Personal Safety Workshops (AKA Self-Defence)
Out of respect for the participants and the companies that paid me, I have not mentioned any identifying names or locations.
I have trained as an accredited personal safety instructor through Kia Haumaru, but the funding they receive is very specific. (If you want to know if you qualify for a free, fully-funded course, please do not hesitate to contact me) As a result, I am approached from time to time to do private courses. Depending on the group asking, I am usually more than happy to tailor a course for the time available and for the ages of the participants.
The ethos I have been trained in, and one I thoroughly believe in, is that personal safety is not just physical technique. It is the way that you think and the confidence that you exude, making your way through the world. As a result, a lot of the course is kōrero (talking) and the sharing of stories. The entire course has been built on a foundation of Empowerment Self-Defence concepts. Kia Haumaru have gathered extensive research (and in fact, had some commissioned on their mahi too!) on Empowerment Self-Defence. Check it all out here.
Some of the courses I have run in the past:
- A group of girls aged between 6 and 14 –This group is one that works together a lot in various activities already. When tailoring my course, I took into account the ages of the girls and the possible physical limitations as a result. When working with children under the age of 16, I add more games to boost self-confidence.
- A group of adult women working together in a small business – This group asked me to work with them as their staff were being harassed walking home from their office/factory in the evenings by a local man. They wanted to increase confidence generally and to also have a shared sense of mission.
- A large group of girls and women aged between 8 and 25 – This group had been put together for a weekend of empowerment workshops. I created a one-hour taster which included some physical techniques and incorporated stories to prove their efficacy.
- A co-ed group of adults – This was a one-hour taster course to trial a mixed-gender group.
- Rainbow, Takatāpui and MVPFAFF identifying rangatahi (teens) and adults – I particularly love to take these skills to queer-identifying folks. Often, as a group, we’re overlooked for these types of courses. As a particularly unique marginalised community with not much other homogeneity, queer folks have a unique set of considerations which I consider with sensitivity and personal experience.
In the Media
I’ve been interviewed in the media a few times about this mahi. Check out the details below.
