Ask Martha

I met with lead instructors and instructors-in-training for several hours(Mark met with suited instructors at the same time). The session was a free-flowing opportunity for instructors to raise questions and identify issues, such as:

• How does what we do fit into a bigger picture? What do you want the outcome of this course to be for women and girls who participate?

• What is the goal for our relationship with the women when they are on the mat?

• How do we manage the level of adrenaline in the room—bring it up when needed, bring it down, and create an atmosphere where women can work within their own window of tolerance?

• What are strategies for encouraging women to address and accept their own experience while also minimizing feelings of victimization?

• How can we maximize respect for the important work of class assistants while making their work appropriate and manageable?

• What are strategies for learning women’s names quickly?

• Organizationally, how can we enhance transparency and effective communication among team members?

• If a woman is experiencing PTSD, how can we best support her?

Take-away: One of the many things I took away from this thought-provoking and inspiring session was the recognition that most people outside IMPACT do not recognize what one instructor referred to as “the magic in between.” Most people who have not taken the course focus on the scenarios as the linchpin of the IMPACT program and do not recognize that women’s empowering experience of the scenarios is possible because of the framework within which the scenarios occur. The resistance we often encounter within the anti-violence movement stems from a focus on the scenarios without an understanding of the magic in between. This discussion recommitted me to making the framework within which the scenarios occur more visible.