BMWMCC Ladies Self Defence Workshop

If you are interested, I would be happy to organize some copies of the book: '''The South African Woman's Guide to Self-Defence''' by '''Sanette Smit''' for R100 each. I can arrange to bring it to our next club meeting 31 March 2009. Email me anne@abarc.co.za or call me on 082 421 0003. The South African Woman's Guide to Self-Defence

Renette, Well said and written, I will encourage Jean (away on a family gathering)to attend the next one, I might have to sign a pact with her. Ignore opinions, heed facts. Feet on the pegs, always.

Spider, my saying " every single man" was done as a courtesy , by talking to each man on this forum separately and not just as a group , and also to emphasise that each and every man must please speak to his wife/ partner and possibly help her save her life . It had nothing to do with your marital status . Seriously , SA is the rape capital of the world . We have the highest number of rapes per capita in the world , and the second highest number of rapes per country after the USA which is 7 times bigger than us. The instructor , Sanette Smit who did her research on rape for her 3rd Dan Black Belt karate studies and who also wrote a self -defence book , says that our rape stats means that we are fast approaching an era where every woman in SA will have been raped by the time she is 85, and if she is lucky enough to have been protected or to defend herself and escaped being raped then another woman will have been raped twice. Rape is the single greatest threat to women and the effects of rape , especially brutal rape , can remain with a woman for the rest of her life. Most women worry almost every day about being raped. And all women are at threat from being raped, babies from as young as 9 months to women age 114 have been raped. Surveys conducted have indicated that most women who fought back have successfully prevented an attack . Research has also shown that women who use stronger physical resistance are more likely to avoid rape than women who use less resistance ( this sound obvious to men, I suppose ,but women are conditioned to be scared to fight back ) Those women who do not resist at all are the most likely to be raped , to spend the night in the hospital , and to be robbed. Less than 10 % of women fight back , and hardly any fight back with the correct knowledge .And there are more attacks on women without the use of weapons than there are with weapons. In the workshop we learnt about the 9 different patterns of rapes , from the most common , being the Confidence rape pattern , where the rapist achieved his goal through communication. He made the woman feel comfortable and relaxed and made her doubt her own instincts , putting her off -guard. There are also blitz rape, gang-rape , date rape power rape, sadistic rape etc. We learnt how to have a completely different mind -set . Women are bought up to be nice and pretty and not to hurt anyone. We want to help . The rapist uses this to his advantage. We learnt not to give a man the time if he asks for the time, when we are alone ,and to stay away from his car. We learnt that if our neighbour , boss or other familiar person attempts to rape us , to not be shocked into submission, but to fight back. We have a right to not be raped and must put ourself first in a rape situation . We must not be scared to hurt the rapist or of being hurt, but we must stand up and commit to fighting back and do it . She spoke a lot about making a mind shift , and to develop mind strenth . She says attitude comes first ...self -defence, second. Then to develop emotional strenth and then only physical ability. To have commitment and endurance. She says the correct frame of mind or attitude during an attack will determine whether or not you are successful in warding off your attacker. That means making a complete shift from our normal way of thinking to a new , powerful and more positive way of thinking. I must admit my mind is so much more positve since the course and I have the confidence to more accurately assess what to do if I am attacked by somebody , whereas before I would have just been to scared to block or fight back. in the second part of the workshop we learnt the techniques of blocking and counter-attacking and ,as with learning to ride off-road ,it really is all about technique. We cannot take on a man on strength, or take on someone with a weapon , but with the techniques learnt most of us will be able to block and to launch a totally unexpected couter- attack to immobilise an unarmed attacker for as long as it takes to run away . During our physical instruction I realised that I was terrified of hurting anyone ( a typical girly attitude learnt from young age ) and in the workshop I had to force myself to get past that natural reluctance. Some of the women were very good ,like Annie who has a 3rd Dan in karate herself. I learnt a lot about myself from each of the other women I was paired with. All of us improved our aggression levels very rapidly. Then we repeated specific practical techniques . I learnt that my body is actually a weapon and that using the element of surprise, backed with courage , detemination and commitment, I can hurt a man sufficiently enough to escape being raped. This has NOT given me a false sense of security , on the contrary . But is has given me the knowledge , and the mind -set and confidence to know that I can fight back, and that I must fight back as then I have a better chance of escaping harm ( unless he has a weapon ) . And best of all I know what to do . I practised the moves and will keep on practising them . I am empowered by the workshop to the extent that it has changed my life. I also feel a duty to tell as many women as possible about the workshop . I cannot thank Annie enough for having organised this workshop and for all her hard work in phoning so many men from the club to find out if their partners could attend . Many of the ladies could not make this workshop, but wanted to come along the next time. The men ( if you have read this far ) I urge you to tell your partners about this workshop, it could save their lives . Or buy your wife/ partner the self -defence book , it is only R100. ''"4 wheels move the body,'' ''2 wheels move the soul"''

Yes Spider saw that, but felt I ought to reserve the right to remain silent!:-)

"and why every single man on this forum must please send his wife and daughters to the next workshop." SINGLE man DON'T have wifes!!!! maybe only daughters!!!

Annie all I have the energy to say at this late hour of the evening is thank you, thank you, thank you! When I have time I will write why the ladies self -defence workshop was so fantastic , and why every single man on this forum must please send his wife and daughters to the next workshop .I haven't stopped telling people how wonderful it was ,and how much I learnt , thanks again Annie for all your hard work, it is really appreciated ! Annie we love you xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx :):):):)xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ''"4 wheels move the body,'' ''2 wheels move the soul"''

I've had several queries as to when the next workshop will be run. If there is enough demand, I will happily coordinate another workshop during the year. In the meantime, you may book with [http://www.selfdefence.co.za/ Self-Defence Workshops cc] Their next 2009 workshop dates are: 28 March 18 April 30 May 27 June 25 July Time: 14h00 to 17h00 Registration: From 13h30 Venue: Stepping Stones Pre-Primary, Sidmouth Ave, (Off Upper Orange Str), Sylvan Close, Oranjezicht, Cape Town Dress: Wear loose, comfortable clothing Contact: Margaret Tel / Fax: 021 461 0036 margaret@selfdefence.co.za Or Smitti on her cell: 082 415 3960 smit@selfdefence.co.za

A HUGE thank you to '''all''' the wonderful ladies who attended this very motivating workshop! I'm sure you found every sore muscle worthwhile... A big thank you to Russell Rathbone from [http://www.ruslamere.co.za/ Ruslamere] who made our stunning venue possible!

Annie many thanks for your effort in putting this together. It is extremely unfortunate that training like this is necessary,but it's best not to be an ostrich. Judging from Jane this was not only enjoyable BUT extremely positive,and it seems, ought to be repeated in the future ....well done to you and all who attended. I now had best behave or I'll get kicked in the.....:-)

Just had 2 cancellations (work constraints) - space still available! 082 421 0003 anne@abarc.co.za

I now have '''30''' ladies attending - what a fantastic response! There is still a chance to register today as we can accommodate more. Please call me on 082 421 0003 or email me on anne@abarc.co.za if you have any queries or wish to register. Annie

Like it or not, crime is all around us. Two of my colleagues at work were recently attacked on the N2 which lead me to organise a self defense workshop for our business unit. The comments were very positive and a lot of them requested something similar for their teenagers. Subsequent to this self defense workshop I had the priviledge to attend another one which was organised for our management board. Ladies, it is a wonderful learning opportunity and all worth the money. Your life is worth more than the cost of the workshop. Do yourself and your loved ones a favour and enroll for the workshop!!!! Tanya Rossouw (Mother T)

A HUGE thanks to everyone who has registered thus far. From my 1000s of calls to people, I have discovered that a lot of the guys have ignored this, as it said "ladies". Please please pass this information on to the ladies in your life!! :) :) I promise they will not attack you once they have completed the workshop!! :)

EVERYONE should take note of this. Guys get all the ladies in your life to attend this course and ladies who are reading this, make the effort. Sanette is hardcore and absolutely brilliant. You will walk away empowered to deal with situations you may have been living in fear of or worse, never even contemplated before. I learned a great deal from her when I attended a similar course about two years ago. I will be attending this one as a refresher. A big thanks to Anne for taking the time and effort to organise this.

Hi Guys Please encourage your ladies to attend this workshop - this will be my 3rd time I attend because it is such a brilliant course. I've met and heard of women for whom this has been literally a life-saver!! Yes - one move could save your life. In the workshop we learn to become aware of signs and symptoms of dangerous situations, which is in itself a pro-active measure. You might wonder - what does this have to do with motorcycling? # It gives you some security, especially on the motorbike - no it doesn't protect you from guns - but it sure as hell tries to keep you from getting into that situation. # It's something just for the women - doesn't matter if they don't ride a motorbike. # A great booster for self-confidence and morale. # This is a great gift to someone you love. Come on - don't miss this opportunity!

The Ladies Self Defence workshop registration form is now up and running [http://www.bmwmotorcycleclubcape.co.za/bmwmcc-ladies-self-defence-workshop-registration Registration] Please contact me if you need any more info. (see details above)

Girls only please - no men allowed!!

Annie what an excellent idea , thanks for arranging this, and please put my name down , thanks . Besides the obvious benefits of polishing our self defence techniques, this will also be a nice opportunity to interact with the wives and girlfriends, who don't come to the club meetings often enough , but whom we would like to see more often . Guys please tell your wives , girlfriends about this workshop . Let's make this a team effort :) ''"4 wheels move the body,'' ''2 wheels move the soul"''