What about...?

Martha, Nina, and Jill

One of the many really good ideas Jill had in developing our schedule was to allow time for individuals to make appointments to discuss specific issues with us. Sometimes we met one-on-one, most times Jill was also present, and often the three of us (Jill, Mark, and me) met with an individual. We met with instructors, instructors-in-training, class assistants, and staff.



Yossi and Martha

We met with 10 different individuals for 1-2 hour appointments. We addressed mugger craft, lead instructor craft, research on the psychological effects of IMPACT, instructor training, class assisting, and big picture issues. The questions and issues raised were thought-provoking and meaningful. As Mark said to Jill, “Giving us this opportunity has made us better teachers.”



Martha, Chana, Mark, and Jill

Take-away: One of the responsibilities I have taken on in IMPACT Chicago is documenting and tracking decisions we make, from changing class plans to changing techniques. There have also been individuals in IMPACT Israel who have taken on that responsibility. These individual meetings confirmed the importance of documenting and tracking discussions, issues, and concerns in ways that the entire chapter can benefit and grow.


Photos below
1.Mark, Martha, Jill, and Galli
2. Uri, Martha, and Mark
3. Tamar and Martha
4. Martha, Jill, Celine, Yair, and Mark

Defense Against an Armed Rapist

One of the most common “what if” questions people ask self-defense instructors is “what if the attacker has a weapon?” Part of the reason Jill asked us to return to Israel was for us to share the IMPACT Chicago approach to defense against an armed rapist with the IMPACT Israel instructor team. Two of the evening trainings in Israel were devoted to sharing our approach.

Two assumption underlying our program are that we are teaching defense against someone using a weapon to coerce “cooperation”/eliminate resistance in a rape or sexual assault and that the women we are training have only a short-time in which to learn defense against an armed rapist. That is, we are not teaching someone to defend against assassination nor are we teaching women who have months or years to devote to learning self-defense tools.

In general, our approach is that self-defense against an armed rapist is
• Straightforward and simple
• applicable to a variety of approaches (front, rear, side, standing or on the ground)
• effective against a variety of weapons

The first evening we taught instructors our approach and practiced. The second evening class assistants joined us and lead instructors and suited instructors worked in small groups with one or two class assistants and each other to teach and practice the approach.

Take-away: My experience in working with IMPACT Israel instructors on defense against an armed rapist underscored my belief that a simple, straightforward approach that can be broadly applied is the way to go.

Jill and Mark discuss a teaching point

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.