written by Erik Johnson, of Martial Arts Connection
Great Lakes Bay Moms and Martial Arts Connection are teaming up to give women some of the tools to deal with our chaotic lives and the challenges that may come up. A Women’s Self-Defense Class at Martial Arts Connection, 705 Euclid, Bay City will be held on December 1st from 9am to 12pm.
This same class is offered from time-to-time in the region, and has been attended by Great Lakes Bay Moms author and parenting coach Michelle Mersy. “I didn’t know exactly what to expect, but I wanted to learn how to be prepared. The class was very informative and actually a lot of fun! We learned easy-to-remember moves that now help me feel like I can protect myself. I’m so glad we are able to offer this to our moms in the area.”
As the holidays approach, stress levels rise and distraction comes from all
different directions. This chaotic environment is a prime opportunity for criminals
to strike at unsuspecting people and women in particular. Added to this is that in
April 2012, Forbes Magazine released the “Top 10 Most Dangerous U.S. Cities
for Women” list. Unfortunately, Michigan was prominently represented by having
3 of the Top 10 Cities: #9 Battle Creek, #6 Flint, and #1 Saginaw.
In your consideration of learning about self-defense, there are two primary
aspects. First is the course content and second is the teacher. Regarding
content, this self-defense seminar will be focused on women’s safety from three
directions. 1) You will learn what criminals are looking for and how to avoid the
situations that make you a target. 2) You will learn how to get away from an
encounter and whether to fight back or not. 3) You will learn what to do after an
encounter.
Perhaps most important in any class environment whether self-defense
or otherwise is the teacher! Self-defense is particularly sensitive to this
requirement. When people think of self-defense, Hollywood images of one
person versus many assailants come to mind with flying dragon kicks and
flaming fists of fury. Because of this stereotype, many people assume that
martial arts (i.e. Karate, Tae Kwon Do, etc.) are self-defense and/or that martial
artists can teach self-defense. Similarly some assume that a self-defense
teacher knows and can teach a martial art. Reality is far from that. While self-
defense and martial arts share some commonalities, they are two very different
things. When choosing a self-defense instructor, a good choice is a certified
instructor and the best choice is a certified instructor with a strong martial arts
background.
The course that is being offered is taught by Martial Arts Connection’s Head
Instructor Joe Stricker. Mr. Stricker is a former Marine and has studied martial
arts for over 30 years. He holds high ranks and black belts in multiple arts
including: Shito-Ryu Karate, Hakko-Ryu JuJutsu, and Wing Chung Kung Fu.
More importantly, Mr. Stricker has worked in the self-defense world for over 20
years as a certified self-defense instructor. He has taught self-defense to the
general public as well as police and security forces. He also operates his own
bodyguard and security service.
This is a fundraiser for Great Lakes Bay Moms as well, so we invite you to join us on December 1st to show your support, and learn some strategies and tactics that every woman should know! The cost is $25 per person. Please RSVP to [email protected] or on our Facebook event page here.
(Space is limited. If there are no vacancies or you have another commitment, please let us know. We have the opportunity to set up regular self-defense classes on a monthly basis and can even expand into martial arts classes too.)