School intensifies fight against GBV through martial arts
Michael Palin would rather have a lady be thought of as rude than coming up as a survivor or victim of gender-based violence.
Everything that keeps women safe is what Michael Palin lives to teach. So, when he saw the skyrocketing statistics of gender-based violence in the country, he was already prepared and tired of the talks. Palin started Gracie jiu-jitsu, a self-defence martial arts and combat sports school in Sunninghill.
He said the sport is based on grappling, ground fighting, and submission and originates from America. Palin believes it is a good way for women to go head-to-head with life-threatening or traumatic encounters.
“We believe that when it comes to GBV everyone is looking at the government for solutions. They are looking for men to change their behaviour and for the police to help them. Unfortunately, when a woman is attacked, they are often not able to defend themselves. So, our programme is for women by women.”
Stephanie Graham leads the training during the free seminars which first began back in 2018.
The school will be hosting the first seminar of the year titled ‘Our free women self-defence’ on February 4. Palin believes through education and the sharing of vital information with the community women who attend will be safer.
“We are trying to get as many people as possible to get involved in understanding boundaries, and sexual harassment amongst other topics. Thereafter, we will teach the ladies a few techniques about how to defend themselves in tough situations and to be safe. The seminar will take no more than three hours of valuable lessons for women by women.”
“We have this kind of seminar two or three times a year. We have probably taught about 2 000 ladies. The feedback has been amazing we have had some of the ladies detailing how they applied what they have learnt in our classes in those situations.”
He added, “The techniques that we teach are time and tested to make sure that they work. So, for instance, when we talk about boundary settings with the ladies, we explain to them what it means and who can be a bad guy. I do not think people realise that 80% of sexual assaults have been done by somebody they already know. Most think it is just a bad guy hiding under their bed or in their car, they see the movies and think it applies in reality but that is not the case. We share this valuable information with the ladies during these seminars.”
If you would like to learn more or register for the February seminar visit www.grapplegeargo.co.za
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