Watch Your Back.

This past Saturday, Joe Chao offered an orientation to self-defense.  He called it a Situational Awareness Workshop, and he introduced his audience to a few of the themes and even techniques in being careful in an environment that is not always friendly.

Joe described alertness and attitude as four levels.  The white level is the person whose guard is completely down, who is paying no attention, and who is the perfect victim.  The orange level is the person who knows basic approaches and techniques and can be properly vigilant and at least minimally capable of self-defense.  The best offense is a good defense, and Joe's advice is always geared to how to avoid confrontation or how to escape it.  Joe does not advocate that people look for fights, and certainly not that they find them.

But (sh)it happens, and the red level is actual battle.

Black is the color of mourning.  'Nuf said.

Joe's audience on Saturday was very spare.  There were more BP police officers there than there were civilians.  But a few of us were there.  This was a free, introductory session.

Joe does real trainings, intended to teach reliable approaches and attitudes, and to instill practiced techniques.  He'll help you develop "muscle memory" for the techniques, and you'll wind up getting in better shape, too.  He runs his sessions twice a week.  If students attend once a week, it's generally on Saturday mornings.  If they attend twice a week, the other session is Thursday evenings.

Although Joe has a day job, he is in fact a professional, with decades of experience, at Situational Awareness and martial arts.  Apart from the occasional free session, like the introductory one on Saturday, he charges for the education he provides.  He charges about $50 per month for once a month attendance, and about $85 a month for twice a month.  There is a discount for BP residents.  Classes are organized by level of experience and expertise of the students.  There is very definitely a basic or entry-level class.

If you're interested, which you should be, contact Joe through www.MMA-F.com, or call him at 305-542-5549.  He's an expert, he's a good guy, and he's your neighbor.