Name: Fatima
Age: 17
I came to know about Defence Lab, when the highly passionate Instructor Tahir came and did a seminar at my school for an hour. I was instantly challenged from the start, having to defend myself from a group of 4 attackers using whatever knowledge I had of self-defence – which was very little.
My instinct told me to run, but the attackers surrounding me didn’t let me go that easily – so I ended up just waving my hands around my head in an effort to protect myself. After this drill, it became very apparent to me that if this were a real life situation, I would probably have come out the other end with multiple injuries. However, after this drill, Tahir informed us of this one very easy and powerful stance, called ‘Shape 1’. Practicing this stance meant that when I was attacked again, I didn’t feel the impact of the attackers punches nearly as much as I did the first time, because all 7 points of knockout were protected. With just this simple but effective stance – I could not only defend myself, but also attack using the new knowledge we’d all learnt in the session!
Once the hour had finished – I knew immediately that I wanted to learn more; knowing just ‘shape 1’ filled me with such confidence, it intrigued me to know how much more confident I would be if I joined Defence Lab. As soon as the hour ended, I went to the nearest computer and booked myself onto a free trial for the next day! I had so much fun at the seminar; I had to do it again – bringing my younger brother (aged 14) with me too so that he could have this important and enjoyable experience too! When I arrived at my taster session, I instantly felt very welcomed as I was introduced to the group followed by a round of applause ; this sense of community has only gotten stronger since joining the DL family – which my brother and I decided to do straight after the insightful taster.
My first official lesson as a member of the DL family was just as fun as the taster and seminar – only more intense and with more focus on the technique. Although we maintain a serious environment, the instructors and other fellow DL student are always having a laugh, which makes each lesson so worthwhile. The benefits of having such supportive people around you – like the instructors who are always keeping an eye on you to correct your technique and motivate you to push yourself to the limit, and the other students who encourage you even more – means that you’re always in a positive frame of mind and have good control on when to switch that to ‘fight mode’.
Another benefit , is that I’ve seen my overall fitness levels and endurance improve – I run 2.5km 4 days a week, and my running times have been getting quicker with every session. I’ve seen an even greater change in my brother, whose fitness levels have drastically changed (from not being able to do 5 push ups to now doing 10 sets of 5 of them!). Not only have I recognised this, but my dad has too – and seeing the benefits improve my brother’s health and physique, prompted my dad to make the great decision of joining Defence Lab too! My dad has found similar results since joining and because of this – we all make a conscious effort to maintain this healthier lifestyle which means no more junk food for us (except for the occasional chocolate finger!). Overall, my brother, my dad and I feel that if we were to leave a lesson and find ourselves in a situation where we had to defend ourselves, we’d be able to do so effectively and with confidence. Having this assurance is only possible because of joining Defence Lab, which I can say hands down, has been one of the best decisions I have ever made.
