Self Defense and Street Smarts

Self Defense Program for Children ages 5-14

Skills to help children build confidence, character, stay safe and act wisely with strangers, bullies, and people they know.

In Karate4KIDZT children have the opportunity to learn and practice different ways of being powerful to be safe in workshops that are short, upbeat, and experiential.  The skills they practice can stop most abuse, abduction, assault, and bullying. \

Workshops are tailored to the ages and life situations of the children, but all Karate4KIDZT workshops have the following elements:

We focus on the positive.  This means we use workshop time to explore and practice skills that can prevent, avoid, de-escalate, or stop a problem as soon as possible.  We do not use scare tactics or stories that focus on children being victimized.

We create opportunities for "learning by doing." Instead of spending much time discussing problems, we have children practice what to do to prevent or stop those problems. This means our students actually practice - with their bodies and with their voices - the skills they are learning, and they are coached so that they experience success.

We use matter-of-fact language that is not fear-based. This means, for example, that students practice skills for stranger safety, not "stranger danger."  We coach students to be aware, not "wary."  We practice skills to stop unwanted touch and attention rather than talking about "bad touch." 

The Skills We Teach:  In this program, students are taught skills such as blocks, kicks, strikes, escapes, and street proofing.  In workshops tailored to their ages and life situations, Karate4KIDZT participants learn how to:

BE and ACT AWARE
Children practice sitting, standing, and moving with awareness and confidence. They practice how to look and speak so that people will bother them less and listen to them more. They practice noticing what is happening around them so that they can prevent most trouble before it starts.

TAKE CHARGE
In our Everyday Safety workshops, children practice: assessing a situation to know what their safest choices are; moving their bodies in order to create more space between themselves and people who might cause problems for them; making safe choices about talking to or taking things from strangers; checking in with adults in charge before they change the plan about where they are going, what they are doing or who they are going with.

In our self defense workshops, children also practice "emergency only" skills of using physical techniques to escape from danger, as a last resort.

GET HELP
Children practice: making and following a safety plan for how to get help in public including if they get lost if they are with a trusted adult or bothered if they are out on their own; being clear in telling trusted adults when they have a safety problem; persisting until they get the help they need; using their voices loudly to attract attention if a situation becomes threatening; and getting help in emergencies.

SET CLEAR AND APPROPRIATE BOUNDARIES
Children learn and practice boundary-setting skills, which are powerful skills for preventing most child sexual abuse.  At the same time, appropriate clear boundary-setting skills can build confidence and improve relationships of all kinds.

They rehearse how to:

Stop unwanted touch and teasing
Children practice the skills in role-plays involving everyday, familiar forms of unwanted touch and attention such as stopping tickling, poking, and cheek-pinching, with NO discussion of explicit details about sexual molestation or assault. Children also are given clear guidelines about what is their choice and what is not their choice.

Protect themselves from teasing and name-calling. Children practice how to deal with hurtful words and stop teasing and bullying from peers. Children also learn techniques to increase their self-esteem by protecting themselves from the hurtful or damaging things they might say to themselves. 

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  • Valid until September 30, 2008

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