After teaching hundreds of women, we’ve found that women prefer a sensitive, thoughtful, kind, and safe style of teaching over the stereotyped teaching style of some martial arts schools that emphasize aggression.  We are not trying to turn you into the next Bruce Lee. We want you to learn practical, realistic skills. To do that, we’ve broken down every technique into small steps that can be accomplished by anyone (yes, even those of you who think you are uncoordinated or unathletic can do this!).  We demonstrate every technique slowly several times and also quickly so you can see how it will look once you’ve mastered it. We emphasize working slowly because it is vital to get the technique correct before applying it at faster speeds. When you’ve seen the technique demonstrated several times while we talk it through, we then ask you to practice. Each of our instructors is encouraging when you get the technique correct and gently points out when to make adjustments to improve the technique. We then show the technique again to point out the common types of errors people make so you are not guessing whether you’ve done something wrong. And, we always explain why we use the technique so you understand the principle behind it and why it can be effectively used against a bigger, stronger, and faster person.  When possible, we even demonstrate it being used against a male instructor to show you that the techniques work no matter your size, strength, or age.

 

Similarly, when it’s time for discussion, we utilize a warm, inviting style to facilitate conversation.  We understand that few people want to be lectured and that most women want to be able to apply a lesson to their own situation.  So, we invite an open dialogue. We do not blame victims, ever. And, we use real life examples to talk through how to handle tough situations.  We work hard to make every discussion emotionally safe just like we make the physical training physically safe.