Hard Target Self Defence were delighted to have been recently invited out to Mastercard Ireland in Leopardstown to discuss with staff the topic of personal safety. Some of what was discussed:
The Colour Codes of Awareness; what colour code are you in?
White: completely switched off to your surroundings ie. walking & talking on phone, walking & texting on phone, earphones in, head down etc. etc.
Last year while making her way to work at 8 am in the morning, a young woman fell victim to an unprovoked attack on Dublin’s Grafton Street. One startling comment she made following the assault was her surprise at how many people rushed past her pretending not to notice what was happening! It took a couple of minutes before a guy finally stepped in to assist her.
Hard Target Self Defence Features in the Irish Fighter Magazine June 2018
Hard Target’s Aidan & Debbie Carroll discuss women’s self defence & self protection on Newstalk.
Thanks to Dr. Ciara Kelly and the Lunchtime Radio Show, over 80 Women arrived to take part in our FREE Women’s Workshop in June!!!!
It might sound counter intuitive, but a fight club at a gym in Co Dublin is offering a new course aimed at preventing people from engaging in violent altercations and making them streetwise.
“Know Fear”, a six-week non-physical self- defence course at Hard Target Self Defence Academy in Donabate, is for women and men. It combines role play with lectures on body language.
Participants are taught how to avoid dangerous individuals, nullify the effects of stress and say “no” confidently.
Many people take to the gym to practice techniques and lift weights in a bid to build a stronger physique. Whilst developing a faster punch and a chiselled six-pack, they often ignore the most important part of training; the mental workout. Of course, physical training is very important and beneficial; though never as important as building mental strength. Building a strong
Age 43.
How long have you been training in Hard Target? 1 year and 6 months.
Favourite technique and why? I don’t have a favourite technique, I love them all.
What do you enjoy most about Self Defence training? Learning new skills to protect myself and knowing how to do them confidently.
Making a big life or business change is scary. But do you know whats even scarier? Regrets! The film ‘The Moneypit’ comes to mind when I think about what’s been happening here at the academy! How long will it take to complete? “two weeks”. A month later, how long more? “two weeks”!!!! But we’re almost there! Our new training area, changing rooms, shower and locker facilities are certainly within sight now!
How relevant is body language in preventing being selected as a victim for attack?
The Hard Target Self Defence Academy has trained and interviewed hundreds of people over the years. As part of our research we have also interviewed dozens of active and (so called) retired criminals to find out why they chose their victims.
I never knew his name. It seemed strange considering we met every day for over ten years. I did try to interact more, but whenever I did, his body language would alter and he would hasten his pace. He would stare at the sand like a chastised child, veer to his right, always his right and give me a seriatim of seasonal unpleasantness.
It is always an honour to be asked to teach Dublin Fire Brigade personnel and paramedics conflict resolution skills and self-defence tactics. We were once again invited back to The O’Brien Institute, Dublin to train the latest recruits as part of their training programme. Topics included:
Conflict Resolution
Verbal de-escalation
Scene Safety
If I am being honest with myself, the signs were obvious. I chose to deny them. Believing the relationship was strong, this was reinforced when friends and family would often comment how solid our bond was. There were times when we seemed inseparable. An allegiance welded together and nurtured from when we first met many years ago.
Abraham Maslow, the renowned American psychologist is probably best known for creating Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. His theory of psychological health based on innate human needs.
When we look at his theory we see the most important is Physiological as the foundation of human needs; categorized as food, water, air, sleep, homeostasis and excretion.
Self-defence tips you shouldn’t leave the house without First of all, the “keys between the fingers” approach is a bad idea…
As the chief instructor at Hard Target Self-Defence Systems in Donabate, Aidan Carroll is well-versed in the best methods to get you out of sticky street situations as unscathed as possible.
Since moving to our new home in September last year, we’ve been busy fitting out the academy, slowly transforming it into a comfortable state of the art facility to train. Just this week, after a lot of hard work and committment, we’ve finally completed our new Tatami matted training area. Thanks to Shaker Carroll for taking the time to fit the mats for us.
I’ve just finished a consultation with a new client; a young gentleman in his late twenties. He called the office a few days back after he was involved in an altercation in a bar.
Thankfully he escaped with no serious physical trauma but he is struggling with the “black dog”. This dog is no stranger to me. Over the years he – the black dog and I crossed paths many times, and thankfully
AGE: 47
HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN ATTENDING HARD TARGET? Nearly 4 yrs.
CURRENT GRADE? Green belt 2 Stripe
FAVOURITE TECHNIQUE AND WHY? The Fence. Because it’s the most important and fundamental technique you’ll ever learn.
Do you find it difficult to say no? Do you find it difficult to have time for yourself?
I often start my self protection seminars by stating the importance of why we should not choose to people please. You may not be a people pleaser but most of us will have done it at one time or another; so why do we feel the need to people please?
Age? 27
How long have you been training in Hard Target? 7 months
Current Grade? Yellow Belt.
Favourite Technique and why? The bridge and roll technique.
Following on from our last Newstalk piece with Andrea Gilligan, we were absoluetly honoured to accept an invitation to appear in studio with Pat Kenny on Nov. 24th. Our Chief Instructor Aidan Carroll went along to discuss with Pat Kenny the subject of personal safety & self defence. Full interview here.