InsaneJournal

We Run This
Who: Everyone
What: First Self Defence Class
Where: Pax Letale Gym
When: March 6, 2017, 7pm
Notes: The door to the gym on the ground floor of Pax Letale is wide open, dance music flowing out of it to entice the curious and the regulars. At the front of the room a fairly large space has been cleared of exercise machines and layered with soft mats. Coming in the front door, a table has been set up with a community volunteer sitting with a signup sheet and various pamphlets for guests.


At the front of the room, clad in spandex capris and a cutoff t-shirt chatting with Daniel as people started arriving. Once 7:05 rolled around Max turned down the music to subtle background noise and stepped forward to address the assembled group.

“Thank you all for coming!” she said with a smile, loud enough to be heard but not be shouting. “My name is Max, and I’ll be teaching you all some basic self-defence moves. I try to focus on practical situations that you would be the most likely to encounter in your day-to-day lives. My task is to prepare you for what’s out there, but I hope none of you will ever need the skills you’ll learn here. However, I do have a small survey at the desk you all avoided while coming in here where you can anonymously leave questions and suggestions for future classes.

“A big part of this class is developing muscle memory. Knowing what to do won’t help much if you’re actually in a threatening situation and you freeze up with panic. I want these moved to become so second-nature to you that you’ll react appropriately without having to think about it.

“My lovely assistant Daniel and I,” she gestured to him with a smile, “will be demonstrating for you today how to escape a simple grab from behind, and then we’re going to pair off and practice it until you all get it right. I’ll walk around to check on you and correct your form. And don’t be nervous to ask questions if you need help, that’s what we’re here for.