Women's Self-defense:"Being prepared is not paranoid, it is powerful!" - Terra Wise

Fundraiser for the Santa Barbara Rape Crisis Center. Empowering women/teens while also supporting the center.

Santa Barbara, CA -- A three-hour introductory self-defense workshop for women and teen girls will teach boundaries, empowerment, self-esteem, and self-defense skills. This workshop is also a fundraiser  to ensure sexual assault survivors have access to crisis counseling and ongoing therapeutic support from the SB Rape Crisis Center.

Learn blocks, strikes, releases from the ground/standing, and discuss awareness/prevention, personal boundaries, self-esteem, power of voice, and defensive sprays. By the end of this respectful introduction, participants will have developed skills, confidence, and tools to build upon.

Dress for comfort, freedom to move, bring a notebook/pen, water, and a yoga mat if you have one.

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Empowering women to defend themselves is the goal of both workshop instructor Terra Wise. Ms. Wise is a women's self-defense instructor and has worked with women as a teacher and counselor for 25 years. Terra is a California- state certified sexual assault crisis counselor, and also a somatic therapist, transpersonal counselor. Wise says: " This course will teach women about empowering themselves, while helping others in need, it is also an opportunity to develop community and interpersonal support, plus, survivors of sexual and domestic assault are encouraged to attend because there is compassionate care and safety as a foundation in this training."

Contact: www.terrawise.net, 805-275-1803.

Report after class: The women's self-defense course on Saturday Feb. 9th/08 was well received, concluding with warm applause. More than 20 attending on a sunny and warm afternoon - thank you to everyone for your commitment to personal empowerment! Our modest group was able to donate a few hundred dollars to the SBRCC, thank you! Many women spoke with me about their feelings: that the class was very helpful to them, they liked the pacing, they were happy to not be overwhelmed, pleased to be in community with others, some were reminded of past difficult experiences, and they felt encouraged. A few women described previous encounters that were powerful and inspiring for us all to hear.

The class discussed awareness/prevention, developing a strong standing base, learning to stand safely from a seated position, how to use the power of voice, striking with the heel of the palm, release from chokes, use of elbows, and hammer-fists, we discussed defensive sprays too. The group was a mix of all ages, with a number of 13-year old girls in attendance, some mid-teens, 21 years, and a range of youthful adults. Mothers and daughters enjoyed the bonding experience, young women heading to or already at college appreciated the important knowledge.