Ladies Self Defence training is offered on a daily basis in kung fu classes at all three Golden Lion Academies; however, special workshops for girls and women are given to reinforce techniques learnt in class. Bianca Mohan, Murrumbeena kung fu and dim mak student gives her report below…

So, I will admit, that as soon as I heard about Sifu Craig’s Women’s Self Defence seminar I counted myself in 110%. This was not something I was going to miss! As a female Kung Fu student, I have always been a big believer in the importance of self- defence for females and one of the reasons I started Kung Fu in the first place. In today’s society, it seems we have more of a need to be strong, fearless women, who are not afraid to protect themselves if need be. And what a perfect opportunity this seminar presented to promote this!

After learning that this seminar was open to members of the public, my initial thoughts were that Sifu Craig would go through simple blocking and punching techniques that I might do in Kung Fu class… however I quickly learned that there was a lot more to it than that. The realisation hit me that many of the participants did not in fact have a Kung Fu training background, something I had not considered. Luckily, Sifu Craig had realised this.

As the seminar progressed, I learned that the selection of skills and techniques that were taught, were chosen because they were easy to learn, easy to remember and most importantly easy to execute. I was surprised to see that in fact many of the women in the room that day, who had little to no martial arts training, were able to carry out these techniques with minimal effort and with maximum impact. I found that it didn’t matter how big or strong their opponent was; they were able to get themselves out of the situation. This is something that is particularly important when females are faced with an attacker bigger than themselves- we often can’t out-muscle our opponents, so technique is crucial.

Sifu Craig also went through certain techniques that focused on possible real life scenarios- techniques I had never come across in my regular Kung Fu training before. These were what I felt that I gained the most benefit from, as everything I learnt was relevant and practical to situations I might face in everyday life.

At the end of the seminar, I walked out of that room with more knowledge and improved skills than I thought I would. I observed that any woman of any age or size, is capable of defending herself in difficult situations. Overall, I had a lot of fun and learnt a lot, re-instating my belief in the importance of self-defence for women.  A big thank you to Sifu Craig, Si Jie Joey, and all the volunteers for helping out with a fantastic seminar!

Bianca Mohan