“Not Today, Motherf****er” was the name of the podcast I was listening to in my car. It was an episode of “I, Survivor” on the Wonderly podcast series profiling heroic stories of brave women who have been attacked and their journeys back to a normal life.
I particularly liked this episode because it profiled a woman runner who was training for her first marathon and successfully fought off her attacker in the stall of a public restroom.
The episode inspired me to request a referral on Facebook for someone to come into the office and teach self-defense lessons to our staff and even clients.
And that’s how I found myself on Saturday morning punching and kicking Crazy Jessica during a Krav Maga Israeli self-defense workshop. (Crazy Jessica is one of my trio of crazy ultra runners I race with.)
Well, we weren’t really hitting each other but I sure felt like I got the crap beat out of me the next morning. Hitting the back of my head against a bookshelf after a particularly strong sparring session with Jessica probably didn’t help!
Eddie Wells of Emerald Coast Self Defense and KRAVolution taught a great class to the twenty or so women who showed up. Nothing like being sneak attacked by his 6 foot plus helpers!
We learned how to escape a wrist grip, a bear hug, and being straddled and pinned down while being pummeled by punches. Hint: there’s a lot of yelling and groin punching and kicking involved. “Hello, boys!”
Of course I have a LOT to learn to protect myself on the trails should an unlikely stranger attack happen. But, I do feel more confident in myself having taken the class.
Just like I cannot always anticipate what will happen on the trails during our long training runs that sometimes can last up to five or more hours, you cannot always anticipate what will happen with your Family Succession Plan when the time comes.
The best we can do is to plan and prepare, then refresh our estate planning and preparations over time.
I have no illusions that a single self-defense class will protect me if I am attacked but taking refresher self-defense courses will certainly help me stayed prepared.
I also intend to bring Eddie into the office some Friday afternoon to teach us more about defending ourselves. If you are a female client of ours and want to participate (FREE for clients!), reply to this email and let me know so I can keep you posted on dates, etc.
And, for everyone else who isn’t yet a client and needs to get their Family Succession Plan in order, or refreshed, you can schedule a Family Succession Strategy Session with us by clicking this link to be taken to our online booking calendar.
Until next time we meet (beware of me if it’s in a dark alley—ha ha!), I hope you do something to empower yourself or your family, whether it’s taking a self-defense class or getting your estate planning affairs in order.
Kristen “Not Today, Motherf***er” Marks
