Personal Safety Programs
Program Overview
A Personal Safety self-defence program teaches:
- Awareness of your environment, awareness of own and other’s behaviour, recognition of early warning signs
- Assertiveness skills and confidence strategies using voice, facial expression and body language
- How to set personal boundaries
- How to match a response to the intensity of a situation
- How to respond calmly when under stress or taken by surprise
- How to break free from holds and grabs
- Core-strength and flexibility
Personal Safety self-defence programs provide the student with a toolbox full of Personal Safety skills to live confidently in the world – to live a life not ruled by fear. These tools include increased awareness to recognize danger and walk away before it escalates, dealing confidently with a situation in progress without it escalating to being able to deal with common attacks. Personal Safety programs are designed to account for age and gender and the risks associated with the different environments in which we live, work and socialize.
Primary Program
Primary-aged school children begin their training by learning that self-defence is far broader than dealing with violent attacks. They learn that to look for early warning signs and choosing to walk away is the most effective form of self defence. By developing awareness and confidence-building strategies they learn to recognize and avoid a confrontation altogether. The focus of a Personal Safety program for this age-group is to increase self-confidence, learn how to deal effectively with verbal assaults and simple responses that children can use to protect themselves against the kinds of confrontations they may experience at school and in the community. We place a strong emphasis on what is an appropriate response to a situation and what is not.
These outcomes are achieved through:
- Interactive discussions to gain understanding of what constitutes inappropriate behaviour from others
- How to set personal boundaries to minimize the possibility of being the recipient of inappropriate behaviour
- Confidence-building strategies using striking pads, posture, eye contact and voice
- Awareness training to recognize and avoid imminent danger
- Learning appropriate responses to verbal attacks and playground confrontations
- Learning simple techniques to break free from grabs and holds
Teen Program
The Personal Safety Teen Program focuses on defining the perimeters of safe, appropriate and acceptable behaviour from others and from themselves. Once teenagers have a clear understanding of appropriate behavior they will learn to draw invisible lines to protect their physical and emotional well-being. Investing time in setting personal standards makes it crystal clear when someone crosses the line. This helps to eliminate any anxiety of how to respond as they have already made their own rules. There is particular emphasis on awareness training to help teenagers learn to recognize dangerous situations before they escalate and when it is necessary to walk away.
The Personal Safety Teen Program takes into account that boys and girls face different issues and therefore have different self-defence requirements. For a portion of the Program boys and girls will separate to address issues such as when to leave a situation, when to stop drinking (for example), how to make their values clear and insist on others respecting them. Each group will identify adverse social and physical situations that may occur and learn to make choices in advance about their personal values and responses. They will then explore physical self defence responses to the different scenarios they could typically find themselves in.
These outcomes are achieved through:
- Interactive discussions to establish what is appropriate and acceptable behaviour from others
- Interactive discussions to minimize risk and avoid dangerous situations before they occur
- Establishing a personal set of rules and values (and how to abide by them)
- Awareness training to recognize a dangerous situation
- Confidence training to have the courage to walk away from a dangerous or uncomfortable situation focusing on posture, attitude, eye contact and voice
- Confidence training to have the courage to insist on others respecting their wishes
- Confidence training to act if necessary, using striking pads, strength training, posture, attitude, eye contact and voice
- ‘Danger rating’ a situation and matching it with an appropriate response
- Learning simple but effective physical responses to common attacks
- Role playing different scenarios to consolidate their learning
Women’s Program
Scheduled Workshops
Workshops for Groups – get your work colleagues or friends together and we will do a program for you, either at your place or ours!
Corporate Workshops – for Public or Private sector organisations
The Personal Safety Women’s Program focuses on women allowing themselves to trust their instinct and having the confidence to act on that knowledge. Many adult women today have been socialized to believe that being assertive is seen as being masculine and aggressive. Assertiveness training is an essential tool for a young woman to learn. Sharpening confidence strategies and learning to trust instinct are a powerful combination to deflect a potentially dangerous situation.
A Personal Safety Women’s Program addresses three vital questions:
- What is the social or physical coercion being used against me?
- Is force required? What are the options if not?
- How much force is necessary to escape a particular danger-level and physical situation?
The focus of the Program is to equip women with the ability to answer these questions to ensure they can immediately recognize the danger level of a situation and respond appropriately. These outcomes are achieved through:
- Awareness training to recognize a dangerous situation
- Confidence training to have the courage to walk away from a dangerous situation and/or to insist on others respecting their choices and values
- Confidence training to act if necessary using striking pads, strength training, posture, attitude, eye contact and voice
- Developing strategies to be calm when placed under stress
- Interactive discussions to establish what is worth fighting for
- ‘Danger rating’ a situation and matching it with an appropriate response
- Learning effective physical responses to grabs and holds
