A Special message to those who attended my self-defense seminar at The APOC Conference in Detroit, MI; Oct 3-5th, 2003.

By Gregory Lewis; black belt instructor, Kenzen Karate; Seattle, WA.

Thank you for attending my seminar. I was pleasantly surprised at the level of interest, the enthusiasm, and the number of participants. It is because of folks like you that I train and teach. A special thanks to Aisha from the RACE collective/girlarmy.org in Oakland, CA. Without her, it would have been close to unmanageable.

Due to time constraints, I was not able to show you and speak on everything I wanted to. Usually, each of my sessions are 4 to 5 hours long, plus a Q&A at the end.

Key points on self-defense I would like you come away with (in no particular order):
· The number one rule of self-defense is AWARENESS.
· The number two rule of self-defense is CONFIDENCE. Say “no”, mean it, and back it up with swift and decisive action.
· The number three rule of self-defense is K.I.S.S.: Keep It Simple and Savage; no fight with any one individual should last longer than 30 seconds. Throw your shots with full-power and full-body commitment, throw them in bursts of 4,6,8,10,or 12, and escape. Use any weapon you can get your hands on in the moment.
· Your best weapon is your brain. Use it. YOU CAN PROTECT YOURSELF.
· Be prepared to go to jail and/or court, even if your actions are obviously justifiable.
· The police and the courts cannot save you; only YOU can save you. Learn the laws regarding self-defense in your area.
· Karate is a martial art and a way of life; self-defense is an ever-evolving set of principles, concepts, and an attitude that are a part of karate, but not all karate is strictly for self-defense.

FYI from the FBI:
· There is a violent crime every 22 seconds, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in the U.S.
· In the year 2000 there were over fifteen thousand murders, almost two per hour!
· 90,187 forcible rapes, one every six minutes!
· Over 3,600 aggravated assaults and robberies every day! One every 24 seconds!
· 49,000 car-jackings and attempts of car jacking.
· One burglary every 15.4 seconds!
· Hate crimes largely go unreported and are generally under-reported by law enforcement for a variety of reasons.
· Refer to the FBI website for a more up-to-date break down of all of the above.

Characteristics of a safe and effective self-defense school:
· The instructor is well established in the area, extremely safety conscious, sensitive to your particular needs, and fully insured.
· There is a good mix of people in the classes; male, female, adults, children; of all financial and cultural backgrounds.
· Instruction is disciplined, structured, and in a logical progression; it is not mean-spirited or degrading.
· The style deals with the reality of street combat: 5 ranges of combat (kicks, strikes, close-quarters, on the ground, and stick/knife/gun), adrenal stress conditioning, physical conditioning, defense with and against weapons, multiple attackers, legal aspects, etc.
· The school allows the curious to drop in and watch a class at any time, and is not limited to appointments.
· The school is more concerned with quality instruction than getting your hard-earned money and limited time.
· The instructor respects all styles of martial arts, not just his/hers (there is no one superior art, only superior instructors and students). No one has a monopoly on “the truth” (not even me).
· The instructor encourages the curious to ask questions of both him/herself and the students.

I still have videotapes available for $30 (plus shipping; if outside the U.S.). If you have any questions, want me to come to your city and teach a seminar, or just want to conversate, get at me: 206-956-4043 or gregoryclewis@yahoo.com!

Train hard and stay safe!

Peace and blessings,

Gregory C. Lewis,
Certified Instructor; Kenzen Karate
Certified Personal Trainer; American Council on Exercise (ACE)
Member-at-Large; National Association of Professional Martial Artists (NAPMA).
Seattle, WA. U$A

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