Japan Karate Institute’s self-defense seminar empowers women

There’s a danger that women have to live with every day. The fear of sexual assault is a pervasive force that (no matter how hard we try) men cannot comprehend in the same way a woman does. Walking home alone at night, men fear a stolen wallet, while women fear physical and emotional trauma from which they may never fully recover. In the wake of the #MeToo movement and the countless sexual harassment allegations against celebrities and politicians, societal misogyny seems like an uphill battle that’s been simply ignored by men for too long.

Thoughts like this hang in the air at the Japan Karate Institute on December 20. On a rainy evening, roughly 25 women of all ages and two martial artists cram into the dojo’s main practice space for a women’s self-defense seminar. Sensei Glenn Raus, the man leading the evening, lays down statistics on the prevalence of sexual assault to a quiet and tense crowd. It’s only one of the reasons why a class like this seems necessary.

“Men and boys are raised to stick up for themselves and defend themselves,” Raus tells The Daniel Island News. “Women are raised to be polite and don’t rock the boat and don’t upset anybody. And a lot of times, that’s their downfall when it comes into a situation where they might be assaulted because they don’t want to offend or hurt the other person.”

The methods taught in the seminar were designed for people without any martial arts background.

“Everything we teach tonight is going to be based on techniques they [class participants] already know how to do,” says Raus. “They just don’t know that they’re self-defense techniques.” Some of the tactics taught were proper ways to kick, stomping on the foot of an attacker to break as many bones as possible, and how to punch with both hands to maximize the force of an impact.

Time was taken to go into less conventional methods of self-defense when the class began learning about household items. Hand sanitizer was turned into makeshift mace, phone chargers were used to keep attackers at a safe distance, while rolled up magazines were used as bludgeoning tools. No practice dummy was spared.

But, the most effective tool discussed was situational awareness, according to Raus.

“Stay engaged with the world,” he told the crowd. “Know what’s going on around you, know where you are, and keep your wits about you.”

Much of the concern about situational awareness stems from a problem Raus sees with Daniel Island.

“There’s a false sense of security on the island,” he says. “People leave their doors unlocked, and their garages unlocked, their cars unlocked.”

The Japan Karate Institute views women’s self-defense as a responsibility.

“I have a 12-year-old daughter, and so I kind of just made it my mission— here’s the dojo, not just to teach karate, but to empower as many ladies on Daniel Island to back-up the word ‘no,’” says Raus.

And empowerment was seen throughout the December seminar. Many of the participants began the evening nervous, but gained a new sense of confidence after practicing self-defense maneuvers. There was even laughter from the crowd during some of the drills.

“I feel like I have more tools to use,” says participant Kristen Overcash.

One attendee, Tammy Warren, paid for a small group of high school seniors and their mothers to take the class.

“We’ve kind of talked to them a lot about awareness,” says Warren. “But, I feel like practicing the different moves and actually hearing the instructor giving these horrific scenarios that could happen is making it a little more real.”

Warren has even seen the importance of these tactics firsthand.

“I have always travelled for my job,” she says. “I have been in scenarios and I have gotten out of scenarios using some of the techniques that he’s discussing here.”

This is the third year the Japan Karate Institute has hosted women’s self-defense classes. Originally inspired by a 2014 incident in which a woman was followed on Daniel Island by a man in the early morning, the self-defense seminars became a yearly occurrence, thanks to the attitude of empowerment it encouraged in local women. Over the course of 2018, Raus hopes to do four more classes, similar to this. Each class is designed to be a stand-alone session, meaning people interested in signing up will not be required to attend all four.

Raus is hopeful that emboldening women to fight back and teaching situational awareness will encourage them to “talk up and speak out” more. He says, “a strong woman will go a long way in protecting herself without ever having to strike somebody or hit somebody.”

For more information on JKI’s offerings, visit their website at http://www.japankarateinstitute.com.