MiGirl Self Defense tigers
I have finally recovered from the Michigan Girl Bike (& Hike!) Group 💚 Self Defense Night enough that I can talk about it haha!
We had 20 women and were hosted by Jim Adkins with White Tiger Martial Arts and Michigan Girl sponsor, Wendy Nienhouse, radio show host of Boomer North on WTCM Newstalk 580 (Saturdays at 7:30am and online!).
Wendy and I were there early and awaited Jim’s karate chops.
Ok, first off, I thought we were going to be sitting there like a classroom. WRONG. We were going to be kicking and punching the dummies (and Jim) - and there I stood in my stretchy denim jeans yet again. Never mind - we would need to be able to do these moves in HIGH HEELS and BALL GOWNS, in theory, so we all buckled down and started swinging - despite me giving the wrong dress code.
At the start of the class, we were all impossibly polite and kind. By the end, we were letting our inner tiger out.
I’m not gonna lie - it was HARD for me to kick the DUMMY and I never was able to karate chop Jim. Jim said this hesistation is true for most of us. We’ve been raised to be nice and polite - it’s how society gets along! And while this serves us in POLITE society, we need to practice doing what needs to be done in IMPOLITE society.
For many of us, I could see that it was hard to hit or scream or punch. IT TRULY WAS. Granted, I know many of you who have NO PROBLEM with that. But for the rest of us, we had to warm up to the idea. And it was a slow burn.
I watched, though. Over the course of 2 hours we ALL became more empowered and - dare I say - impolite! It was a wonderful thing to see.
The general series of moves he taught us - Kick the shin/package - then, when the guy leans forward - palm or fist to the face/nose/eyes - and - when they reel back - deliver a hit (karate chop) to the vagus nerve in his neck or a blow to his throat - whatever you can reach - GO NUTS. Scratch, kick, claw, gouge.
All of us tittered a little at this. Although - confession - a gleeful streak ramped through me as I imagined bringing Tim to his knees later that night.
So, first the kick. We lined up and took turns kicking the dummy. Each of us got 3 turns. Turn 1 and turn 3 were WHOLE DIFFERENT ANIMALS. We were toe-tapping on Turn 1. We were kicking on Turn 2. ON TURN 3? There were women cheering us on to blow out our OWN knees with the force.
SO delightful.
Next, we took turns punching the dummy. It didn’t have to be a traditional punch - instead, he had us make a fist and slam sideways with the meat of our hand. Easier to execute and more forceful with less wrist.
This time, Jim had us call out where we were gonna hit - and to hit several spots. CHEST! FACE! NECK!
God - that was fun. At this point, we were all warmed up and fine with hitting that dummy.
Next, Jim showed us more about the Vagus nerve and how to indeed karate chop it at the neckline. And how - with a mere 16 lbs of pressure - something most can do - you can knock someone out.
I could NOT bring myself to try a karate chop on Jim, but some ladies did - lightly - as we did not want to activate Ninja Jim’s natural defense mechanisms. It was like graduation day to actually hit Jim, ha!
All in all - the class was a total success. We learned some basic moves - but more importantly - we walked away with the CONFIDENCE to protect our space and our bodies. Jim said that the more we practice, the easier it will come to us in a scary moment.
On the non-physical side, he talked about how we need to practice awareness and NOT hike at night alone (he did greenlight MIGirl hikes at night - with 30 women on deck).
One of the most important things I heard him say that night was: YOU ARE WORTH PROTECTING.
YES!! ❤️
Then, he made us practice saying BACK OFF and YOU ARE IN MY SPACE and NO YOU $%^&* DON’T!
LOUD and PROUD!!!
THAT was empowering. And a few nights ago, the training paid off when Tim tried to take a bite of my Rice Krispy treat.
Jim would have been proud. ✅
I want to thank Jim for doing this and Wendy for bringing this to MiGirl!!
P.S. Jim is going to send me more info on his classes and maybe a MiGirl specific class! I will send it out to you when I get it!
MiGirl St. Patty’s Day Hike - TONIGHT!
It’s time to wear GREEN!! ☘️ We meet tonight! Info here on tickets and more.
Written in the Mitten:
I also write a personal Substack called “Written in the Mitten,” in case you want to subscribe and read there! Here’s my latest post (a mite bit more serious than my MiGirl writing this time!)…
I miss the missing
This piece was written 7 years after my mother died. It’s been 17 now. How can that be? But this piece written at 7 years out is a day that I will never forget.
I miss the grief.
Part of me - a lot of me - doesn’t like that when I think of my mother now that I can do so with joy. I hate that it has become normal to not have her. It’s been 7 years. 7! I can’t believe it. But the things that I couldn’t do before, I can now do.
Just yesterday, I took the boys to see my dad on his 68th birthday, his beard entirely gray now. I told them, “I’ll go to the grocery store, and then I’ll be home to get you, ok?”
“Home?” Nelson asked, confused.
There was a slice of silence.
MiGirl Mackinac Island Trip - May 10-12
Visit www.michgirl.com for rates. I am doing a spring sale on my last Main Street 2 Queen Deluxe room - this room overlooks Main St. (you'll awaken to the clopping of horses going by!) - Double rate was $679 each but spring sale - $649 each for double (2 women) - I have 1 left! It’s cheaper yet if you bring a posse of up to 4 women.
Email me at kandace@michgirl.com to saddle up!
Upcoming MiGirl events:
Mackinac Island MiGirls Weekend - May 10-12, 2024 - 4 rooms left!
MiGirl Mom Walk with heart! - May 19, 2024. Tickets here!
Michigan Girl Chicago Weekend - Nov. 8-10, 2024 - OVER 1/2 FULL! 19 seats left on the bus!
MiGirl Breadmaking Class March 16 - Sold out.
XO,
Kandace, Maple & Ellie
(Ellie found the one remaining cold spot/mud puddle in our yard!)
Kandace Chapple
Michigan Girl, owner
(And here’s my personal Written in the Mitten Newsletter!)
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