foot notes

You have many self-defense programs available here in the Valley. Prices vary. It’s best to shop around. Although there’s much commingling of tactics and techniques, here’s a thumbnail sketch of some major martial arts styles.

* Kung fu is a general term for literally hundreds of various Chinese martial arts styles. The most popular are Shaolin, developed in northern China and emphasizing straight-line attacks utilizing strength and speed; and tai chi chuan, a south China style that uses circular motions and intricate foot patterns.

* Japanese martial arts styles include jujitsu, emphasizing holds, blocks and locks; karate, emphasizing hand blows and kicking; and aikido, a circular style that is defensive in nature and guides an attacker’s committed momentum.

* Taekwondo is a Korean martial art that emphasizes kicking and punching.

* Although the most prominent martial arts styles originated in Asia, unarmed self-defense systems are indigenous to other cultures around the world too, including capoeira (African/Brazilian), Krav Maga(cq/uc) (Israeli), savate (French) and kolo (Russian/Slavic).

* To put all this into a Hollywood perspective: Bruce Lee was first schooled in wing chun, a Hong Kong school of kung fu. He is credited with later creating a kung fu style known as jie quan dao, or jeet kune do. Steven Seagal is an aikido master trained in Japan who headed a dojo (school) in Sherman Oaks in the early 1980s.

* The National Coalition Against Sexual Assault offers guidelines for choosing a self-defense program. Some of its ideas include: A self-defense program’s goal should be empowerment of the student. It should not give the trainee strict rules as much as offer options and techniques. A course should provide instruction in psychological awareness and verbal skills in addition to physical training.