When I transferred to a new high school in 1988, it was a little rough. I had spent most of my childhood in the west side of the Valley -- attending some highly sheltered parochial and prep schools. Because two of my closest friends and my favorite twin cousins, Chip and Dale, were over on the east side of the Valley, I decided that I wanted to experience something new. Over there, the place was filled with kids of a more socioeconomically diverse background -- majority of students were minorities, primarily Hispanic and Filipino. It was the complete inverse of the reality I knew.
During the first few months, a bully named Cookie (seriously, that was her name), tried to pick a fight with me, which if anyone who knows me can attest to is quite the joke. She and a group of girls surrounded me one day in the playground, accusing me of talking about them (I had no clue what I could have possibly said, so I just stared blankly, let them yell at me for a bit, and when they realized that I wasn't going to engage, they realized their efforts were futile and let me go). Anyhow, almost 20 years later, I've learned a few tricks and could likely take her on, although rumor has it she's a soccer mom now.
This is thanks in large part to my friend, Marisa, who enlisted us for a women's self-defense class at Fighthouse in Chelsea. The 2.5-hour seminar was run by a Filipino martial arts group, Kuntaw Kali Kruzada | Acosta Fighting System International. It was quite the workout, highly informative and is something I'd highly recommend to my female friends. Most of all, it was FUN.
They taught us tricks to "defang the snake" -- basically enough to distract and hurt an assailant so that there was enough time to get away from a bad situation. We kicked, punched (I kept on picturing a certain ex's face so it was a great way to unleash some pent up anger), grappled and rolled around the floor -- not our most flattering moments since we were sweating up a storm, but we got the gist of what to do. It's amazing what you can do with a ballpoint pen, rolled up magazine or bandana.
Here's a pic of me making some strange fight face at one of the instructors...
Here's a good one of Marisa getting ready to make her move...
All in all, the women's self-defense seminar is worth it... even if we ended up sore for days!