kids against evil strangers

[K.Brazier]

My sister told me of a type of class she heard of in Tampa.
Has anyone heard of this?
What can you say of it and what do you think?

<<<... taught children how to free themselves from a stranger if they needed to.* There was a little girl who took the class and the very next day a man grabbed her and tried to run away, but she was able to use everything she learned in that class and save her life.* This class was only available for a short time and I don't see it anywhere.>>>

It seems like a good idea.
Do kids classes do this?

Kevin

[Sifu Darkfist]

it depends on the reason for the schools existence.
if it is only there as a belt farm then the answer is no.
my kids learn the real applications to mantis as soon as i deem them reliable non predatory students. the predatory bully types are not allowed in my class at all.
i choose who i want to teach. I am not teaching for a living i am living to teach.
I am sure many of you are the same. Moastly because you take the time to post it shows a high level of dedication.

[Chief Fox]

What you describe sounds a lot like Kid Power. It's a non profit organization that first and foremost, teaches kids awareness and that it's ok to say NO! to an adult. They cover topics like, staying out of reach of strangers, identifying who can help you in a situation. They also have classes with the guy that is totally padded up so the kids can kick the crap out of him. My daughter and I took a two day class on awareness. I quiz her on it all the time.

The 3 rules of kid power are:
1. Be aware (always keep your head up and look around. Make eye contact with a a stranger but stay out of reach)
2. Take charge ( Hands up in defensive posture, say NO!, run to a place with people)
3. Get Help (go to the people you know will help, people working at a store, or a nearby house)

It's really a great organization: http://www.kidpower.org/

[SPJ]

The mind set of children would be defense only. They have limited power in strikes or punch and kicks. They can do serious damage if they get to soft spots such as abdomen, groin, and knee etc.

The common things in defense are antigrabbing, dodging, of course to run away, use of "tools" etc.

Stamp on the toe, spraying the eyes etc.

Looong time ago, when I was a young boy. There was a lesson of Shaolin 36 grabbing or Zhua Fa and 36 antigrabbing for me. there are poems to sing, too.

If somebody grabs your hairs, you move close and use both hands to press on the opponent's grabbing hand, lower your head to bend his wrist joint and sink your Qi and weight, you move back or rotate etc.

When you are close enough, stamp on his foot with all of your body weight and Qi--

Run and call 911 with cell phone and take a picture and e-mail etc.

:D

[Oso]

'Safe Programs' by any number of names are offered by different groups/organizations. There are kits you can buy from them that include the training material and marketing tools.

All in All I think they are good programs but haven't decided on one to use yet myself.

'kung fu' training and these programs should be separate and a set of rules developed for the kids you teach so they know that their 'kung fu' is for 'fun' and 'sport' and for developing athleticism.

I think you can go very wrong, ethically and legally, teaching anyone under the age of 16 how to 'fight' outside of the sport context.

just my opinion of course.

[David Jamieson]

kid vs adult = kid loses everytime.

Teaching kids to be aware, to keep their distance, to run and to yell loudly is ok.

teaching them that they have a chance of physically overcoming an adult is irresponsible and the furthest thing from correct.

simple fact of the mater is kids can be as strong as they are but with that strength will not be equal to an adult who is fixated on capturing them.

[Oso]

ttt

dang, David did we kill this thing?


I think this is a good topic.

I would like to hear some reviews on these commercial systems by people who are using them.


My feeling is that as a school owner you are probably safer by using someone elses program that has been approved or tested somehow.

Kid's SD is another area that I think too many teachers think they can teach when they don't have any education or training to really do so.

hmmm, maybe it would be even better to develop a relationship with the local LEA and have them come in to do talks.

I just hate to think about what would happen if I told some kid 'do this if you are assaulted and you'll be fine' and then they weren't. I have my opinion of course but it's not backed up by anything but my own experiences.

[Chief Fox]

That Kid Power program is really great. My daughter and I went to a two day class at her elementary school.

It did not focus on defense at all. It just covered awareness. They also talked about situations when a family member is touching a child inappropiately. It was all good stuff.

One of the things they did, that I thought was cool, was ask a kid to get a safe distance away from an adult. The kid backs up like two or three steps. The Kid Power person says, ok do you think that you're at a safe distance? The kid says yes. The Kid Power person takes one large step and reaches out and grabs the kid by the arm and says, do you still think you're safe?

It really drove the point home that they have to be aware and stay physically out of reach of a stranger.

I can't say enough good things about this program. They did not cover defense at all.

[Oso]

Great. Thanks for the review.

as has been discussed ad nauseum all over this forum, SD is about awareness so a program that is all about that is a good one, imo.

i'll definitely look into that one.

http://www.kidpower.org/

just did a quick look through...will definitely follow up later.