Last Friday (19th January) Empower Martial Arts Academy Lincoln raised an amazing £400 for EDAN Lincs through our Ladies Only Self Defence Workshop! EDAN are an incredible local charity supporting those who are fleeing domestic abuse and we have previously supported them through our 24 Hour Challenge in 2022 where we raised £3000.
Nearly 40 ladies took part in our event based at our full time academy, which focused on basic self defence skills, big gross motor movements, lots of pad smashing and a touch on the legalities of self defence. Everyone got stuck straight in with lots of laughs, a friendly environment and people learning while having fun – exactly what we aim for at Empower!
We teach a range of martial arts in our goal to Empower Lincoln including Kickboxing, Boxing and Jeet Kune Do, but this doesn’t always translate for self defence. Kickboxing is a sport, Boxing is a sport and in both there are rules, time limits, a ring and when the fight is over, that’s it! Self defence can be very different to this and the main aim is get home safe!
The best self defence is when nothing happens and this is what we emphasised during our ladies session!
Common sense and making yourself a ‘hard target’ can go a long way in reducing your chances of encountering violence, but we also touched on the legalities of self defence should you ever have to!
We then went through some basic strikes, focusing on gross motor skills and why, in reality, complicated and complex motions simply won’t work in reality unless you are very well trained. Adrenaline, and increased heart rate all have physiological effects and so basic self defence should allow for this and rely on big movements. We therefore focused on palm strikes and knees!
Lots of fun was had smashing the pads and kneeing the instructors with a great workout too and lots of movement.
To all those ladies who took part, a huge thank you from us at Empower for coming along and giving up your Friday evening for a great cause.
We hope you’ll want to learn a little more and see you in regular classes soon!