On Training for a Lifetime
MGALouise is on the left, Bantoe Abby is to the right. Some amazing students are front and center! Our Sister School | Studio Naga Our sister school is in Oakland, California and is run by Mas Goeroe Agoeng Louise Rafkin. She often has wise words. Here is an essay she...
Magic Moments in a Sufi Shrine
This is me in a snake stance with "Happy Camel" in the Cholistan Desert.Cholistan Desert, Pakistan 1990I was in Pakistan teaching special education, tutoring a private student and working directly for his family. They allowed me a lot of leeway in terms of where, what...
Corporate Self Defense Workshop | First Tech, Hillsboro
First Tech - What a Great Place!The campus in Hillsboro is incredibly beautiful, the new building is gorgeous and the employees, top of the line! The brown bag class was filled to maximum capacity and the participants were rarin’ to go! I had three excellent helpers...
Uber & Lyft Safety
How to Stay Safe When Using a Ride-SharePeople ask me all the time about keeping safe when using ride sharing services. Both Uber and Lyft have security measures that are good to know about and take advantage of. They both have in-app safety options such as sharing...
Quantico
My Recent Visit to Quantico & the FBI HQ in DC You have read about the FBI Training Academy, or you’ve seen it on TV and in movies, but it honestly does exist. Nestled away in the woods, this is where real agents train to catch the genuine bad guys. I am on the...
The Gift of Meditation
Anxious!The gym was full. The crowds were loud. This was our son’s big wrestling season finale. Districts! Even the grandparents were here to cheer him on! It had been a good year. Henry, who at the time was 10, was in his first year of wrestling, and was undefeated...
NCMEC | The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
Thank Goodness for NCMEC and the Incredible People Who Work There!On a recent trip to Washington DC, I was blessed with the opportunity to engage with some of the dedicated and brilliant people who work at NCMEC. The Analysts and Case Managers are encyclopedias of...
Corporate Self Defense Workshop | Weyerhaeuser, Vancouver, WA
Administrative Assistants, “Admin Days” Gathering Just this week, I had the joy of teaching a rocking self-defense class for the women of Weyerhaeuser which is one of the world’s largest private owners of timberlands and a big player here in the Great Northwest. Many...
Teaching at PAWMA, Pacific Association of Women Martial Artists, Camp 2019
Women Training Martial Arts Together What happens when you get 130 women – all martial artists - together at a retreat center in Turner, Or.? Magic! “Breaking Down Walls”, the name of this year’s PAWMA camp, lived up to its name. Women 12 to 70 years old from schools...
Black Belt Essay | Mas Twila
Read about one woman's journey through her Black Belt test at Naga in the art of Poekoelan Tjimindie Tulen. Below, watch part of Mas Twila's board breaking sequence. This is a test we will always remember. Twila being celebrated at the end of her test....
Teaching Meditation at the FBI
Meditation is Good for Everyone The Portland FBI asked me to teach meditation techniques to their employees for Staff Appreciation Day. I can only imagine working at the FBI must sometimes be, shall we say, stressful? These are people who make it their business to...
Teaching Self Defense at the FBI
Employee Appreciation Day at the FBI The Portland FBI asked me to teach a self-defense class for their Employee Appreciation Day which sounded like a lot of fun! It turned out to be a lovely day with the sun peeking through the clouds – neither too hot nor too cold –...
Martial Arts Training is Great for Adults and, NO! It’s not just for kids!
Am I too Old for Martial Arts? People often seem surprised that adults train martial arts. YES! martial arts training is great for people of a certain age, and, no, it's not just for kids! As adults, we can get stuck inside our comfort zones, so while we understand...
Black Belt Essay | Mas Audrey
In our art and school, it takes much more than physical ability to successfully make it through a black belt test. Sure, we raise incredible fighters at Naga, but our Black Belts must also demonstrate fortitude, resilience, and strength of character. Confidence,...
Corporate De-Escalation Workshop | Portland Internetworks
Making Everyone Safer is a Company Commitment What a blast we had teaching at Portland Internetworks! This fantastic company provided self-defense and de-escalation training for their staff. Recently, there was an incident outside their offices in NE Portland which...
Body, Trauma, Self Defense & Healing
Restoring Goodness and Safety Through the Transformative Experience of Self Defense As a self-defense teacher for the past thirty years, I have seen countless women find healing from the trauma of sexual assault through their participation in class. I've had the...
Corporate Self Defense Workshop | Nike Portland, Oregon
Women of Air - Nike Manufacturing Recently, I had the opportunity to teach a self-defense class for the Women of Air - Nike Air Manufacturing. The women, all engineers, organized a series of workshops throughout March, Women’s History Month. Their request?...
Move Your Butt!
Turn off your screen, get up from your desk, step away from the couch and move your butt! You love your technology and strive to be effective at work, but when you don’t take regular breaks from all that sitting around, your very health is at risk. The good news is...
