Since when have you felt the self defence is important and to who in particular?
I would probably have to blame the media for that, all those stories you hear of girls getting attacked or people getting into fights. I think it is generally good for everyone to have some knowledge of what to do if they needed to defend themselves.
Why did you decide to start kick boxing? What was the motivation?
I decided to start kick-boxing because I thought it would be fun and maybe a good start into self-defence, doesn’t hurt to learn how to throw a mean punch and kick.
What would you advise the average person do to protect themselves?
I don’t like to think people should always go out in fear thinking they are going to get attacked, but it is good to be aware of where you are and who’s around you. For people protect themselves I think the key thing is to avoid physical conflict and remain calm when confronted if possible. However, if you are indeed faced with a situation where you simply have to defend yourself I think a lot of people freeze and don’t use all that adrenalin that they get, so to protect yourself. The second most important thing is to react and not stay in shock mode even if you don’t know how to fight, give it your best go as you are stronger than you think.
Would you say you feel more secure or safer?
I would generally say I feel safe, that would be terrible if I didn’t, but if I feel safe because of kick-boxing I would have to say no. It takes years or several months (if you are absolutely amazing at the start) of training to learn how to use it in practice and do it well, seeing as if you do it wrong you could end up doing more damage to yourself than to your attacker.
Are self-defence classes good for your fitness or do you need to be fit to take part?
Self-defence classes are definitely good for your fitness. You don’t already need to be fit to take part, but naturally it helps, I would definitely consider self defence a good way to become fit. Of course there are other ways to learn to defend yourself doesn’t need to be kick-boxing, could be mixed martial arts, boxing etc.