A RETURN, FINALLY

After a bit of an absence due to an injury, we are gearing up to offer self-defense classes again. We currently have open enrollment, so please contact me to let me know you are interested in participating in a seminar. The seminar will be offered in late May/early June. I will post when the date has been set. The seminar is limited to 14 women, reserve your spot now. Looking forward to seeing you there!

SEMINAR OFFERING

Hi everyone! We are still on for the Fight Like a Girl and Girls on Guard seminars on Sunday and there are a couple of spots left. Email or call to reserve your place.

SEMINAR OFFERING

Hello, hello! We are offering two seminars on Sunday, January 15th! Both the Girls on Guard and the Fight Like a Girl modules of the Women's Empowerment Series. You can sign up for one or both classes. Each class is limited to 12 women, so reserve your spot now.

SEMINAR OFFERING

Hi one and all! We are offering two seminars on Sunday, December 4th! Both the Girls on Guard and the Fight Like a Girl modules of the Women's Empowerment Series. You can sign up for one or both classes. Each class is limited to 12 women, so reserve your spot now.

OPEN HOUSE SAFETY TIPS

Ever felt a little uncomfortable sitting in your client's vacant home all day waiting for strangers to stop by an take a tour? Follow the tips below for a safer open house.

-Have someone with you; a second Realtor, friend or loan officer
-Check all the rooms when you arrive
-Know the safe escape routes
-Unlock either the deadbolts or door locks which ever is harder to turn (if you are comfortable with unlocked doors you can unlock them all the way)
-Check to see if you can escape from the rear yard
-When the public arrives, jot down a description of the car and the people, take a picture on your phone and text the description to your office
-Check in with your office every hour
-Do not leave your purse, laptop, etc in the open
-You can call for police to do drive by while conducing the open house
-Place a sign at door stating "video surveillance is in use"

Realtor Safety

A little warm up on the realtor safety tips we will be discussing during Friday's Fight Like a Girl seminar. This class is appropriate not only for Realtors but any woman who makes house calls: appraisers, loan officers, service/delivery people, accountants, interior designers...and the list goes on.

Realtors - are you aware of some of the danger signals, those times that make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. Pay attention to those feelings.

-When a new client refuses to meet you at the office first before visiting a property.
-The client will not fill out the guest registration form which includes making a copy of their license.
-The client insists you ride with them to the property.
-The client wants to visit only vacant properties and asks if you will be showing the property alone.
-The client insists you lead them through the house.

The above are watch out scenarios that your new client may have something other than buying a house as their primary intent.

SEMINAR OFFERING

We're back!!!!!! After many months of travel, work and recovery from an injury we are ready to host our next self-defense seminar. We will be offering the Fight Like a Girl module - realtor special edition. Please note, even if you are not a realtor you can still attend this seminar. We will be giving a bonus 30 minutes of realtor safety, appropriate for anyone who finds themselves in vacant properties, hosting open houses, selling new homes, or visiting strangers homes (appraisers, loan officers, delivery people, postal workers, etc). The seminar will be limited to 12 participants, so sign up now. See you there!

SEMINAR OFFERING

We had a successful first Realtor special edition of the Fight Like a Girl class last month. Thank you all who attended!

We will be offering a seminar on January 9, 2010. It is yet to be determined which class we will be offering. We will be happy to accommodate any requests.

Please call or email for questions and to register.

SEMINAR OFFERING

Hello one and all. We will be offering both a Girls on Guard and a realtor specific Fight Like A Girl seminar on Sunday, November 14, 2010. Please note, you don't have to be a realtor to attend; anyone can take the Realtor Specific FLAG class, you will just get more information on safety in vacant houses, open houses, etc above and beyond the traditional FLAG seminar. (it is the same price as the regular FLAG seminar) Give me a call or email to register.

SEMINAR GRADUATES

Well done to the ladies attending the October 24th seminar. You kicked ass! I look forward to seeing you in the Girls on Guard seminar next month. Best quote of the class "then I hit him with the beer bottle.".

SEMINAR OFFERING

Due to an unexpected trip, the last Fight Like a Girl seminar was canceled. My apologies to those who had registered. That's the bad news. The good news is that I am back in town and we are offering a Fight Like a Girl seminar on Sunday October 24th. Woot!

Come down, learn something about women's self-defense, get empowered and kick my co-instructor's butt when he puts on the suit ;) We would love to see you there. Please call or email for more information and to register for the class.

LATEST OFFERING

Well, it's official! The Fight Like a Girl seminar will be offered Sunday, October 3rd. Call to register for our Tucson women's self-defense seminar.

SHE'S BAAACCKKKKK.....

Hi there! I've been remiss in posting on this blog. I was out of town, and working quite a bit and then my "bad guy" was on holiday, so we haven't offered a course this past month. Well the times they are a changin'. We will be offering seminars in October; the Fight Like a Girl seminar and the Fight Like a Girls - Realtor special at a minimum. We are considering offering the Girls on Guard and the advanced Fight Like a Girl seminars. Let me know what you are interested in taking. We currently have open enrollment, so please contact me for details. I look forward to seeing you there.

FOR ALL THE REALTORS OUT THERE - REALTOR SELF-DEFENSE

Have you ever realized with perfect clarity you are alone with a stranger in a vacant house? I have and it is quite the uncomfortable feeling.

In a National Association of Realtors safety survey of Realtors, 67% have experienced safety concerns, incidents, or other harassing situations while working. The majority of issues involve open houses or vacant properties.

With a background as a real estate appraiser and realtor, I am uniquely familiar with the world of real estate and the potential threats women Realtors face while doing their job. That is why I have developed a specialized Fight Like a Girl seminar geared towards Realtors, in particular; but also for individuals who frequently work around, in or with vacant houses or travel to strange houses for their jobs (appraisers, meter readers, home inspectors, interior designers, dog trainers and the list goes on.). In addition to learning the awesomeness that is the FLAG program, you will also get safety tips and strategies for showing houses, touring vacant houses, working model home complexes and visiting strange houses. Give me a call for more information and to register for the Realtor based self-defense seminar.

SEMINAR OFFERING

We are offering 2 (count them 2!) seminars on Sunday, July 11th. From 10 AM - 1 PM we will be holding the Fight Like a Girl module seminar and from 2 PM - 5 PM we will be offering the Girls on Guard seminar. Participants will learn something different in each class, though they compliment each other.

The fee is $40.00 for each class. A $5.00 discount will be given to returning students, if you bring someone with you or you are taking both seminars! I personally recommend taking both seminars.

Participants will get to practice what they learn on the only male in attendance, the co-instructor, who will be wearing a (very) thick padded suit. Come join us in our women's self-defense seminar. Taught by a woman, for women.

A LITTLE MORE ON FIGHTING BACK

A quote from:
Rape: A Century of Resistance, Patricia D. Rozee and Mary P. Koss, Psychology of Women Quarterly, 25 (2001), 295-311,

“Because of the view of women’s chances against a rapist that these news reports instill, it is not uncommon for families, friends, or male partners to undermine women’s confidence in their ability to defend themselves.

Women who do not resist are more likely to be raped; more often blamed for the rape and are likely to suffer the associated deleterious physical and psychological aftereffects.

The evidence is consistent: resistance may prevent rape and resistance poses no increased risk of injury. For example, Sarah Ullman found that more forceful victim resistance (verbal and physical) was related to less severe sexual abuse even when partialling out level of situational danger and offender aggression. In addition, these researchers found the victim resistance was not related to the level of physical injury. When sequence of events is considered, it is found that women resist more when they are being hurt rather than the reverse.

Self-defense mastery has a strong empowerment effect on women including enhanced perceived control and coping, decreased perceived vulnerability to assault, reductions in negative thinking and anxiety about safety, decreased avoidance behavior, and most potent of all, increased freedom of action.

Consciousness of one’s own ability to resist leads women to feel stronger, more insightful, and more capable of responding effectively to future danger. On the one hand, there is the strong cultural message that rape resistance is both futile and dangerous, and women have been conditioned to believe it. On the other hand, women who do not resist are more likely to be raped, more often blamed for the rape, and are likely to suffer the associated deleterious physical and psychological aftereffects. In addition, if the victim-survivor wants to prosecute the man who raped her, she will encounter negative reactions from juries, because the absence of verbal or physical resistance in creased judgments of victim-survivor consent. The more the victim-survivor resisted, the more certain are the observers that a rape occurred. Although the law does not require resistance, juries still rely on it to decide conflicting claims about consent. Immediate physical or forceful verbal resistance is more likely to successfully prevent rape and, in the case of completed rape, convince the jury that the victim-survivor did all she could to avoid being raped. The evidence is consistent: resistance may prevent rape and resistance poses no increased risk of injury. Self-defense mastery has a strong empowerment effect on women including enhanced perceived control and coping, decreased perceived vulnerability to assault, reductions in negative thinking and anxiety about safety, decreased avoidance behavior, and most potent of all, increased freedom of action.”

SEMINAR OFFERING

Seminar offering. We will be offering a module 1 Fight Like a Girl class on Sunday June 20, 2010 from 1:30 – 4:30 at our facility on Speedway and Alvernon. The class size is limited, so please register early. Please contact me to sign up.

WOMENS EMPOWERMENT SERIES OVERVIEW

As mentioned before, I am certified to teach women’s self-defense courses from the Women’s Empowerment Series, also collectively called the Fight Like a Girl method. I currently offer two of the modules; the Fight Like A Girl and Girls on Guard courses, with plans to add Defense against Weapons and Weapons for Women courses later this summer.

I’ve had lots of questions regarding the details of the course content. To quote a friend, “Suzanne, what am I going to learn in your seminars and how are they different than the other self-defense class being offered?” To which I responded “Good question, let me sum up.” Though she didn’t get the Princess Bride reference, she did get a better understanding of why this method of women's self-defense is like no other and totally kicks butt. (I would have used a stronger word there, but my Mom reads this blog) Anyway, she kindly listened as I expounded the virtues of The Women’s Empowerment Series, then promptly mentioned I should have this on my blog. (Duh, Suzanne.)

So here you go, a condensed version of what my friend heard. Though I did add in a bit of background information here that she didn’t get. I told her she would have to read the blog. Heh.

So here’s the thing. 1 in 4 women will be attacked in her lifetime. Yes, you read that right – 25% of women will be attacked in their lifetime. 75% of the women will know their attacker. Pretty sobering statistics, aren’t they?

On the flip side, studies show that 50 % of all attackers will break off the attack if a woman even indicates she is willing to resist. That’s right, you double your chances of success when you fight back. Studies also show that women who resist an attacker are not injured any more than women who don’t resist. Now, I’m sure some of you reading the first line closely thought “hmmm, but what about the other 50% of attackers.” Well done. That is what we need to address; that other 50%.

Most self-defense methods were developed by men with the mindset of “if someone were to attack me what would I do?” Though an excellent question, the responses are, by definition, based on what a man would to if attacked by a man. Frequently these moves rely on pain compliance – hurting the attacker until he stops the attack, or they are based on break and escape techniques. And yes, these moves can be effective. For men. For women, not so much.

Have you ever tried to break the grasp of a large man holding your wrist, even just in fun? I have. Didn’t work. And I practice Tae Kwon Do. The problem? Compared to most men I’m small and not nearly as strong. And I was using self-defense methods developed by men to combat other men. What I needed to be utilizing were self-defense moves for women to combat a man.

Women have different strengths then men. Taking these strengths into account and implementing them is how the Fight Like A Girl method of women’s self-defense was developed. That’s why the play on words. In our seminars to Fight Like A Girl is a smart strategy to employ a woman’s strengths to a tactical advantage.

When a man attacks a man it is usually for his money or his life. When a man attacks a woman it can be for her money, life or her body. Women have a whole different set of concerns that men don’t have to deal with. Concerns that we deal with in the Women's Empowerment Self-Defense seminars.

In the opening paragraph I said this method kicks butt. Here’s why, with bullet points:

►This is a women’s self-defense method geared towards the average woman. You DO NOT need to be a martial artist to take these classes. (However, if you are a martial artist, it will add nicely to your training. It did mine.)

►Speaking (earlier) of my Mom; she took the FLAG class and fought off our 255 pound male role-player (“bad guy”). She’s just over 5 feet tall and, well… let’s just say, older. (I don’t think she would like it if I gave out her age to the interwebs.)

►The moves are easy to learn, easy to retain, and easy to implement. At the end of the 3 hour seminar you will walk away with a practical method of self-defense that you have learned in a controlled environment and utilized against a male role-playing attacker – the “bad guy” that is easy to remember in high stress situations.

►And speaking of the ‘bad guy’… at the end of each seminar you will get to practice what you have learned FULL CONTACT and using FULL STRENGTH on our "bad guy" who will be wearing a very thick padded protective suit. For some reason, this is the part of the class participants seem to enjoy the most. (And yes, I know, I should charge extra just for this.)

►These methods teach a woman to use her natural strengths against a man’s inherent weaknesses

►These are women's only seminars. No men will be in the room, except the male role-playing attacker.

►The program provide women the tools and knowledge they need to gain the best chance of effectively defending themselves from sexual assault.

►You will be taught by me, a woman.

So now you have a little more information about what to expect in the Women’s Empowerment Self-Defense courses. Every woman should take these seminars. Let me repeat; every woman should take these seminars.

And speaking of that…we are pretty flexible with the scheduling. We sometimes get big groups who are interested in taking a seminar and will schedule based on when the most women from that group can attend. We also have a running list of women interested in attending and once we get enough people on the list we offer a seminar. We can teach the class with as little as one person (though it is better with more) and up to 20 people. So call or email me and sign up.

You have one life. Fight for it.