As part of their internship requirement, under the auspices of the Faculty of Sports Studies of Masaryk University and the faculty's Centre for Lifelong Learning, students in the Applied Sports Education of Security Forces master’s programme Denis Filipík, Dominik Chmúra, Jakub Říha, and Lukáš Piffko collaborated with their classmate, MMA fighter and UFC champion Jiří Procházka, to organize a self-defence course for women.
“Here they will learn the complete basics of how to distinguish between dangerous and safe situations and how to use their posturing, communication strategies, and space demarcation to prevent conflict escalation. And also how to react to it if necessary,” summarized the content of the one-day seminar Jiří Procházka, who graduated from the Faculty of Sports Studies with a bachelor's degree in Special Education of Security Forces. “I don't specialize in self-defence, but thanks to my previous studies here at the faculty, it is a familiar subject for me,” added Procházka, who has a lot of experience with seminars on MMA.
The system of internships at the Faculty of Sports Studies has changed its form since this academic year. Now, instead of experienced externs, students are supervised by their teachers. According to Zdenko Reguli, the vice-dean for studies, this will ensure better feedback based on the curriculum. In addition, assisting bachelor’s students have the opportunity to gain valuable experience.
The students also have the task of promotion, and they are clearly succeeding. There was interest in the course, which targeted women aged between 18 and 59. Among the 16 applicants, female students were the majority, but middle-aged women were also represented in the group. Among the female students was Klára, who studies psychology at the Faculty of Social Studies. She expected the course to help her feel better on the streets. However, this was not her only motivation. “I am interested in martial arts, and this could be another good experience,” said Klára.
The programme was divided into two blocks with an hour break in between. At 9 a.m. the first part started, mainly focused on theory. “Let's do it positively,” came from Jiří Procházka's lips. The lecturers made sure the atmosphere was as comfortable as possible despite the seriousness of the subject, “If you have good feelings associated with what we are going to do, you won't be scared outside.” And over the course of the day, it was evident in the participants that their initial shyness was gradually falling away for some of them.
“The foundation on which we will build is you. It will be about you, about your life. How you walk, how you interact with your surroundings,” were Procházka's words, which were part of the introduction and a foreshadowing of what the seminar would be about.
“Does anyone have experience with self-defence?” This question was answered by several participants who described unpleasant situations they had faced in the past. One of them was fifty-seven-year-old Dita, who was a participant and indirect actor in an assault in the centre of Brno. She received the course as a Christmas present from her daughter, a graduate of the Faculty of Sports Studies. “I was really looking forward to it. It's great here and a challenge at the same time. I witnessed a situation that put me under stress. I expect to learn something new,” she described.
This was followed by a presentation of the basic principles of prevention by Denis Filipík. Participants were introduced to the Cooper Vigilance Scale, a traffic light method that helps to distinguish how to behave in different types of environments. A substantial part was devoted to posture, body position. A proper warm-up was needed before moving on to practicing the correct confident stance, which was taken care of by Procházka: “No matter what happens to you, control of the inside is always in your hands. Keeping a cool head is the alpha and omega in every situation.”
Lecturer Chmúra introduced the part on proxemics. The women had the opportunity to test what distance for personal contact with a stranger is the limit for them. This was followed by a group exercise focused on maintaining one's own comfort zone from a potential perpetrator. This included practicing model situations in which participants tried out communication strategies such as the broken record technique and escalating the intensity of their voice.
After the lunch break, Jakub Říha took over with a short theoretical part on legal issues, such as necessary defence, extreme emergency, use of weapons, and first aid for the perpetrator. Then the purely practical part continued. Grips and blocks were practiced. However, the preparation also focused on extreme cases, such as strangulation, which the women learned to avert with a kick. Everything was demonstrated by the instructors, and the participants then practiced the situations alongside the instructors.
At the end, the more courageous candidates had the opportunity to test their newly acquired skills in an artificially created situation. The environment of a bus stop was simulated. There were two options to choose from. A light one, without any extremes, and a "hardcore" variant, for the needs of which a jockstrap and mouthguard were prepared for the actor-perpetrators among the lecturers. The course participants who volunteered for this chance proved that they learned a lot in a day.
Before five o'clock in the afternoon the course was slowly coming to an end. Rehearsing the situations was very mentally demanding for many. Jitka Reguli Čihounková, assistant professor at the Department of Physical Education and Social Sciences, took care of emotional relaxation with a set of relaxation techniques to relieve stress. It ended with a final review and evaluation of the whole course in a circle.
Twenty-two-year-old medical student Milka, who was originally supposed to take part in a self-defence course for medical professionals, was also satisfied with the course with the UFC champion: “The course was great, everyone was very nice, definitely beneficial for a woman and a girl in everyday life.”
Jiří Procházka advises those who have not attended the course to be alert and vigilant. “This is the first and last rule. Don't just walk outside, don't look at the ground. Especially not in the city. To be able to recognize situations and their actors, to be aware of how I express myself, stand and communicate.”
Courses with different themes are organized by the Faculty of Sports Studies throughout the year. The entire current offer can be found on the MU Business Center website in the Lifelong Learning section. If interested in self-defence, prospective students have the option of enrolling in the same course as part of their required and paid PE classes.