What If?

Martha and Mark with IMPACT Israel Instructor Team

This first training night and subsequent days were a great opportunity to meet the IMPACT Israel staff and to reconnect with Jill and Yudit, people we worked with in prior trainings in 2005 and 2006--Celine, Chana, Jake, Rachel, Shoshi, Yael, and Yisrael--plus Uri who came to train with us in the states.

Jill Baker Shames (far left in the second row), the director of IMPACT Israel, asked Mark and me to lead an event for our first evening that could be an opportunity for graduates, assistants, and instructors.

For IMPACT Chicago anniversary celebrations (10, 15, and 20) we’ve done a “What if” program—creating scenarios that answer common what if questions.
• What if I haven’t practiced self-defense in a while?
• What if I can’t tell who is dangerous?
• What if it is dark?
• What if I’m in bed with covers on?
• What if I’m in a car?
• What if I’m in an elevator?
• What if I’m carrying things?
• What if there is more than one attacker?

Jill thought that was a great idea and she called upon the creativity of Yudit Sidikman, one of the original 5 IMPACT Israel suited instructors and the Executive Director of El Halev (the umbrella organization within which IMPACT Israel operates) who created, where needed, the “scenes.”

Yudit and her staff built a bed from mats and added sheets, a blanket, and a pillow; a car from mats with a front and back seat as well as a steering wheel; and an elevator. Yudit set up a camera to record the scenarios within the elevator and projected the scenarios on the wall for all the participants to see.

Yudit builds a "car"

To address not having practiced self-defense for a while, participants did a scenario before we did technique review—what we call a “cold mugging.” For a focus on evaluating danger by behavior and not appearance, the “muggers” lined up along each side of a “sidewalk” and women took a walk, not knowing where the danger was going to come from. To address the issue of darkness, the lights went out. Women could choose to carry a “baby,” wear a backpack, carry a purse or some combination to address what if I’m carrying things.

Uri, Ika, Yisrael, Jake, and Mark talk about the "elevator"

What an exciting “kick-off” to our week in Israel. Muggers flying off beds, bouncing around elevators, landing on car doors, and scrambling in the dark while powerful women used their voices, claimed their space, and effectively stopped attacks no matter the obstacles they encountered.

Take away: Creating what if opportunities for IMPACT graduates is a positive way to reinforce skills and also to see how a limitation for a defender (e.g. a dark or confined space) is also a limitation for an attacker.