What’s the difference between EMPOWERMENT Self Defense and other schools of self-defense? Join host, Silvia Smart, as she speaks with Martha Thompson, Senior Lead Instructor at Impact Chicago for over 30 years, academic and current NWMAF Self Defense Coordinator. They explore what puts the “empowerment” into the Empowerment self-defense model and what makes it different from self-defense courses that don’t make that distinction. Find out how ESD responds to social change movements and what has driven Martha to dedicate her life to this work!

Special thanks to my producer/editor, Henry Smart-Denson

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Join “The Empowerment Project” Group on Facebook. For everyone’s safety, please know that if you don’t answer the questions, we will not accept you into the group.

Join host Silvia Smart as she interviews Jennifer Hirsch, Professor of Socio-Medical Sciences at Columbia’s Mailman School of Public Health and co-author of “Sexual Citizens: A Landmark Study of Sex, Power and Assault on Campus” published by WW Norton. Why are college campuses such incredibly ripe environments for sexual assault? How could institutions, organizations, families, and individuals use the wealth of information in this landmark study to prevent the so-called "Red-Zone" and create campuses where students are able to be both autonomous and safe? This is a paradigm-shifting book. Listen up, read the book, then let's get out and make the world a safer place! @jennifershirsch @shamuskhan @wwnorton

Special thanks to my producer/editor, Henry Smart-Denson

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Join “The Empowerment Project” Group on Facebook. For everyone’s safety, please know that if you don’t answer the questions, we will not accept you into the group.

Join host Silvia Smart as we spend some time with Py Bateman! Py is one of the original founders of what has become the Empowerment Self Defense Movement. When Py began training Karate, she was one of only a very small handful of women in the martial arts. Py was the founder of the Feminist Karate Union in Seattle, which is still going strong today. Py was Chief Instructor there from 1971 through 1984. Back in 1978, Py published “Fear Into Anger: A Manual of Self Defense for Women” which you can still buy on Amazon. There was even a song written about her by The Righteous Mothers call, aptly, “PY”. Be sure to look it up!

Py has been one of my heroes since I first heard her name back in the early 90’s when I was a self-defense teacher wannabe. Some of you will remember Py’s amazing story from episode #2. If you haven’t heard that episode yet, about the continuum of sexual assault, be sure to go back and listen!

Special thanks to my producer/editor, Henry Smart-Denson

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Buy Me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/silviasmart

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Thank you!

Join “The Empowerment Project” Group on Facebook. For everyone’s safety, please know that if you don’t answer the questions, we will not accept you into the group.

In part three of this series on domestic violence, we continue to look at behaviors of an abusive person along with warning signs and red flags. We talk about indicators of an unhealthy, potentially dangerous relationship. As a balance to that, we think through a few guideposts pointing the way to a healthy relationship. It’s a lot to listen to and think about, so remember to breathe!

Special thanks to my producer/editor, Henry Smart-Denson

Support this important work:

Buy Me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/silviasmart

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Thank you!

Join “The Empowerment Project” Group on Facebook. For everyone’s safety, please know that if you don’t answer the questions, we will not accept you into the group.

In part two of this series on domestic violence, we look at some of the behaviors of an abusive person. We get specific about warning signs, signals, and “red flags”. By now you know my philosophy, which is that the more you know, the safer you are. In that spirit, we're going to dig around some unhealthy behaviors and start to pull them apart. It’s a lot to listen to and think about, so remember to breathe!

Special thanks to my producer/editor, Henry Smart-Denson

Support this important work:

Buy Me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/silviasmart

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Thank you!

Join “The Empowerment Project” Group on Facebook. For everyone’s safety, please know that if you don’t answer the questions, we will not accept you into the group.

In this episode, we’re going to look at the basic facts and statistics of Domestic Violence – sometimes called Intimate Partner Violence - to see how sexual assault and violence in relationships affect various populations. We’ll also take a look at the continuum of sexual assault but through this particular lens.

Special thanks to my producer/editor, Henry Smart-Denson

Support this important work:

Buy Me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/silviasmart

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Thank you!

Join “The Empowerment Project” Group on Facebook. For everyone’s safety, please know that if you don’t answer the questions, we will not accept you into the group.

Learn the secret code that unlocks your empowerment! Find out why a good self-defense class can make you more confident, stronger, and freer. In this episode, we start to pick apart the differences between empowerment self-defense programs and other, frankly, not-so-empowering self-defense classes. Our stories and focus are all about preparation and planning, and how a few simple game plans can boost your safety exponentially so you can live your life to the fullest and thrive!

Special thanks to my producer/editor, Henry Smart-Denson

Support this important work:

Buy Me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/silviasmart

Donate through my website: https://nagacommunity.com/product/support-the-empowerment-podcast-by-naga/

Thank you!

Join “The Empowerment Project” Group on Facebook. For everyone’s safety, please know that if you don’t answer the questions, we will not accept you into the group.

In this episode we talk about the actual words we use and how we can create safety through their application as a self-defense tool. Of all the tools, the voice and our verbal self-defense can go the farthest to prevent unwanted attention and situations. As with all of empowerment self-defense, we’re also going to look at the multitude of ways words can impact the quality of our lives and the way we walk through the world, which keeps us safer. I’ll give you examples, stories to illustrate the strategies and solid suggestions for practicing so you can get really good at this.

Special thanks to my producer/editor, Henry Smart-Denson

Support this important work:

Buy Me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/silviasmart

Donate through my website: https://nagacommunity.com/product/support-the-empowerment-podcast-by-naga/

Thank you!

Join “The Empowerment Project” Group on Facebook. For everyone’s safety, please know that if you don’t answer the questions, we will not accept you into the group.

In this episode, we’re going to talk about VOICE! We’ll be talking about HOW we use this important and powerful body weapon - in daily life and in our self-defense. We are going to set ourselves up to use it consciously as a self-defense tool, probably one of the most important tools in our toolkit!

Special thanks to my producer/editor, Henry Smart-Denson

Support this important work:

Buy Me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/silviasmart

Donate through my website: https://nagacommunity.com/product/support-the-empowerment-podcast-by-naga/

Thank you!

Join “The Empowerment Project” Group on Facebook. For everyone’s safety, please know that if you don’t answer the questions, we will not accept you into the group.

Meet Marti McCaleb, the Civil Rights and Sexual Assault Coordinator at Middlebury College in Vermont. Her background as a sexual violence survivor, a victim's advocate, a lawyer, and a martial artist make her uniquely qualified for this position! Listen in as we discuss the projects she's working on and the successes she's having. Get excellent advice about how to be a good friend to someone who's experienced sexual assault. Find out how best to advocate for safer and more responsive and supportive college campuses. And finally, a plug for more empowerment self-defense classes on college and university campuses around the country and the globe!

Special thanks to my producer/editor, Henry Smart-Denson

Support this important work:

Buy Me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/silviasmart

Donate through my website: https://nagacommunity.com/product/support-the-empowerment-podcast-by-naga/

Thank you!

Join “The Empowerment Project” Group on Facebook. For everyone’s safety, please know that if you don’t answer the questions, we will not accept you into the group.