Foundational Work in Child Self-Protection (diary entry)

28.01.20   With exception of teaching the post/superman punch/hook combination, my teacher consultation lesson was primarily concerned with the development of the new self-protection programme for children.   The first animal level for 4 year olds and up has been confirmed along with basic content. The emphasis here is for children to become aware of Bystander Effect, spatial awareness and situational awareness. A good degree of character building is included that both help them recognise bullying behaviour in themselves and others. They are also taught the foundational skills for tactical escaping along with simple physical skills. The understanding is that these children are to be under the care and supervision of an adult at all times, and there self-protection skills should reflect these likely circumstances. We also discussed future models that - in line with a child's age - will focus more heavily on tactical escape. Various games will be introduced that get children used to using their small size to move around, over and through obstacles as well as familiar with larger people trying to grab them. These programmes, when they are finished, are likely to be complete packages that involve teacher training in order to be delivered. We are discussing a purely soft skills component that can be learnt outside of martial arts/self-defence training.