The Fundamentals delves deep into the Senshido core principles of self defense giving you the foundation for recognising and understanding confrontation and violence, as well as teaching you the skills to defuse and the strategies & tools to defend against. Offering the participants various strategies and formulas to avoid violence and establish peace as well as the physical tools if a peaceful resolution is no longer an option.

This seminar is Senshido’s core concepts seminar. It is a prerequisite to any and all Senshido seminars except for our Safe for Life Women’s Program. If this workshop interests you or your group, please feel free to contact us for further inquiries. Thank you.

Presenting greater insight into the moral, legal & ethical aspects of self-defence, three often neglected or minimally covered as a collective, they are three vital aspects of personal protection. Everything has cause and effect, every situation has an aftermath and more often than not, violence changes lives and life as we know it. It is crucial to understand our own accountability in reference to these three aspects.

Other topics covered include: Passive stance psychology, fear and confrontation management, verbal defusing and communication strategies, Senshido’s 5 Principles of Physical Retaliation, Defence against most common attacks & much more.

This seminar includes a questions and answers time factored in as all our seminars that are generally quite interactive and promote much philosophical discussion and sometimes, debate.

Women who have completed Senshido’s Fundamentals workshop are also invited to join or host one of our Safe for Life workshops specifically designed for women.

No special physical training is required to take part in this evolutionary self-defence course. In the words of New Zealand Senshido International team member and Protect founder Phil Thompson: “If you can reach up and get a glass out of a cupboard, then you are fit enough to get involved in self defence.”

If you’ve clicked on this portion of our web site, then chances are you are either a woman concerned with your personal safety or that of your family and loved ones, or a man concerned for the safety of one of his female loved ones.

It’s an unfortunate and sad reality that many women worldwide live in ignorance, apathy and denial when it comes to dealing with violence and the threat of violence. Senshido’s Safe for Life Women’s Program is and has been empowering women and globally reducing rape statistics since 1994.

Please help eradicate violent rape by sharing this page with any and all women you know and care for.

You’ve probably even heard your female friends, family and/or colleagues making common apathetic statements, or perhaps have said them yourself at one time or another such as “I live in a safe neighbourhood”, “My husband/boyfriend/partner will protect me”, “I have a big dog” etc.
Unfortunately the first thing that goes through an indifferent person’s mind if they find themselves in a violent or potentially violent situation is usually “I can’t believe this is happening to me!” or “Why me?” And then they often find themselves frozen in panic and fear becoming the perfect victim.

The fact that you have read this far suggests that you are not one of those people and we strongly encourage you to take the next step and contact us to discuss the best training options for you and your loved ones and/or your group/organisation.

For men it’s usually simple. They find themselves in a confrontation and they fight back. Women have been lied to however, no doubt about it. Women are misled into believing that if they fight back they will only make their aggressor angrier, and that being passive will result in their safety and survival regardless of the fact that statistics worldwide show that women who did indeed fight back when the time was right, successfully defended themselves and avoided being victimised.

NO ONE is an easier victim than a passive person. If you do not fight back, then your attacker will do whatever he wants with you. Weakness is an invitation for aggression. You need only be strong and wise enough to get away.

When asked, many women believe that they simply would not be able to physically fight off a man who is bigger and stronger than they are – that they will use their strength, aggression and intimidation over them. Well believe it or not, the biggest tool of power that an aggressor or attacker ever uses against you … is YOU! It is your beliefs that give the attacker his one and only true strength.

Most women have belief systems that do not support them, often saying things like, “I won’t be able to do that”, or “I’ll try”. Remember many attackers look for a victim. Someone who has low confidence, low self-esteem and not likely to try and fight them off. They DO NOT, contrary to what some recent chain emails stated, look for women with long hair or wearing short skirts and low cut tops or the like.

Whether you are here right now because you have already experienced a violent situation, you’ve had a near miss that has you rattled or you’re concerned about the rising level of violence and crimes against women in your area and are looking to be prepared for the worst, you’ve come to the right place.

You won’t ever regret knowing what to do if you are faced with violence but you would more than certainly regret it if you don’t. The least that will happen is that you increase your awareness and learn to defend yourself and never have to use it. Your confidence and self-belief will increase dramatically and you won’t look nor act or behave like a victim and this will also transcend into all other areas of your life.

In general, men attack women differently to the way that men attack men both physically and behaviourally. We believe that only through experienced and well-researched information as well as specialised training for women can you obtain the relative skills for such confrontations.

Senshido’s Safe for Life Women’s Program is recommended by the AWSDA (American Women’s Self Defense Association), the Montreal Sexual Assault Centre, the CLSC and International women’s movements Girls Gone Gorgeous, the Association for Women’s Total Advancement & Development (AWTAD) and The Association for the Development and Enhancement of Women (ADEW).

Athena Thompson
Auckland New Zealand, Senshido International Team

This seminar is a more advanced workshop where the participants get to test the skills they acquired in the Fundamentals and Shredder workshops in full out scenarios incorporating both the pre-contact and physical stages.

Scenarios are created & reflect the participant’s lifestyle and are based on Senshido’s world renowned Scenario Replication Package used by law enforcement & martial artists the world over.

Enhance your survivability, gain a tactical edge and challenge yourself to face and succeed in the face of adversity and confrontation. This seminar will enhance and transcend to all areas of your life.

Your opponent always picks and chooses the time, place, and setting of the confrontation. This seminar breaks down and demystifies a confrontation including time frames, mindsets, clothing, environment, unforeseen variables, concealed/improvised weapons and more. There is a debrief and analytical stage after every scenario discussing the breakdown of the situation and emotional state of the participants.

Used by military units, Police forces, The Department of Justice, nurses, presidential security teams, counter terrorism units, Emergency response units and martial artists the world over. The notorious Shredder concept is an extreme close quarter tool and tactic suitable and ideal for extreme close quarter attacks such as grappling, rapes, muggings, clinches, tackles, headlocks, lapel grabs and any and every attacks in close quarter situations. It is by far the easiest, quickest and most efficient tool the average civilian can learn to protect and defend themselves in almost any and all close quarter situations.

The Shredder has been tried and tested in real violent confrontations the world over with an incredibly high success rate, from cops to soldiers using it on duty to women using it to defend against violent rape; as a matter of fact, we’ve only had 2 testimonials in over 15 years so far that stated it didn’t work for them compared to the literally hundreds, perhaps thousands we’ve received stating it not only has worked, but with incredible success and ease as well.

Testimonials come from people from all walks of life, from law Police officers, military personnel, security, prison officers, Emergency response units, businessmen, nurses, doctors, trained martial artists as well as men, women & children the world over.

Though definitely not the end all and be all as nothing ever is, the Shredder is a notoriously controversial concept in the martial arts world because of its utter simplicity. Though there are no guarantees is life, we, along with thousands worldwide consider it to be the easiest, quickest and most efficient tool the average civilian can learn to protect and defend themselves in almost any and all close quarter situations.

Do 90% of all street fights end up on the ground? Maybe, only if the victim’s close quarter arsenal is deficient or an unforeseen variable made gravity take its toll. Whether that statement is true or false is immaterial. What we do know is that real physical violence can lead the situation to the ground and so arming yourself with the necessary skill to learn to end fights before, during or after they hit the ground becomes critical for anyone interested or concerned about pure and applied self protection.

Either way, the ground is the last place you want to be in a real fight due to many variables such as concealed weapons, multiple attackers, rough environment (gravel, knee high snow, asphalt, staircase etc.) and more. Wrestling and grappling are not concrete or asphalt friendly.

This seminar is a hands on workshop that covers energy redirection drills, learning to stop take downs dead in their tracks, manoeuvring alone & with someone on top of you while on the ground and dealing with other potential standing or grounded threats, ‘illegal’ escapes from all major grappling positions, how to get back on ones feet after subduing an opponent on the ground or while on the ground yourself while your opponent is on their feet threatening you and much more.

Dealing with multiple attackers, gangs and groups. Being outnumbered doesn’t automatically mean you will be victimised, that is an unfortunate fallacy perpetrated by many who simply don’t possess the information or experience to be able to do it or teach it themselves and that’s fine, but to lump everyone in the same category is imposing their own shortcomings onto others.

That is primarily because the majority of self defence systems only deal with the physical side of fights and not the reality of pure and applied self defence.

There is a psychology and behavioral doctrine that govern people especially in group dynamics that can ‘load the proverbial dice’ in your favor if ever possibly faced in this situation.

This seminar deals with multiple attacker situations and confrontations and Includes how to manoeuvre using footwork, circling, shifting, shadow fighting, how to bodyguard someone who maybe with you when outnumbered, dealing with manipulation of human behavior in relation to multiple attacker violence and safe evade and escape tactics.

The Walk the Talk seminar delves deeper into self  defence for self development and dealing with our own ego and darker emotions. It is the cornerstone of pure and applied self defence in terms of facing violence.

It is also a way to insure that you do not become what it is you are defending against.

Not your typical martial arts workshop, this seminar focuses more on the strengthening of the self in a holistic and broader manner.

As we proverbially are our own worst enemies, this workshop delves into the darker emotions manifested by our egos such as personal fears, insecurities, hatred, anger, rage, jealousy, revenge and more.

The Walk the Talk seminar is a trip down psychological bootcamp with our egos as our primary enemy.

Also included in the workshop is enhancing perception time, decreasing reaction time, dealing with & managing powerful emotions and the adrenal stress condition phase, enhanced (auditory and visual) awareness drills, Senshido’s Emotional Invocation Drill, the complete Opportunity Drill and much more.

This seminar also includes the question and answer period involved, as it is interactive and hands on and deals with deeper and higher issues as well as challenges beliefs.

The majority of the reviews for this workshop have been nothing short of extraordinary. There are also many, who though they may disagree, admittedly walked away with an enormous amount of food for thought. The one thing we can indeed make promise on with this seminar is that it will indeed provoke thought and introspection at one level or another.

If the Walk the Talk workshop interests you or your group, please contact us for further inquiries.

Designed for:

• Professionals
• Women movements and organizations
• Public transport staff
• Corporate
• Travelers
• Health and social care
• Schools (Secondary school, college, university, for staff and students)
• Security (public or private)
• Military and law enforcement

Regardless of your team, group or organisation, we can customise a seminar just for you. These custom seminars are developed for but not limited to: agencies, offices, groups, organisations, shelters, corporations, industries, firms, schools, hospitals, etc. who interact and/or deal with the public directly or with groups deemed a threat to society who may become physically menacing. It is also for those whose work expose them to any potential violence and/or confrontations whether directly through work or outside work caused by work related issues.

Certain vocations and occupations unfortunately expose people to physical aggression and possible violent confrontation both inside and outside the working hours. The foundation for these seminars primarily covers Senshido’s Fundamentals as well as our Revolutionary Shredder™ concept.

The topics included in all customized seminars but not limited to:

• The moral, legal and ethical aspects of Personal Protection
• Passive stance psychology
• Body Language and behavior
• Fear and confrontation management
• Verbal defusing and communication strategies
• Senshido’s 5 Principles of Physical Retaliation
• Enhancing perception time and decreasing reaction time
• Conflict Resolution Strategies
• Enhanced (auditory and visual) awareness
• Senshido’s Emotional Invocation Drill

These topics are included as the foundation to all customized seminars are the foundational principles of our Fundamentals workshop. The time allocated to cover these foundational topics is 4 hours; therefore added topics depending on group demands will increase seminar in length & cost over the 4 hour mark.

A client specific seminar (including the above list) will be designed to meet the unique needs of personnel & staff and to conform to the client’s appropriate risk assessments.

Please contact us for bookings, details, specifications for your agencies/corporation’s needs and/or prices.