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
1. Age? 21
2. How long have you been training in Hard Target? About 1 year.
Luther Standing Bear was an Oglala Lakota (Sioux) Chief who, among a few rare others such as Charles Eastman, Black Elk and Gertrude Bonnin occupied the rift between the way of life of the Indigenous people of the Great Plains before, and during, the arrival and subsequent spread of the European pioneers.
I am sure many of you will be familiar with this quote. I heard it many years ago myself, but every day I get a deeper understanding of. It may seem like a simple play on words and yet when put into practice has unmeasurable power. “We can’t give away what we don’t have”.
Before starting self defence with Hard Target I always wondered what I would do if somebody attacked me when I was out. I would encourage other wheelchair users to give it a go because you’ll be surprised how beneficial it is and how much more empowered….