Empowerment Through Personal Safety

Gershon Ben Keren

Mon 23rd Feb 2015

A gazelle can graze within 10 to 20 yards of a sleeping/resting lion quite safely. If there is good grass to graze on, it will move to that patch, despite being in such close proximity to its number one predator. It is empowered to do so, because it understands the reality of the potential threats and dangers it faces, and what each one actually looks like; a sleeping/resting lion is not a danger. When we think about situational awareness, we immediately think of our ability to identify those individuals in our environment who have harmful intent towards us, and forget...Click To Read More

Women\'s Self Defense - The Same Tired Old Story

Gershon Ben Keren

Sun 15th Feb 2015

It still amazes me that the media’s representation of what women’s self-defense is, hasn’t moved on much since the late 1980’s,and early 1990’s, where simple solutions such as kneeing an attacker in the groin, and shouting as loud as you can are the norm; the belief that it is possible to learn a few tricks in order to “feel” safer, and be more confident when walking about – whilst ignoring the fact that women are more likely to be raped, and sexually assaulted in their own homes (or those of others) by someone they know. The media, and many martial...Click To Read More

Investment, Optimism & Expectations

Gershon Ben Keren

Sun 8th Feb 2015

Have you ever been involved in a conversation or interaction, when you knew you were being conned, and yet still continued to listen, and remain involved, rather than walking away? You’re not alone; and the longer you stay involved with whoever it is you are dealing with, the more likely you are to comply with the con. When we invest something, whether it is simply time, we are often unable to admit to ourselves, that we must sometimes walk away, receiving no return on our investment – if we listen to a long winded story by some stranger, about how...Click To Read More

De-escalation - Saying Sorry

Gershon Ben Keren

Sun 1st Feb 2015

I’ve written about de-escalation before however some good questions arose, when we worked through various scenarios, in our women’s self-defense/self-protection class today. One of the things I like to get people to first address in any scenario we place them in, is whether they are dealing with a pre-meditated situation or a spontaneous one – pre-meditated situations involve predatory individuals who have planned and orchestrated their assaults (such as muggers, rapists etc.) whereas spontaneous ones occur, when an individual has become aggressive and angry due to your behaviors and actions (spilling a drink over them, taking a parking spot etc.)...Click To Read More