If the recent spate of sexual assaults in Toronto have rattled your sense of security, here’s where you can go to help regain it.
In a city like Toronto, the ability to walk alone without fear should be a right, not a privilege, but the numerous incidents of sexual assault occurring both downtown and at York University recently have unfortunately challenged that notion. What’s even more frustrating is that the assaults have inspired all kinds of unhelpful advice, from Toronto Police and the mayor’s niece alike.
Fortunately, our city boasts a number of self-defence and martial arts programs to help women bolster their sense of security. If you’ve ever contemplated trying one out, here are six highly rated programs to consider.
Wen-Do
Location: Various locations across the city
Fighting style: Physical and verbal self-defence techniques
Women-only classes available?: Yes—all classes are taught by women, for women
Class size: Varies depending on location
Canada’s oldest women’s self-defence program is currently celebrating its 40th anniversary. This charitable organization offers public classes and hosts seminars at workplaces and schools across the country.
“Our course is about reminding women and girls that we have a right to be treated not just with respect, but with dignity,” says Deb Chard, a senior instructor at Wen-Do. “This is about presenting girls and women with easy-to-learn, easy-to-remember, common-sense physical techniques. Women have an opportunity to look at some of the most common ways they might be assaulted.”
These include wrist grabs, choke holds, bear hugs, and incidents involving weapons. Wen-Do does not teach strength against strength, but instead looks at strategy and pressure points, instructing students on how to use their bigger body parts against an attacker’s smaller, more vulnerable areas. A 250 lb. man who goes to the gym seven days a week can likely overpower just about anyone, but a swift smash down the nose or collarbone should stun him, no matter how big he is.
Wu Xing Martial Arts
Location: 374 Dupont St., 2nd floor, 416-972-9652, #ANX
Fighting style: Kung fu, tai chi, qigong
Women-only classes available?: Yes
Class size: Around 25
There are many different types of kung fu, but the women-only classes at Wu Xing focus on the Wing Chun style, which was developed by a Chinese woman in the 18th century and later popularized by Bruce Lee. It focusses on speed and mobility rather than brute force. Students in Wu Xing’s women-only class learn how to handle situations such as being grabbed from behind or having their hair pulled.
Kung fu is perhaps the most well-rounded of the martial arts. “It explores the many different ways that one can deal with force coming at you,” says Sifu Ali Saidatan, lead instructor at Wu Xing. “It’s got a lot of versatility, and is very broad in its scope. It combines locks, strikes, and throws. Some martial arts specialize in one thing; kung fu is a combination.”
On Oct. 13, Wu Xing will host a workshop on self-defence for women. The two-hour session was devised in response to the recent attacks in the Christie Pits area. Women 13 and up are encouraged to attend.
Aikido Shugyo Dojo
Fighting style: Aikido
Location: 302 Carlaw Ave., Unit 121, 416-469-4846, #LES
Women-only classes available?: No
Class size: eight to 12; on average, one-third of attendees are women
Aikido is a Japanese martial art based around the idea of deflecting and redirecting an attacker’s energy against him. Its techniques don’t require great size and strength, and proper use of Aikido enables you to take down a larger and more powerful opponent. There aren’t many strikes in Aikido; most techniques are pins and throws.
“First of all, it would teach you awareness,” says Fran Turner, chief instructor at Aikido Shugyo Dojo. “It would teach you to be calm in stressful situations, to be aware of your environment. You’d learn basic moves to get out of the way of an attack. You would learn movements to enable you to neutralize an attack and move away to safety.”
Much like other martial arts, Aikido teaches a sense of confidence and calmness—two properties that, along with awareness, are cornerstones of the self-defence toolkit.
Krav Maga Toronto Fight & Fitness Academy
Fighting Style: Krav Maga
Location: 1309 Dundas St. W., 647-340-5828, #DNW
Women-only classes available?: Yes
Class size?: Five to 25 in the all-women class; 15-20 in the regular class
Krav Maga is the official combat system of the Israeli military. As a fighting style, it uses simple techniques that attempt to end a fight quickly and effectively. When confronted with an attacker, you can’t predict what they might do; that’s why Krav Maga focusses on addressing the immediate danger and neutralizing the threat quickly. Krav Maga is a constantly evolving discipline; the training is intense, the techniques brutal.
“It gives women who don’t feel like they’re strong, women who don’t have experience, a fighting chance to survive these kinds of encounters,” says Toronto Krav Maga owner Robert Ferreira, who also serves as training division director at the facility. “Once the women get a taste of [the training] and the see that ‘Holy smoke, I’m actually defending myself against the guy who has 100 pounds on me and it’s working!’ they become addicted to this kind of training. It’s a good thing.”
Axé Capoeira Toronto
Fighting style: Capoeira
Location: 1069 St. Clair W., 647-340-2293, #COR
Women-only classes available?: Yes
Class size: Fifteen to 20
Developed, as legend has it, by sugar-plantation slave workers in South America, Capoeira differs from other martial arts in that music and dancing are involved; the slaves disguised their fighting style as a dance so their masters wouldn’t know they were training themselves to fight.
“Everyone is attracted to Capoeira for different reasons, whether it’s the dance, or the martial arts, the acrobatics, or the music,” says Marcos Martins, lead instructor at Axé. “So you might not really be into the fighting and the contact, but you’re really going to enjoy the energy of the music and the dance steps. Sometimes, women come in because of that. As they get more advanced, they begin to learn the self-defence aspect as well.”
It takes a long time to become proficient with Capoeira, but, as a self-defence system, anything goes: elbows, knees, head butts, and kicks—even biting and eye-gouging—are part of the official arsenal.
Toronto Kickboxing and Muay Thai Academy
Fighting Style: Muay Thai kickboxing
Location: 1992 Yonge St., 647-391-4536, #MID
Women-only classes available?: No
Class size: Ten to 20, the majority of which are women
Muay Thai kickboxing hails, of course, from Thailand and has become very popular among North American women. It focusses on conditioning and endurance as well as a wide variety of strikes. Muay Thai uses elbows and knees for close-range hits, and punches and kicks for long-range attacks.
Warren Lee, founder and present of TKMT, says women are drawn to Muay Thai because it allows them to maintain some personal space in their training, unlike other martial arts, such as Brazilian Jui-Jitsu, which involve a lot of grappling and submission holds.
“In terms of self defence, it’s pretty practical because knees and elbows are pretty much a staple technique to use,” says Lee. “Very often, you’re going to be so close to the person that they’ll be almost on top of you—so, if you know how to properly throw an elbow, you can cut their face open. Muay Thai teaches you how to throw these elbows and knees with deadly efficiency, and with accuracy and precision.”
