Last week Friday, I attended the Rose Scholars Self Defense Workshop taught by Kathleen Garrity. Prior to the event, I had no idea what to expect. I had never taken a self defense class before and had no knowledge of self defense. Obviously I have seen fighting in movies and TV but I know that those stunts scenes are highly dramatized and nothing like fighting in real life. However, since I have never been in a fight before, fight scenes from movies and TV were the only experiences I had.

At the event, we were taught some basic strikes and self defense moves. All of the strikes and moves we learned always ended with a push or back step in order to create space between you and your attacker. It was amazing how you can incorporate a push after almost every strike and I think this highlights the main goal of self defense. Your goal is not to win the fight but rather to try and discourage an attacker and try to get away. I also learned that shouting when striking is very important for power. I always thought that when people are shouting when they are fighting in TV and movies, that it is mainly done for drama. However, after watching some people break boards at the workshop just by shouting while striking, it was clear to me that the shouts have a serious impact on the power of the strike.

Overall, I really enjoyed this workshop. I mainly attend the Rose Cafe events because of my schedule so this workshop was a nice change of pace. It was fun to not only attended a more hands on, physically active event, but it was also nice to learn a very important skill. In no way am I proficient in self defense after attending the workshop but I do know what my goals are if I am ever in a bad situation which will help me to not panic.