It’s a rare class where the teacher hopes their students will never have to use the skills they learn. However, Mike Forster, owner and operator of the Yorkton Martial Arts Training Centre, hopes none of the students in his free women’s self defense seminar will ever have to use the skills he teaches them, but still wants them to have the knowledge just in case.
“Self defense is like insurance, it’s better to have it and not need it, rather than need it and not have it. I think whether anybody has been attacked in the past or not, it’s just a good thing to have.”
The three hour seminar was designed to teach self defense basics to women in the community, so they have the skills to defend themselves if they ever were attacked.
“I wanted it to be available to everybody. If somebody couldn’t afford it I didn’t want that to be a barrier.”
Women learned about striking, weapon defense, ground defense, and had discussions about different scenarios they might encounter.
“At the end they get to beat me up, so they get the chance to feel to what it’s like to hit somebody.”
The plan is to make it a regular event at YMATC, once or twice a year, to keep people aware of the importance of self defense.
Students who are interested in more advanced self defense techniques can also sign up for regular courses. Forster expects that there will be students who, inspired by the seminar, will want to continue training and become students, whether in self defense courses or in one of the many other courses offered by YMATC.
“The more that you train in martial arts or self defense, the more that it’s a natural instinct to defend yourself without thinking. Your body does it for you without thinking about what’s the defense for this, it’s just natural.”
