a yell. It is high...Read More

PERSEVERANCE There is absolutely no substitute for perseverance. There are so many millions upon millions of stories about people whose perseverance paid off. Thomas Edison made 1000 different attempts before he finally invented the lightbulb. Supreme Court justice Ketanji Brown Jackson related a story of her first year at Harvard. As a young black female,...Read More

Social media is everywhere! From Facebook to Twitter, from TikTok to Instagram, every teen has 1 million different ways to communicate online. The danger of course is there is no way to know if the person on the other end is who they say they are. Online chatrooms and gamers are everywhere and predators can...Read More

“When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time” – Maya Angelou For those of you who are old enough, on Oprah’s long running show she would frequently quote her favorite poet and wise woman Maya Angelou. “If someone shows you who they are… believe them the first time. I realize this...Read More

Never leave a safe place for an unsafe place What’s the difference in a safe place versus an unsafe place? Many of the participants in my classes say that home is a safe place. And that’s true most of the time. However, if someone is trying to break into your home or actually does break...Read More

Safety before his feelings Most boys or men are not taught to be people pleasers – but girls sometimes are. In my classes, I typically ask if the participants have ever been taught to “be nice” to people. Most all of them over thirty will raise their hands. To which I reply “you can throw...Read More

You can’t tell by looking When I teach the course on defending against abusive relationships, as well as in the university safety class, I have four basic rules to remember when first meeting or getting to know someone new. The first one is “you can’t tell by looking”. Some guy may be chatting you up...Read More

If you think a two hour self-defense class is not very much – you are exactly right! That’s why I offer an intensive follow up where participants get to practice the defensive techniques repetitively until it becomes fast, accurate and automatic. The repetition is necessary to cement the techniques into the brain– and the body....Read More

Many women who call asking about taking my basic self-defense class want to know one thing before they hear anything about the program. They want to know if they need to be an athlete – strong, flexible, quick, etc., in order to successfully complete the course. A lot of women hesitantly reveal that they are...Read More

Yelling is just like any other self-defense technique. The more you practice the more effective you are. I’ve been practicing martial arts for almost 40 years ( I started when I was two – ha ha!) so I’ve had a lot of practice yelling. I can promise you the best way to practice yelling is...Read More