Thanks for you kind word tlouis. I have many years of traditional martial arts background but have finally come to understand that while martial arts have a great deal of value, they are not necessarly the best mechinism for teaching SD. I have never been in a single martial arts school where avoidance and awareness have even been brought up.
Having two daughters has helped me to realize that even though they are pretty good, they are never going to be the physcial equal of an average man. The are both three test away from being black belts and both have competeted on a regional level in the ring. My oldest is a terror when it comes to scorring point but she realizes that she's playing a game. She wants to obtain her black belt, maybe even her 2nd Dan, but then move on to training for more serious combat.
Being involved with their training and having them occasionaly help me with my classes has broadened my understanding of what women need when looking for SD. I fear I have a long way to go however until I'm satisfied that I have fully developed course. I usually have a total of six, hour and a half training session and I alway feel like I need two or three times that. I continue to refine the class and work on my own skills. However I live in a small town in the middle of South Dakota and local training is limited. But I have the good fortune to be training with a fellow who has about 35 years of martial arts experince and five tough years of law enforcement. In our serious stuff we typically utilize Hapkido and Jujitsu techniques as the basis. One thing I really appreciate about him is that he wants to find what works for ME and that's more important than teaching me what works for HIM. So I got lucky that he opened a school here a year ago.
