I was only present for the last day but this was one of my favorite classes I’ve ever taken. I think what we learned was very valuable to anyone who has a car and it’s important to increase people’s awareness that these attacks can happen at any time in any place whether it’s at the gas station, at the store, or even in your own driveway where you feel safe. I really appreciated being able to practice against men that were all padded up because it allowed me to really get into the mentality of a real situation and use the force I would against a real attacker. It was great that they didn’t hold back and attacked with the speed and force that I assume an assailant would. Doing so really helped set in a fight-or-flight response and prepares you for the shock and adrenaline you’ll encounter in a real-life situation. Having entered this mentality, it prepared me for how I would react and how I can better increase my awareness of what needs to be done if this situation ever arises. I now know that a seat belt is something that can trap me if my doors are unlocked, that I need to always look at the reflection in my windows to make sure no one is coming up behind me, and that I need to not have my windows rolled down if I’m idling in the car. Having only been there for one night of the workshop, I don’t have anything constructive to bring to this review. The only thing I could offer is that I think practice makes perfect. If this is going to be presented during a Women’s Self Defense Workshop (with women that haven’t previously taken any Krav classes or Self Defense classes before), I think it would be beneficial to just have repetitive practicing of these moves to, hopefully, train it into habit. Whether that can be completed within a few hours, I’m not sure, but putting people into fight-or-flight situations like this really makes them second guess their safety and increase their situational awareness for the future. It did for me.
