Self Defence for me

Self Defence for me.

We all have a moment in our lives which shape our future, for better or worse, and often it’s not until many years later that we reflect on this moment.

For me it was the middle of 1987 when as a young 16 year old I was a student in a self defence class at the high school I attended run by a man by the name of James Salter.

The self defence techniques were simple and effective, and changed my life forever. I gained confidence immediately and realized that I had the ability to defend myself against men much larger than myself. From the simple six week self defence class I felt on top of the world, and had the ability to hold my head high and my new found confidence was fantastic.

The instructor was not a huge man, nor was he bulging with muscles, simply just a normal man who had an almost mystical way about the way he moved. No matter how he was attacked by the huge man in comparison, the instructor seemed to effortlessly get out of all the holds, grabs and attacks.

It was several years after finishing this course that I was out with my boyfriend, when we were attacked by two drunken men. The larger of the two grabbed my boyfriend and was assaulting him by punching him several times while the smaller grabbed me, basically holding me down. I immediately remember the simple effective techniques shown all those years before and was able to free myself, and then went to the aid of my boyfriend and was able to stop the attack and the two men took flight as they knew they had meet their match.

I now work in a high security prison, dealing with some of the worse male offenders in the country. I attribute my healthy confidence and self awareness to the self defence course I complete as a high school student.

Thank you James Salter – you have changed my life, definitely for the better.