Is It Empowerment Self-Defense?

                                               

Is it Empowerment Self-Defense? A checklist for assessing in what ways a self-defense program meets standards of an empowerment self-defense(ESD) program. In an ESD program, most elements of philosophy, pedagogy, and methodology fall in the ESD column. Where there are gaps point to room for development.
	Non-ESD Program	ESD Program
Philosophy  (the underlying thinking)
Attention to social context of violence	Little to no attention	High attention
Source of violence	Individual problems (e.g. bad people)	Social issues (e.g. social structure of privilege & oppression)
Targets of violence	Little to no attention to social characteristics; focus on individual behaviors	Attention to intersections of gender, intellectual and physical abilities, race, sexual orientation, social class.
Perpetrators of violence	“Bad” people different from others	Indistinguishable from others—focus on behavior not on appearance or social status
Framing violence	Physical violence	Continuum of violence
Pedagogy  (the practice of teaching)
Students’ capabilities	Expose their weaknesses	Reveal their strengths
Respect	Hierarchical with the head instructor the most respected	Respect for all and what each brings
# and ease of learning tools	Many and takes time to learn and retain	Few and accessible
Types of tools	Physical fighting tools are the focus	A range of tools--awareness, assessment, verbal, physical tools, (breathing, escaping, fighting)
Application of tools	The instructor provides the mindset: “If this, then…”	Toolbox approach--defenders apply strategy, tools, principles based on their assessment of the situation.
Attention to trauma	Limited	High
Responsibility for violence	Risky behavior of target; morals and mental state of perpetrators	Perpetrator is responsible and focuses on those perceived as socially vulnerable and who likely will not be believed
Methodology  (the means of developing a self-defense system)
Source of knowledge	Tradition, instructors’ experiences	Research and evidence, students’ experiences
Process	Internal, closed, isolated from practitioners from other systems	Collaborative, open, networking
Goals	Making a name or a profit for oneself or system	Social justice and social change
Dealing with disagreement, conflict	Attacking, bullying, one-sided	Dialogue, Non-violent communication
Martha E. Thompson   First published 2/26/18 in "Empowering ≠ Empowerment Self-Defense"
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. You may share (copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format) or adapt (remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially) under these conditions: Attribution—give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made and ShareAlike—If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, distribute your contributions under the same license as the original. For more details about the license, visit Creative Commons here.

Empowering ≠ Empowerment Self-Defense

All kinds of educational environments have the potential for that rush of feeling empowered but that feeling does not then make it empowerment self-defense. The Empowerment Self-Defense movement is gaining traction and more and more people who have been teaching self-defense and martial arts are using that designation. I’m motivated to write this blog to clarify that an empowerment self-defense program is more than a feeling of empowerment.

         “Empowering” refers to that exhilarating feeling that arises when an activity or experience builds our confidence, skills, or independence.  Examples that can result in that feeling include climbing a tree or climbing a mountain; jumping double-dutch or jumping a stream; learning to read or learning to weave.

I became involved in the women’s liberation movement at Kent State University in January 1970. I was heady with feelings of empowerment though I didn’t call it that then. I was also aware that I needed more and drew what seemed to me to be a very logical conclusion: if I’m going to challenge male domination, I need to be able to protect myself. In the context of the Civil Rights, Black Power, and the Anti-War movements, it seemed certain that working to dismantle patriarchy would, just like these other movements, entail physical risks and I wanted to be prepared.

In the summer of 1970, I signed up for a karate class to become stronger and learn self-defense. There was one other woman in the program and the men, from beginners to black belts, did what they could to humiliate us. In the midst of this mistreatment, I got to practice kicking and punching. No, I didn’t like how I was treated but I was elated I could see my biceps and deliver powerful kicks and strikes.

I’ve had other experiences since then where I’ve been in an excellent, mediocre, or crummy learning environment and felt that exhilaration of learning a new skill, feeling more confident, or building my independence. 

Empowerment Self-Defense is More Than a Feeling

Empowerment Self-Defense (ESD) is a philosophical, pedagogical, and methodological approach to addressing violence. It is rooted in the women's movement and feminism with a focus on ending violence against women and girls. As feminism and ESD developed, so have awareness of and attention to how intersections of gender with other systems of oppression, such as ability, race, nationality, sexual orientation, and social class affect expressions and framing of violence. 
         Below is a chart for a self-assessment list of sorts—the list is not exhaustive and I'm hoping others will contribute to expanding what sets ESD apart from other approaches. I was motivated to develop this chart not to keep people out but to draw people in. No program is perfect but if we want to call ourselves ESD instructors, then we are aiming for most of our work to fall consistently in the ESD column. Noting where our work doesn’t fit can give us a guide for areas to develop. If the items in the non-ESD Program column more accurately represent our approach and we have no interest in changing, then we are teaching self-defense but not ESD.           

Is it Empowerment Self-Defense? A checklist for assessing in what ways a self-defense program meets standards of an empowerment self-defense(ESD) program. In an ESD program, most elements of philosophy, pedagogy, and methodology fall in the ESD column.  Gaps point to room for development.
	Non-ESD Program	ESD Program
Philosophy (the underlying thinking)
Attention to social context of violence	Little to no attention	High attention
Source of violence	Individual problems (e.g. bad people)	Social issues (e.g. social structure of privilege & oppression)
Targets of violence	Little to no attention to social characteristics; focus on individual behaviors	Attention to intersections of gender, intellectual and physical abilities, race, sexual orientation, social class.
Perpetrators of violence	“Bad” people different from others	Indistinguishable from others—focus on behavior not on appearance or social status
Framing violence	Physical violence	Continuum of violence
Pedagogy (the practice of teaching)
Students’ capabilities	Expose their weaknesses	Reveal their strengths
Respect	Hierarchical with the head instructor the most respected	Respect for all and what each brings
# and ease of learning tools	Many and takes time to learn and retain	Few and accessible
Types of tools	Physical fighting tools are the focus	A range of tools--awareness, assessment, verbal, physical tools, (breathing, escaping, fighting)
Application of tools	The instructor provides the mindset: “If this, then…”	Toolbox approach--defenders apply strategy, tools, principles based on their assessment of the situation.
Attention to trauma	Limited	High
Responsibility for violence	Risky behavior of target; morals and mental state of perpetrators	Perpetrator is responsible and focuses on those perceived as socially vulnerable and who likely will not be believed
Methodology (the means of developing a self-defense system)
Source of knowledge	Tradition, instructors’ experiences	Research and evidence, students’ experiences
Process	Internal, closed, isolated from practitioners from other systems	Collaborative, open, networking
Goals	Making a name or a profit for oneself or system	Social justice and social change
Dealing with disagreement, conflict	Attacking, bullying, one-sided	Dialogue, Non-violent communication
Martha E. Thompson  2/26/2018
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. You may share (copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format) or adapt (remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially) under these conditions: Attribution—give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made and ShareAlike—If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, distribute your contributions under the same license as the original. For more details about the license, visit Creative Commons here.

Thank you to Donna Chaiet, President, Prepare Inc, for her suggested revisions on an earlier version of this blog. You can find a copy of just the chart "Is It Empowerment Self-Defense" here.

Martha Thompson
IMPACT Chicago Instructor
NWMAF Certified Self-Defense Instructor
Member, ESD Alliance
Participant, 2017 ESD Global Incubator

Recent IMPACT Chicago Blogs About Empowerment Self-Defense

Harmon, Julie. Principles of Empowerment Self-Defense. September 25, 2017.

Jones, Amy.

 “Rape Culture” and Empowerment Self-Defense. November 27, 2017.

 Self-Defense is Not About Eliminating Risk. January 29, 2018.

McDonald, Mona. What Do Empowerment Self-Defense Students Learn? October 30, 2017.

Porter, Clara. Challenging Rape Culture with Empowerment Self-Defense. August 28, 2017.

Thompson, Martha

IMPACT Chicago View of Empowerment Self-Defense. December 18, 2017.

Empowerment Self-Defense is Primary Prevention. May 16, 2016.

A Strong NO is Universal

In "A Strong NO is Universal: Resistance Training as Sexual Assault Prevention for Students Studying Abroad," authors Jill Swirsky and Tiffany Mancantonio along with contributors Jill Cermele, Karen Chasen, and Martha McCaughey address missing pre-departure preparation for students studying abroad: sexual assault prevention training.

The authors have identified this gap as a major problem because the risk of sexual assault of American women studying abroad is 3 to 5 times greater than that of their peers who remain in the States. The research that has been done has not identified if the perpetrators are citizens in the countries the women are visiting or are other students studying abroad--so there is a gap in the research as well.

The authors outline the reasons for women to take a resistance training program (e.g. IMPACT) before studying abroad. For the details, check out pages 2 and 3 in the Winter 2018 issue of The Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality.

Recognizing Domestic Violence

Marie Miguel was doing a free mental health project and came across the IMPACT Chicago website (see her bio below). What caught her eye was the IMPACT Chicago blog on “Responding to Self-Defense Critics.”  Marie offers her thoughts about recognizing domestic violence.

Did you know that almost 20 people every minute in the United States who are physically abused by a domestic partner? That is more than 10 million people per year. Although women are far more commonly victimized, 1 out of every 4 men has suffered from some type of domestic abuse. Also, one in 15 children is subjected to domestic violence every year. These are horrifying numbers. What can we do about it?

Learn the Signs of an Abuser

     There are different types of abuse. Although many believe that physical abuse is the worst, emotional and psychological abuse last much longer. The types of abuse include:
·       Psychological abuse includes intimidation, threats, destroying property, and isolation from others.
·       Economic abuse consists of any way to make a person dependent on the abuser, including withholding money, not allowing you to leave the house, and controlling all finances.
·       Emotional abuse is the act of making a person feel like they are not worth anything. The abuser will chip away at your self-esteem by criticizing you, calling you names, telling others you are a loser, and making you believe nobody else wants you.
·       Sexual abuse includes any kind of sexual act without your consent. This can include rape, harming parts of your body, forcing sexual intercourse after violence, and sexually humiliating you. 
·       Physical abuse can include any type of harm to someone including biting, kicking, shoving, slapping, hitting, punching, cutting, pulling hair, and even denying you medical care when needed.

Listen to Your Intuition

Believe it or not, there are some warning signs that a loved one may be an abuser. Of course, not everyone shows the signs, but it may help to know what to look for. If you feel scared or nervous but cannot figure out why listen to your instincts and notice if a loved one is:

• Getting overly angry quickly
• Yelling at you
• Calling you names
• Making a fist
• Constantly criticizing you
• Extreme jealousy
• Isolating you from family and friends
• Makes you feel guilty about doing things you like
• Takes away your money and controls the finances
• Tells you what you can and cannot do
• Threatens you
• Stops you from working or going to school
• Tries to get you to do drugs or drink alcohol
• Tries to pressure you into having sex when you do not want to

Support and Resources

The Domestic Violence Resource Center offers resources for support.

• Community Advocacy
• Professional Counseling
• Confidential Shelter Servies
• Transitional Housing
• Safety Planning
• Community Education

And a 24-Hour Hotline: 503-469-8620 or 1-866-469-8600 

Marie Miguel

Marie Miguel is an avid internet researcher and she likes to write about a lot of topics namely, social media marketing, healthcare, and business. She has a college degree in Communication with Specialization in Integrated Marketing Communication. She has more than 10 years work experience in various fields namely, social media marketing, as well as, research for fast-moving consumer goods. Currently, she is working as a Marketing Associate in the fast-growing industry of solar energy. In her free time, she writes content for different websites and blogs, so that she can share her knowledge of her field and of other topics that she is interested in. Marie also likes to travel and her adventures allow her to have a broader worldview. Finally, she has four kids, who inspire her with her work and her writing.

Donors Make an IMPACT

Tuition covers about 65% of the costs of the Core Program and IMPACT for Girls. Donors cover the rest. Thank you to all those who supported the IMPACT Chicago 2017 Fund Drive! Your generosity enables to bring self-defense training to more women and girls.

Names                                                                         Designation

Anne Gendler	& David Leib
Jeanne	Adams
Barry	Alberts
David	Altman
Amazon Smile	Amazon Smile
Lisa	Amoroso	Dianne Costanzo Fund
Lisa	Amoroso	In recognition of Tara, Kathleen & Laura
Laney	Amoroso	In recognition of Lisa Amoroso
Amy	Amoroso
Jeanette	Andrews
	Anonymous
Lucinda	Ballet-Stanley
Elizabeth	Beyreis
Dolores & Glenn	Bjorkman
Susan Blessing	Kevin Sossong
Jill	Britton
Patricia	Broughton	In honor of Martha Thompson
Sheila & Steve	Carson
Darcy	Chamberlin
Courtney	Childs
Aaron	Christensen
Wesley	Clifton
Nancy & Ira	Cohen
Christina	Collins
Dorianne	Conn
Dee	Costanzo	memory of Adrian Costanzo
Elyse	Dawson
Tammy & James	DeBoer
Carla	Eisenberg	Happy anniversary!
Rebecca & Thaddeus	Engle
Cheri	Erdman
Madeleine	Fallon
Carol	Ference
Tam	Fletcher
Follett
Kira	Freigang
Micah	Gates
Eileen	Gelblat
Good Done Great
Robyn & Tijuana	Gray
Debb	Harp
Margit	Henderson
Victoria	Herbert
Nancy	Hornak	In recognition of Cameron & Zoe Schwartz
Irving Harris Foundation
Ioretta	Jackson
Valerie	Jenkins
Carol	Jennings
Pam	Jurkowski
June	Kirk	In honor of Martha Thompson
Kasey	Klipsch
Micah	Labishak
Susan	Landwer
Yukiko	Leggit
Ruth	Lipschutz
Mary	Loftus
Mary	Loftus	Dee Costanzo Fund
Naomi	Love
Shirley	Ma
Leigh	Martin
Carmen	Maso
Susan	McConnell
Ellyn	McNamara	recognition of Dee Costanzo
Deb Mier	& Sheila Hickey
Jeannette & Terry	Mostrom
Kelly	Nespor
Shiyu & Anthony	Nitsos
Clara	Orban
Lauren	Perez
Liz	Pfau
Rachel	Pildis	In recognition of Martha Thompson
Lisa	Pines
Sara	Polonsky
Jennifer	Poulin	tzedakah
Don & Judy	Rosedale
Emily	Ruehs	In recognition of Katie Skibbe
Rene	Ruelas
Roger	Safian
Alexandra	Sandin
Asha Sarode	& Geetha Pundaleeka
Lisa	Scheff
Tess	Schmieg
Gail	Schubert
Janette	Scott
Katie	Skibbe
Susan	Stall	#meat14 and #metoo
Linda	Stawicki
Kevin	Theis	In honor of Jill Britton and Henry Borczyk
Martha	Thompson	In honor of Kathleen, Katie, Laura, Lisa, & Tara
Marge	Tomasik
Carrie	Villa
Iris	Waichler
Sharon	Wallin
Katherine	Walton	In honor of Amy Wallin
Frederick	Warner
Laura	Weiss
Donna	Wilkens
Kathrynne Ann	Woolf
Kimberly	Wright

If we have inadvertently left you off this list, please let us know. Thank you!