MPower Self Defense empowers individuals to “Defend Their Own” – whether it is for themselves, their families, or the defense of innocent bystanders. We educate through a combat mindset as well as a situational awareness. Through fun, instinctive-learning, students gain the knowledge to protect and arm themselves while gaining confidence. Each level of course also provides education on and the physical tools to aid our students in the ability to get out of a bad situation.
The idea for the program came about from one of our very own, Shanon Gaul. As a child, Shanon had dealt with bullying in her school and decided that this would be a great way to give back to the community. She had developed a concept of teaching others to be able to defend themselves from whatever situation might arise. She then decided to employ two instructors, Lee Barto and myself to run the classes due to her hectic work schedule. Shanon is the figurehead of MPower Self Defense and will be speaking at several upcoming engagements to educate the community on this new program. There will also be a Safety Day coming up in the late spring to be held at Wyomissing Health Club, which will consist of ways to keep your family safe and we will be raising money for the Sheriff Department’s K9 Unit.
There are 3 different class options for MPower and each class builds on the skill set learned in the first. The Basic Training 101 is the foundation course for all of MPower’s self-defense classes. This basic course focuses on situational awareness, effective verbal communication, eye contact and proper body posture for facing an attacker. Students will learn about items utilized for self-protection. Students will also be taught hand-to-hand techniques and will be trained on body manipulation. Completion of the Basic Training 101 prepares students for MPower’s Intermediate Class.
Upon completion of MPower’s Basic Training 101, students can register for MPower’s Intermediate Class. The Intermediate Class begins with a brief summary of the Basic Training 101 skills learned. This course will then build on the skills learned previously, but further enhance the student’s ability to focus on controlling an adversary’s actions through more advanced methods of striking and Jujitsu. Various Strike positions and implementations will be taught using only hand-to-hand means.
Jujitsu is a Japanese martial art used as a combat technique to defend one’s self with no weapon or a short weapon against an armed or armored attacker. Both Striking and Jujitsu are very effective methods of neutralizing threats by attackers and other adversaries. Also, during this class, students will discuss and role-play situations relating to cognitive awareness, training preparations, using your surroundings and your EDC (every day carry). Completion of the Intermediate Class prepares students for MPower’s Advanced Class.
Upon completion of MPower’s Intermediate Class, students can register for MPower’s Advanced Class. The Advanced Class begins with a brief summary of the Intermediate Class and the skills learned. This course will then focus on disorienting an adversary(s) through the use of momentum and mental edge. Students will learn skills to handle multiple person attacks, advanced joint and pressure point manipulation and advanced ground tactics.
Through this new skill-set, students will gain a more in-depth knowledge of anatomy and muscle distortion. Additionally, students will learn about various personal-legal-non-firearm weapons. From this Advanced Class, students will leave with the knowledge and training to handle virtually any adversary in multiple settings.
Each class runs about 4 hours and can be held at a location of your desired choice. If you prefer we also have a site location where the class can be held. Class size is limited, so that everyone can attain a more personable experience. As of the first of the year, we will be offering mother/daughter classes as well and the minimum class size is 10 individuals. If you know someone who might be interested in these classes, please go to www.defendyourown.com and fill out the questionnaire. The questionnaire will allow us to see how many individuals are interested in a class and then we will email everyone with a date and location of the class. If you have any other questions, please feel free to contact us at 610 898 -3518.