Self-Defence Returns to Kingham (diary entry)

01.05.2019   Wednesday afternoon kick-started my fourth term with Kingham Hill School, teaching self-defence. I saw some new faces and some returning faces from previous courses. Although self-defence is my mandate, I believe all good self-defence should be underlined by some solid soft skills information. We began with a quick overview of how the course would be taught. I would introduce progressive activities and techniques with an explanation of how it fell within the basic principles, strategies and tactics.   We warmed up with a series of evasion exercises, including serpentine running, reactions to change and tactical escapes to exit points. I also put in punching whilst moving, covering sprawling and spear knee strikes to get in some early combative muscle memory.   The next part of the lesson was concerned with pre-emptive striking and its logistical and legal realities, followed by target familiarisation and striking on the focus mitts. We then moved onto removing obstructions when striking and I introduced incidental combinations.