Wenlido designed especially for women

WHEN PEOPLE ask Alice Macpherson why she put

herself thrcugh a training course

in self-defence, her

response is that she was female and living in a large city.

(n this day and age, it’s surpris-
ing that anyone would ask why.
The sad truth is, there are hun-
dreds of women who feel they
cannot walk the streets at night
without the fear of being attacked
or raped, simply because they are
women.

46 We have natural
reflexes for
survival. The
trouble is, society
has often said don't
do anything in
these situations. 9¥

- Wenlido instructor Alice
Macpherson

Fed up with fecling that she
may be attacked at any mon.cnt,
Macpherson wasn’t prepared to
protect herself by hiding at home
or in taxis. So, 10 years ago, she
enrolled in a self-defence training
course designed by women for
women,

Today she teaches women how
to deal with any emergencies
through Wenlido, what Macpher-

By Evelyn Jacob
News Reporter

son calls ‘‘practical strategies and
physical techniques for staying in
one piece."*

Wenlido (‘‘Wen"’ is a contrac-
tion of the English word woman,
“Hi Mandarin for strength and
“do'’ meaning the way or method
in Japanese), is not a martial art.
Trainees do not work with
weapons but learn various verbal
and physical strategies for
avoiding an auack or freeing
themselves from the grip of an at-
tacker.

“Its self-defence instead of
how to beat people up,”’ explains
Macpherson. “It's based on how
women are attacked. We focus on
releasing yourself from holds —.
anything to get away.**

Last night women on the North
Shore had their introduction to
Wenlido at Sutherland Secondary
School. The six-week course is be-
ing offered through North Van-
couver Continuing Education.

According to statistics, most vi-
olence against women is
perpetrated by someone the victim
is already acquainted with, either
intimately or casually. Attacks by
strangers are far less common.

When a women is being threat-
ened, assertiveness is generally a
good first line of defence, says
Macpherson.

“If you mean no, say no, but
be aware that some men won't
accept it. Say it again if you have

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MORE AND more women are enrolling in self-defence programs to protect themselves from attacks.

to. Then if he grabs, you protect
yourself by using a stronger part
of your body against a weaker
part of his.*”

Bui what about women who
feel they do not possess the physi-

_ cal strength to protect themselves

against a larger, stronger man?
Macpherson's common reply is,
‘*What would you do if your child
was attacked?’’

“We get a pretty universal
response.”

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The fact is women naturally
become stronger and act faster in
fearful situations thanks to surges
in the body’s adrenalin levels. She
says it is surprising how well
women can defend themselves
when they have to.

“I refer to Wenlido as adding
to a file folder that is already in
our heads: What do | do if I’m
attacked? I do believe mast adult
women have avoided a consider-
able number of potential danger-

ous situations so far in their lives,
and | want to emphasize how ef-
fective we as women have been.

“We have natural reflexes for
survival. The trouble is, society
has often said don’t do anything
in these situations.’*

It’s all the shoulds and don’ts
that render women helpless and
it’s something Macpherson warts
to avoid. She doesn’t believe there

See No page 38

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