Self-Defense for Women: Kung Fu Techniques Training Mind and Body

    There were two traumatic incidents in Sosha Young’s early 20’s that had a profound and lasting impact on her life.
    The first was a gang mugging outside of her apartment, near a bar in San Francisco.
    “The gang members were beating my friends and I tried to pull them off, putting myself in the middle,” she said. “They grabbed me by my ponytail and swung me around. They were a lot bigger and older than me, and there were a lot more of them. My best defense at the time was struggling away and running to get help.”
    While the second incident wasn’t an act of random violence, it was even more shocking and emotionally disturbing. Young was hanging out and drinking with some friends, and that evening, an acquaintance raped her.
    “He was someone I thought was my friend for years and he waited until I was really vulnerable,” she said. “When I was in my teens and 20’s I had no idea just how many people with bad intentions there really are.”
    Both experiences left Young feeling defenseless, and she wished she could have done more to protect herself and prevent these attacks.
    Consequently, both incidents served as inspiration for the self-defense class she created to help other women to avoid assaults – and to strike back against their attackers if necessary.
    Her class “Self-Defense for Women,” taught this summer through Orinda Parks and Recreation, is designed especially for young women who are going to college in the fall, although all ages and genders are welcome.
    “The classes will combine mindfulness with self-defense techniques to address both areas of vulnerability for women: firstly, trusting your gut and instincts, and secondly, developing martial arts skills to overpower an attacker and defend yourself,” said Young.
    A student of her mother Marilyn Cooper, a Tai Chi and Kung Fu Grandmaster, Young grew up training in Shaolin Kung Fu from the age of four and has competed in international tournaments.
    As she entered adulthood, Young moved away from her martial arts practice, but these assaults motivated her to return. “I started training. I never wanted to be caught off guard again,” she said. “I wish at that time I had been training and then I would have had more boundaries around my body.
    “We’re teaching people to have situational awareness. Ask yourself, is this person throwing off a lot of chaotic energy? Is someone making you uncomfortable? Why? As women, we’re taught we need to get along and not make a fuss. A lot of it is trusting your instincts and knowing sometimes that means leaving a situation.”
    Each class will begin with a brief meditation, breathwork, stretching and mindfulness practices to make participants more aware of their bodies and their immediate surroundings. For example, one of Young’s fellow Kung Fu teammates, “a really big guy,” will walk quietly behind students while they close their eyes and concentrate, to see if they can feel his proximity and energy.
    In addition to mental aspects, the class will teach “hardcore self-defense techniques,” according to Young.
    Instructors, including Cooper, will demonstrate prototypical attack situations – such as being grabbed by the wrist or throat or from behind – and teach simple, practical defenses against each type of assault.
    Even if their assailant is bigger and stronger, students will gain advanced methods to combat them, turning their power against them.
    “If someone is trying to mug you and they are throwing some frantic, violent energy toward you, you can let their own force trip them up and let them fall in the direction they are going,” said Young. “You can avoid the hit and redirect them and let them go in their path of motion. I’m going to help them meet the floor.”
    Above all else, there is one thing Young hopes all of her students take away from her class: “I want them to feel fearless.”
    To sign up for the class, go to page 33 of the Orinda Parks and Rec Summer Activity Guide at https://issuu.com/city_of_orinda/docs/24summer_final.