I was approached by a local college to do a self defense class.
I’m interested if anyone has done this before.
It’s a 2hr class, with a max of 40students,
I’m thinking already with the following moves
Wrist grab defense
Bear hug defense
Mount escape
Trap and roll
Feel free to share ideas or resources that could make this happen.
We have similar backgrounds. Yes I have done self defense classes for schools and as classes. Is this for credit so weekly hours or a one shot. In a one shot I would go with more environmental awareness as it would truly be the most useful. Through in your list or grip breaks, but positional escapes are not easy for a blue belt let alone someone who has seen the move once. I avoid them and give what I know is useful to them.
In a class for credit start with the mental and then teach them like you were trying to make a blue belt. Mostly positional and defenses.
I took a class like that in college a decade or three ago and it included the things you mentioned as well breakfalls, forward and backward rolls, observation skills, primary targets and pressure points. I know that we laugh a little bit at pressure points in BJJ, but if you just want to escape from someone they can be the difference between success and failure. I think he even got a little bit into controlling the attacker in the event you ended up in a dominant position you could sustain until the police got there, but he also stressed that the best defense is to just get away. Spent a lot of time on mindset as well. How bad do you want to go home? I'll never forget the first thing the instructor said on day one: If you had to reach through an attacker's eye socket to sign your name to the inside of their skull to protect yourself and your loved ones, could you do it? If not, this class will be a waste of your time.
I also agree with the idea that if this is a one time 2 hour class there isn't much point in going over physical techniques and the time will be better spend on defensive mindset and where to get the physical training they need.
I think that if you want to teach self-defense, you should have your own opinion on what is an effective technique in a given threat situation. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a very good base for self-defense. Many techniques can be used, such as techniques ending from a closed guard (this is nothing more than a rape position for a woman). escapes from a guillotine choke or headlock. The most important thing is that you teach with the right knowledge and know what you are passing on to your students.
I agree with what everyone is saying here about if it is just one two hour class, do not go too deep. It probably would be beneficial if you also express to the students that this one two hour course needs to have follow-up and constant learning. Situational awareness to me is the best thing to try to express to anyone. Every time in public you need to be aware. My wife and I will test each other on situations in public, what we saw and who stood out to us. It is good practice, kind of like never sitting in an establishment with your back to the door, and knowing all the exits
Self defense classes should be almost exclusively standing techniques. I've taught self defense in college classes, community classes and also to state troopers. For the layman, the most important point is to disengage as soon as possible, generally by pushing the aggressors head down and running away. If the fight is already on the ground, then you are dealing with much more than a single class can handle, so mount escape is beyond the purview of a basic self defense class, and if a student is mounted, then defense against being punched in the head is all that matters. In addition to bear hug defense (both arms trapped or free as the two situations require different actions), the most important defenses are probably against a headlock or rear choke. And of course defense against various types of strikes and kicks is also paramount. I do agree that learning to fall properly (slap and NEVER extend an arm to reach to try to stop the fall) is also an important skill, however other than a basic back fall, most people won't learn to fall safely in a single class.
"I was approached by a local college to do a self defense class. I’m interested if anyone has done this before. It’s a 2hr class, with a max of 40students, I’m thinking already with the following moves Wrist grab defense Bear hug defense Mount escape Trap and roll Feel free to share ideas or resources that could make this happen."
I teach these classes all the time at the college where I work. It’s tough in a two-hour class to teach much that they’ll retain, so I stick to some very basic techniques and strategies.
(1) Strategy: I discuss the importance of lifestyle and awareness for avoiding violence along with Jeff Cooper’s theory of awareness (which color-codes the different levels of awareness to make them easy to remember). We also practice some de-escalation strategies.
(2) Grip Breaks: We go over a variety of different wrist grabs, arm grabs, and clothing grabs. This is a nice way to get people training who might not be comfortable yet with close physical contact.
(3) Crash-Cover, Thai Clinch with Knees, and Choke: Start from a de-escalation stance, your opponent tries to punch you, do a full side cover (or bull horn cover) and crash into the clinch, get a Thai clinch, and knee the groin/body. Once they get good at this, I add a snap down to a guillotine choke. I have had quite a few students actually use this sequence in real fights.
(4) Open Palm Slap to the Ear: Hit the mandible with the palm heel as the cupped palm hits the ear). I have had several students use this in actual fights, including two students who only ever took one class from me. It has great potential to KO an attacker and mess up his equilibrium (because of the damage it does to the inner ear).
(5) Open Guard Kick and Stand Up: Open guard movement on the ground versus a standing opponent, including bicycle kicks, followed by standing in base. I want them to be able to get up safely if they get knocked down. I’ll usually teach a couple of breakfalls here too since they are one of the most useful injury-prevention techniques you can learn.
I don’t try to do much more than this in two hours. My goal is to get lots of repetition with just a few techniques and to hopefully get the students interested so that they’ll want to take my full-semester martial arts classes (Jiu-Jitsu, Jeet Kune Do, and Krav Maga).
