Police AssociAtion of novA scotiA 87 How to Pick a Good Self-Defense Program As originally published on www.kidpower.org By Irene van der Zande, Kidpower Executive Director The quality of the program and approach of the instructor will make a huge difference in the results of any kind of training. Self-defense is no exception. Done well, selfdefense workshops can be exciting, empowering, and useful. Done poorly, they can be boring, discouraging, and destructive. If training is about self-defense or any other important life skills, the potential benefits are real and so are the potential dangers. It is worth taking the time to make a thoughtful decision. Here are some questions to consider when evaluating a self-defense program: 1. Is the content positive, accurate, comprehensive, and appropriate for the ages and life situations of the students? The best programs will teach a range of personal safety skills for being aware, taking charge of the space around you, getting help, setting boundaries with people you know, de-escalating conflict, and staying calm and making choices instead of just getting upset when you have a problem. Physical self-defense skills will be taught in a context of having done everything possible to get out of a situation safely without fighting first. Look for programs that focus on the skills to learn rather than on reasons why we have to learn these skills. Realize that children can become traumatized by scary stories about bad things that happened to other children. Children learn best if their teacher has a calm, matter-offact approach which makes it clear that they can keep themselves safe most of the time by learning how to do a few easy things. Look for programs that are based on research from a wide variety of fields including mental health, education, crime prevention, law enforcement, and martial arts. Look for endorsements from real people and credible organizations. Look for programs that are willing to give credit for what they have learned from others rather than saying that they have invented "the best and only way to learning true self defense." Be wary of programs that give simplistic, absolute answers such as, "If you wear a pony tail, you are very likely to be assaulted" or "If you train with us, you will never have to be afraid again." 2. Is the teacher clear, respectful, in charge, enthusiastic, and able to adapt? You and the children and teens in your life deserve to have teachers who are helpful rather than discouraging. Good teachers do not make negative remarks about their students or anyone else and do not allow others to do so, even as a joke. Look for teachers who know how to be both firm and respectful when they set boundaries with students who are doing things that detract from the class. The best teachers will change what they do to meet the needs of their students rather than having a standard, canned approach. Role-plays to demonstrate or practice skills should be described in terms of situations that students are likely to encounter. The way something is presented should be in terms that are meaningful to a student. Instead of telling a blind student to look at a potential attacker, for example, a teacher who knows how to adapt will say something like, "Turn your face towards the person so that he knows you know he's there." Good teachers will listen to your concerns with appreciation for your having the courage to raise them rather than with defensiveness. When possible, they will change what they do to make the class work better for you. At the very least, they will explain their reasons for what they do and why they cannot accommodate your wishes. 3. Is the approach more action-oriented or talkingoriented? In general, people remember more about what they have seen than what they have been told. People are more likely to be able to do what they have practiced themselves than what they have been shown to do or told to do. Look for programs that involve showing more than explaining and that provide lots of opportunity for learning by doing. 4. Is the learning success-based? It can be destructive to students' emotional and physical safety if they feel as if they are failing when they are trying to learn self-protection skills. Success-based learning means that students are guided through what they need to learn in a highly positive way. Practices go step by step starting with where each student actually is. Success is Continued...
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