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Defend yourself
Sun Dragon Martial Arts and Self Defense is a not-for-profit organization located on East Riverside Drive, next to Thundercloud Subs.
In addition to providing martial arts classes for men, women, and children of all ages, executive director and head instructor Sensei Joy Williamson hosts self-defense instructional classes for all skill levels. I had the opportunity to observe one of the three classes she is hosting over the next few weeks to see what it was like.
Walking in, not having any experience or having been exposed to a martial arts studio/class, it was quite a surprise to see how the students acted when entering. To me, it was like walking into something you’d see on television. Everyone took off their shoes at the door and, prior to entering the locker room, they had to bow toward the instructor. Coming out of the locker room and onto the mat to join the rest of the group, the students had to kneel on the ground till acknowledged by the instructor. When asked a question or given instructions, everyone replied “osu” (pronounced “ooos”), which basically means, “yes” in Japanese. It was quite interesting to observe. I wouldn’t say it was a culture shock, but definitely an eye opener to things I knew nothing about.
The self-defense class was very informative. Even not having physically participated, I feel like I learned a few things by just watching. On this particular day, the agenda was to learn how to safely fall, how to protect yourself from an attacker when on the ground, how to protect yourself from a moving attacker, how to get up without turning your back to the attacker, how to defend yourself if an attacker is on top of you, and which parts of the body to target on the attacker in order to defend yourself.
Over the next couple of Saturdays, the classes will cover defense against an armed attacker and multiple attackers. The class was extremely informative and I highly recommend it. Sun Dragon also partners with other organizations — Girls Scouts, church groups, offices, schools, etc. — to offer custom classes. So if this sounds like something you or a group might enjoy doing, call 416-9735 or go to their Web site.
Click here for photos from the class.
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By Amy
June 20, 2008 6:47 PM | Link to this
Hi - thanks for the great write-up! I’d like to clear up a few misconceptions, though.
First of all, the self defense class you witnessed was geared towards karate students, so it looked a little different than a class geared toward those who don’t study karate. The belts, for instance. :) Also, a lot of the formality that’s observed in a martial arts environment isn’t if the class is self defense.
And speaking of formality - you mention that, “prior to entering the locker room, they had to bow toward the instructor.” This isn’t actually true. Karate students bow towards the training space when entering or leaving it, as a sign of respect and appreciation for the physical place.
Also, when you note that, “Coming out of the locker room and onto the mat to join the rest of the group, the students had to kneel on the ground till acknowledged by the instructor” - this is actually only true if a student joins class late, and only when they’re joining (not every time they enter the training area). It’s part tradition, and part safety.
Karate at Sun Dragon does involve a lot of bowing, as a way of maintaining the traditions the founders of the art instilled. Respect is an important aspect, and at the beginning and end of every class, we do four traditional bows - to the space, the instructor, assistants, and to all students.
Again, all of the bowing and belt-wearing, etc, comes out of the martial arts practice, and isn’t part of self defense training, except when it’s geared toward martial arts students, as it was when you visited.
Osu!