These last two weeks Keswick Karate had the privilege to head out to Moraine Hills Public School in Richmond Hill and work with Ms. Porter and the grade 7 and 8 girls from her female leadership after school program. The main goal to the whole project was to empower these girls and to discover a new level in their confidence and Self-defence. We wanted to show them a few “tricks” that they could take with them and use throughout their day and keep them strong and safe.
In the beginning of any seminar I like to take 5 or 10 min to get an idea of the room that I will be teaching. It’s during this time a profile of the group is built. I have encountered a wide array of students during these seminars. There some who find this exciting and are eager to begin, there are those who have done martial arts before and have an idea of what is to come, there are those who don’t yet see how this can be fun and informative and then there are those who want to learn and be a part of such a fun event but are deathly afraid of what we are about to do.
Seminars such as this one are critical in some cases. Not all people have the ability to attend formal training for self-protection and for self-defence. Although the time we have is relatively short it gives us the ability to pass on some of the most vital information for self-protection like The 5 Best Self-Protection Strategies. This time allows for a solid foundation of Confidence to be built. We show them that confidence all comes down to your body language. Your shoulders should be back, your chin should be up, and your back should be straight. If you’re walking, make sure you look like you know where you’re going. Walk briskly, with purpose, even if you’re lost. We go through a number of drills to teach and build these skills.
These girls quickly picked up the difference between self-protection and self-defence. They understood that self-protection occurs on a daily and hourly basis and that self-defence is the final resort to securing your ultimate safety. We took a look at the most common attacks on young females and taught them to counter these through some simple strategies that could apply to more than just one type of situation. The key to these self-defence movements was common-sense and simplicity. The girls were impressed as to how something so simple could be so effective.
As we went through our 2 day event and even though we were dealing with some very serious issues here, it never ceases to amaze me how people come to enjoy the drills and how a great amount of confidence is built in these seminars. I stopped to chat about the outcomes of day 1 with Ms. Porter and got to discussing how loud the students could be (we know this very well at Keswick Karate). She had mentioned the she had known some of these students for some time and she was completely stunned to see the shyest girl in our group come out of her shell and deliver an amazing amount of volume. It is at this moment you know you have reached a new benchmark with a student. The building of their character and confidence in a way only martial arts can.
Looking back on this seminar I have nothing but great memories and am happy to have been a part of it. Leaving these girls with a higher degree of empowerment, confidence and self-esteem was and will always be the goal of these events. If you have been looking for a great team building, school seminar or work place workshop you are more than welcome to reach out Keswick Karate. I have done a lot of Community Support programs with a number of organizations over the past few years and am always excited to work with new agencies.
You can reach us at:
647-515-0179