This group is for people who don't want to learn Martial Arts but do want to understand practical self- defense and have the knowledge base to be mentally and physically prepared. That means that having an understanding of your body and mind and how it reacts to situations. It means having the practical applications and understanding that you don't have to be the biggest or the strongest in order to protect yourself in the world around you and while out and about or while traveling to other countries. It means that just having a "weapon" is not just enough, that you need to understand how everything works together. Let's stop pretending that everyone has to be a "master" or have a "black belt" in order to be able to protect themselves. The truth for most of the population, we aren't the most physically fit. That we do get older. That we understand that life changes for all of us. One minute you may have the ability to walk un- assisted, or able to drive with no missing limbs, but that can change for any of us at any time. Last year I broke my ankle in three places. I had what doctors call a trimalleolar fracture. This means that I had broken all three of the bony prominences at the end of the Tibia and Fibula. My life changed in a matter of a few moments from taking one bad step off a stair. I had immediate surgery; a metal plate and 8 screws were now permanently part of my daily life. It meant learning how to walk on that leg again and strengthen those muscles and tendons that we all take for granted. It meant that basic functions like walking or running were not a possibility during the recovery. Which means I had to now think about other ways to defend myself. Walking to the car was no longer that simple. Now I had to use a knee scooter to get around. So, what does this all mean? Well... it meant simple things like going to the car and simply getting in were now taking a few extra steps. It meant that I was vulnerable to an attacker, because even with my size I no longer had the same physical capabilities I once had. I had to roll up to the trunk, with my back to any potential situation, grab my crutches from inside the trunk, while my one leg was up on the scooter and the other was down on the ground. I would have to set the crutches to balance myself and then grab the scooter to now fold it up and place it in the trunk while still maintaining my balance on the crutches. This put me in a very vulnerable situation and changed the way I now had to keep my awareness and be prepared to defend if needed.