Had you unknowingly stumbled into the McKelvy living room last Sunday morning, you would have wondered why there were people in martial arts uniforms and people in dress clothes together in the same room. Just hours before Honors Convocation (hence the dress clothes), residents, friends, and family of McKelvy joined members of the Greenwich dojo (my karate school) at the House to enjoy some brunch and learn self-defense techniques.
Following introductions over fruit, bagels, and coffee, I talked about the history of traditional karate weapons as farming tools that Okinawan peasants adapted in order to fight the samurai. In the spirit of utilizing everyday tools for self-defense, I proceeded to demonstrate how we could use modern daily objects (such as pens, magazines, coins, and umbrellas) in creative ways to defend ourselves. For proof of this, see Matt Damon fend off knife-wielding attackers in The Bourne movies armed with everyday objects including a pen, a magazine, and a towel.
After the talk, we all went outside in the beautiful weather to practice empty-handed self-defense moves, beginning with the basics such as how to keep your balance and how to free your hand when someone grabs you by the wrist. By the end of the training, we were doing more advanced moves like taking the attacker down to the ground. It was tons of fun and everyone learned a lot. Shihan Repsher even got Lexi’s grandma involved!
After the seminar, Kyle was worried that Hannah would use her new moves on him and Lexi was prepared to defend herself against anyone who threatened to steal her award at Honors Convocation. And there were enough bagels and fruit salad for everyone to refuel after all of our hard work.