NEW BUSINESS IS LAUNCHED

This month I finally launched my new business, RED ZEN PERSONAL PROTECTION SOLUTIONS, something that I have wanted to do for a couple of years but was still heavily involved in my retail business up until now, and which I am now in the process of winding up.

The original idea for Red Zen was to offer women a unique self protection and awareness course, based on my collective experience and knowledge from nearly thirty-seven years as a martial arts student, thirty as a teacher, and twelve years in law enforcement, including work on the street dealing with volatile and violent offenders. I also have twenty-three years experience of running a Jersey based business.

I have been disappointed, over the years, with the offerings that I have experienced, by groups, individuals and clubs who run 'women's self defence courses'. Often, the courses consisted of teaching people a version of their own martial art, without understanding the difference between martial arts and self protection as a subject, the psychology of violence and the transfer of skills from the dojo* to the street. 

Because many martial arts, especially traditional styles, train in a very stylised way, one has to understand how to adapt what is learned in the dojo and transfer it to a real life scenario when you are put in fear, something that you cannot recreate in a training environment.

Some of the more modern martial arts appear, at first glance, to be better suited to combat in modern life, such as mixed martial arts and Brazilian jiu-jitsu, however, even in a sport setting, one still has a referee and a set of rules. The fear factor experienced on the street will rarely make an appearance during competition, although these arts do have merit for pressure-testing within the rules set out by the relevant governing bodies. 

One other thing that I found sadly lacking during these courses was the total exclusion of lecture topics, offering the student common sense information relevant to real life, such as explaining to a member of the public their rights and responsibilities under the law pertaining to self defence and the use of reasonable force; what constitutes an assault; the definition of offensive weapons; communication, verbal and non verbal; dynamic risk assessments; how to control the fear factor, the fight or flight syndrome - the release of adrenaline; being a good witness; the aftermath of rape and sexual offences to name but a few. This is something that I offer in a tailor made system for women and vulnerable adults.

From a foundation of self protection and awareness for women, Red Zen will develop to offer a number of personal protection solutions to the general public as well as corporate clients, public sector employees and programmes for the education and safety of children and teachers in our schools.

The Red Zen website can be found at www.redzenpps.com