What: Women’s Self Defence class
When: Saturday @ 11am
Where: Krudar Muay Thai (152 Augusta Avenue)
Who: Kru Darwin

Not only is Krudar the sweet spot to learn muay thai boxing in Kensington Market, but now they have Women’s Self Defence classes! How great is that? And if you’re even the slightest bit curious to take a peak inside or maybe if you’re feeling up to it try a class, every last Saturday of each month Krudar hosts an open house and all classes are free on this day. Free! Once I discovered a self defence class was on the schedule Anne and I jogged our way to Kensington to give it a go.

For those who may not know, I had a rather scary in counter a year ago in December on my way to work one morning. I was pushed down from behind on a major street in broad daylight. I don’t want to scare anyone, but this experience left me quite shaken up for days afterward. I called the police when I got to work — after calling my Mom, Erin, and my roommate at the time, Shannon — I gave my statement to an officer (from the cop car!) who came to the office that afternoon. Literally hours later, I recieved a call from a dispatch officer telling me they have a guy in custody that matched my description. And what’s even crazier is that an identical attack was called in shortly after mine. Crazy! I was shocked and surpised how quickly this all happened.

They caught the guy he then pleaded guilty to all accounts and so the case was closed. But I was left thinking I don’t want to feel scared in my city ever again. I want to better prepare myself for another incident like this, should one ever occur.

(An important lesson learned: call the police should anything should happen to you, as minor as it may seem. Do it.)

So a goal of mine since then was to take a self defence class. Being an all women’s class everyone was on the same playing field – everyone had different expectations from what to get out of a class like this, but Kru did his best to touch on all the important things to keep in mind. He pointed out the effective ways to stop someone quickly, so you can then run away, using the heel of your hand, your fingers, and/or your knuckles. We then focused on protecting our faces from throws and punches while using the environment as a tool to defend your self. You never know what could be around to aid you in a tough situation. And lastly, Kru pointed out the most effective tool we have to defend ourselves and that’s our voice. Just yelling “STOP” at someone will make then stop, even just for a few seconds. This is an innate characteristic in us as humans to stop when told to stop.

During the class, Anne and I practiced attacking each other while the other protected themselves. We also had the boys of Krudar surprise attack us too. They were also nice enough to give us pointers and feedback.

In the end, Kru left us with the understanding that all things said attacks are all different and we can’t walk around with fear. The mind needs to be strong before our physical bodies can protect us. Throwing a punch is one thing, but thinking the situation through and knowing how to react is how you’ll come out of any situation protected and unharmed.

I was so grateful that I wasn’t harmed last year when my attack happened. But even just the hour with Kru I feel better and more aware of what to do. There is a weekly class on the schedule, which will be twice a week once the numbers in class grows. The classes will then look at different situational attacks, what to do when the attacker comes from behind, and the metal strengthening involved. But as a fist time experience I was a satisfied client.