Positive action key to self-defence

Press, 1 February 1988, Page 14

Positive action key to self-defence

GLENYS WALKER reports on a recently formed national women’s self-defence team.

Society tends to believe that a woman needs to be physically strong and fit to repel an aggressor — but this is not so, says Christchurch self-defence teacher, Lynne Gifford.

“Women have inherent abilities in defending themselves. We have our verbal abilities, our roles as peacemakers, child carers and mediators, our intuitive skills and our practical commonsense,” she says. Lynne is one of a team of self-defence tutors throughout New Zealand who have recently formed themselves into a national association. Originally affiliated with Sue Lytollis,

they have since become autonomous, calling themselves the Positive Action Women’s Self Defence Team.

The team has taught their methods to more than 50,000 women, including government staff, girls’ schools and groups of physically and intellectually disabled women.

In Christchurch alone last year, 1600 women attended Lynne’s courses. Most were aged from 18 to 35, followed, by the 13 to 17 age group. Many women were over 65 and some were in their 70s and even 80s.

“Age is not a barrier to defending yourself. In

fact, from the viewpoints of confidence, experience, verbal assertiveness and mana, age can be an advantage,” says Lynne.

Positive Action courses deal not only with physical techniques but mental and verbal selfiefence. Women are taught to understand attacker psychology and to be aware of, and counter, any “victim” cues they might give out. > The range of women taking the courses was enormous. They came from high schools, trade unions, sports and church groups, Access programmes, university and polytech, the Social Wei-

fare department, neighbourhood support groups, the Deaf Association and the Y.W.C.A.

Typically, about half the class had received obscene or menacing phone calls. Women in their teens and twenties reported a high incidence of flashers, being followed, kerb crawled by men in cars and sexual harrassment in the workplace.

As trust among the women in the groups built up, many stories of incest, rape, molestation and beating, by men known to them, would come out. These women were put in touch with counselling

and support groups. Part of the course involved looking to the future. Many women went on to assertiveness training or anger management courses, tertiary study, fitness or yoga classes or the martial arts. Some women left violent relationships or took an exist-

ing relationship to counselling.

Many women reported a general increase in confidence, well-being and freedom from the fear of attack.

Lynne Gifford runs courses throughout Christchurch and nearby coun-

try areas. She also runs refresher courses and gives private tuition. Her telephone number is 54-’ 155; or the Y.W.C.A. at 63063 can give details of courses coming up. Girls’ self-defence classes are taken by Lynda Morgan. Her telephone number is 60-631.