[nagdu] BOOK ON SELF-DEFENSE

[Joy Relton]

Hi folks,

I believe that taking self-defense classes or studying martial arts would
help a great deal. I studied karate several years ago and one of the most
important things that I learned was awareness of my body and how to use my
strengths and weaknesses to my advantage. Very often it isn't practical for
a blind person to flee in the event of confrontation, so, there are other
techniques that work to help to fend off attacks or make yourself less
venerable to attack. For me, I believe that one of the most important things
that one learns in studying martial arts and self-defense is to have
self-confidence. Sometimes, the simple ability to say to someone that you
are in control of yourself   will serve as a deterrent. This is all part of
being assertive, which is very different from being on the offensive. This
whole thing about self-confidence helps when you want to be received as an
equal in a restaurant or any other setting. If you don't believe it, watch
people. Those who walk in as though they belong there, without apology or
aggression are much more likely to be admitted without hastle than those who
walk in tentatively and aren't sure of what they are doing. It makes you
venerable. Having said all that, I'm not advocating that you charge down
dark alleys. I mean, gain confidence in your abilities and go forth. Develop
and use good travel skills and good thinking skills to solve problems. It's
a process and you won't always succeed and you won't always feel that
confidence inside. It takes a lot of self talk. I encounter this frequently
just crossing certain streets because my sense of direction and ability to
"hear" buildings and the like has been changed due to an aneurism which
burst in my brain. I am determine not to become a couch patatoe so I
obtained some tools to help me overcome some of the physical problems, and
some extra training from an O&M instructor to help remind me of certain
physical land marks that I can use to confirm my direction. When I was
working with the O&M instructor the other day and we went to cross a street
whose curbs, of course, don't line up I asked what I could do to help me be
sure that I didn't miss the curb completely and she showed me some
techniques, like simply intentionally aiming in from the corner a little and
then working my way back once I was across the street. What I have found is
that a big part of my travel errors and problems relate to confidence. When
I step out and walk in normal steps at a good rate instead of taking
tentative and slow steps I cross better. So, I have taken the phrase "sin
boldly" from Martin Luther's writings as my mantra to give me that kick. I
have no doubt that there will be times when it isn't the whole answer, but
it will get me closer to what I want to do. It's all about taking a chance
and going forward.

A question relating to this whole issue of venerability and confidence is,
how often does the average blind person actually walk in their environment
for more than a block or two. In working with the Seeing Eye instructor who
came to do the juno walk with me this week, I found that an increase number
of blind people are using Para transit as their only means of transport and
movement. So, they walk from the house to a van and from the van to their
office building and reverse that whole process. As a result their travel
skills aren't well used or developed, and the dog doesn't get a chance to
keep his/her guiding skills finely honed. I'm curious, how many of the
people on this list actually walk more than a mile a day? Of those, how many
take different routes? How many use mass transit extensively to go to
shopping malls, restaurants, doctor's appointments, or to the office. I'm
asking these questions to get a feel for what sort of travel folks are
doing, and not as a form of criticism. We all live in different areas and
have varying levels of travel skills and physical abilities, I'm just
curious.

Joy