Physical movements are the same of course; people have been fighting as long as …. well as long as there have been people! In this respect nothing has changed.

There are changes to the realm of self defense and I wonder how many are adding this to their curriculum.

In Kanbun Sensei’s day and certainly in Shuu Sensei’s self-defense was only a physical danger; that is threats were face to face and things were settled the ‘old fashioned’ way.

I don’t glorify this in any way, shape or fashion…. you only have to look over at YouTube to see that this has stayed the same in our society.

What I am talking about are the added, modern threats that have to be addressed; and I wonder if you teach them.

As instructors of Uechi-ryu you teach the block and counter from kata; you cover the conditioning that, over time will help you build a form of body armour to help protect you….. is this where your self-defense instruction stops?

For example do you teach any of the following as part of your ’self defense’ program:

1. Verbal & workplace harassment
2. Phishing, online and credit card fraud
3. Scam awareness & protection
4. Identity theft
5. Schoolyard bullying
6. Child ‘Stranger Danger’ programs

We live in a differnt time; not all serious threats are physical. Any one of these threats listed could have far reaching impact into the lives of its victims.

So, are you teaching these topics as part of your regular self-defense program?

Comments welcome.