Classes
Orientation
The Motion Still Water: VSK Jujitsu Seminar
This session will cover combinations, joint locks, throws, and footwork, all designed to build both technical skill and fluid movement. Emphasis will be placed on…
Bo Vs. Bo Kumite
If you have had at least a few months of training with a staff, please come learn an exciting two-person Kata. Isshin Ryu Shihan Bob Markovich,…
Applying ESD Tactics to ICE Resistance: Know your Rights, De-escalate, Resist Intimidation
As ICE and federal law enforcement agencies invade our communities, Know Your Rights trainings proliferate. Having the facts about judicial warrants, constitutional rights, and private…
Judo – The Gentle Way
This class will go over the basics of Judo. We will review the main elements in off-balancing (Kuzushi), entering (Tsukuri), the follow through (Kake), and…
Grasping the Sparrow’s Tail – An Introduction to Tai Chi
Master Young will take you through a short section of the Tai Chi Chuan form called Grasp Sparrow’s Tail, while explaining the basic body mechanics…
Self-defense From the Ground
What happens when the fight goes to the ground? What tools can we use to continue to fight back and escape? This practical self-defense class…
Push Hands – What’s it all about?
Push Hands trains the body and mind in much the same way as the Tai Chi Chuan solo form, only it is interactive. In Push…
Level Up Your Blade Defenses with Aku Strike
Realistic knife assaults happen quickly, oftentimes without sight of the blade, and developing effective defensive blade skills requires the correct tools. In this seminar, we…
Key Principles of Aikido – An Experiential Exploration
Aikido is a martial art of blending, of joining with another’s energy. Someone initiates an attack and rather than hard block and answer, the aikido…
Aligning our Martial Arts and ESD Practices with our Values
At Thousand Waves, all our programs are rooted in values I embraced in my youth and young adulthood from the feminist, LGBTQ and social justice…
Supporting Gender Diversity and Neurodiversity in Your Schools
We’ll start by explaining the degree of overlap between neurodiversity and gender diversity (spoiler alert: it’s considerable!), and why it makes sense to talk about…
The ”Ancient Eight” Special Movements – Ba Duan Jing
Ba Duan Jing or Eight Silk Brocade- is one of the oldest forms of Qigong (Energy Practice) from China. These eight gentle exercises increase blood…
Confronting the Criminalization of Women and other Marginalized People who Defend Themselves
Survivors who defend themselves are often criminalized rather than supported. How did this come to be? How does the law perpetuate the criminalization of survivors?…
Hands off!
Practical, standing self-defense techniques: Learn escapes from grabs, holds, hair pulls, and bear hugs. Practice effective techniques for breaking free from single or double-hand grabs,…
Bridging Research and Practice in Empowerment Self-Defense
We’ll start with a short overview of research on empowerment self-defense—along with insights from research on martial arts and healing arts---and discuss what about the…
Introduction to IMPACT Self-Defense
IMPACT is an empowerment self-defense system distinguished by scenarios with a defender (participant), aggressor (suited instructor), and a coach (lead instructor). During scenarios, the lead…
Introduction to Sport Taekwondo
Learn techniques and training methods to improve your kicking, footwork and distance. We’ll be letting go of a focus on self-defense, and instead embrace being…
Kajukenbo Repetitions: A Spontaneous Drill with Far-reaching Benefits
Explore the rhythm, speed, and flow of Kajukenbo repetitions: a continuous striking drill designed to train body connection, perception, and adaptability. In this class we…
Unlock the Nunchaku Circles – (Strike and Flow with one Nunchaku then Two Nunchaku. Easy Peasy!)
In this session we will unlock the “Nunchaku Circles” allowing you to flow and strike with any swinging object. I will guide you on how…
Skill-building Methodology for Teaching Verbal ESD Skills that are Relevant to Learners’ Lives
Our voice is one of our most powerful self-defense tools. We can use it to set boundaries for ourselves, to de-escalate a potentially violent situation,…
Contemplative Self-defense as a Way to Maintain and Regain Our Relational Power
This class will offer an invitation to explore a new definition of self-defense as an inner stance in life – a stance that is both…
Soft Physical Skills: For Workplace Programs or Whenever Teaching Strikes is Not an Option
In this class, we will practice and analyze the non-contact physical skills we teach in our PAVE 35-hour Human Safety Skills course for library staffers.…
Migi Kai Bo – Sword vs. Jo – Kumitachi (2 Person Fighting Engagements)
A samurai warrior confronts an unassuming farmer with nothing more than a walking stick. We will use a Jo, a four-foot staff. Come to this…
Beyond the Linear: An Exploration of the Power and Freedom of Circular Movement
Beyond the Linear is a session-long immersion into spiral and circular motion through the lens of phrases from Kajukenbo forms and our Chinese-influenced sets. Designed…
Introduction to Capoeira
Capoeira is an art form that originated in Brazil in the 16th century. It combines elements of fight, dance, acrobatics, rhythm, music and philosophy. Developed…
Sinawali Sticks
Come learn and play with Filipino partner drills. Using rattan sticks, we will explore simple to complex double stick patterns. Sinawali means weaving, and there…
Please be courteous to those who are masked by offering to mask when working with them in class or in other venues.
All class times are Central Daylight Time.
If you are in another time zone, here is a handy time zone converter.