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Tag: Personal Experiences

Notes on the Journey: On Breaking Boards

2026-03-20

You don’t fear the raging river. You are the raging river. The first time I broke a board was after I’d already been on the mat for several hours—our regular Saturday afternoon hour and a half session, followed by a three hour Rapid Assault Training class. “Do you want to break a board?” My instructor asked as we were wrapping up for the day. The important part to this story is, I’d already done some drills—in a manner that was at least correct-adjacent—and had successfully been able to remove a fully grown man from on top of me, so breaking

The Power of the Break

2026-03-20

I’ll start by making an admission: I learned everything I know about ESD by teaching it.  What? Well, I created an Empowerment Self Defense curriculum called ASSERT about 20 years ago, before I knew that ESD was already “a thing.” I created it out of necessity. You see, my oldest son was being bullied in middle school (years 5-7 for my international friends.) He had been assaulted and robbed by upper classmen on more than one occasion, and he needed a self-defense class. As a concerned mom, I jumped into action, looking for a program for him.   What I found

I Get Beat Up for a Living. This is What It’s Like.

2026-03-20

Author’s Note: Hello to all those who are taking the time to read this. I’d like to say “thank you” for being a part of the movement known as Empowerment Self Defense. I’m part of the board of the Association of ESD Professionals, as well as a Senior Instructor/Instructor Trainer for Impact Personal Safety Los Angeles and Global.

I was asked to share my experience as the famous “suit” that people in the ESD community have had the opportunity to fight against or have at least seen from videos of training with IMPACT LA/Global.