Monday, October 18, 2010
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Latest Article from Darcy: "Ego and Intuition"
Wellington Protect Self Defence Instructor Darcy Mellsop has been writing a series of articles for a Wellington newspaper. Here is his latest...
Another Hoax Email...Don't waste your time forwarding to anyone...
Here is another hoax email doing the rounds. Don't waste your time and your friend's time by sending these on, they rarely add any value at all and generally just promote unwarranted fear and worry. This one has been adapted from an Urban Legends website...
"This has happened on Barrett Road in New Plymouth
Worth Passing On!
This is happening now!
Sad, especially if you are inclined to 'help' people....
While driving on a rural end of the roadway on Thursday
morning, I saw an infant car seat on the side of the
road with a blanket draped over it. For whatever
reason, I did not stop, even though I had all kinds of
thoughts running through my head. But when I got to my
destination, I called the Police and they were going
to check it out. But, this is what the Police advised
even before they went out there to check....
"There are several things to be aware of ... gangs and
thieves are now plotting different ways to get a person
(mostly women)to stop their vehicle and get out of the
car.
"There is a gang initiation reported by the local
Police where gangs are placing a car seat by the
road...with a fake baby in
it...waiting for a woman, of course, to stop and check
on the abandoned baby.
"Note that the location of this car seat is usually
beside a wooded or grassy (field) area and the person
-- woman -- will be dragged into the woods, beaten and
raped, and usually left for dead. If it's a man,
they're usually beaten and robbed and maybe left for
dead, too.
DO NOT STOP FOR ANY REASON!!!
DIAL 1 1 1
AND REPORT WHAT YOU SAW, BUT DON'T EVEN SLOW DOWN.
"IF YOU ARE DRIVING AT NIGHT AND EGGS ARE THROWN AT
YOUR WINDSCREEN, DO NOT STOP TO CHECK THE CAR, DO NOT
OPERATE THE WIPER AND DO NOT SPRAY ANY WATER BECAUSE
EGGS MIXED
WITH WATER BECOME MILKY AND BLOCK YOUR VISION UP TO
92.5%, AND YOU ARE THEN FORCED TO STOP BESIDE THE
ROAD AND BECOME A VICTIM OF THESE CRIMINALS.
THIS IS A NEW TECHNIQUE USED BY GANGS, SO PLEASE
INFORM YOUR FRIENDS AND RELATIVES.
THESE ARE DESPERATE TIMES AND THESE ARE UNSAVOURY
INDIVIDUALS WHO WILL TAKE DESPERATE MEASURES TO GET
WHAT THEY WANT."
Please talk to your loved ones about this. This is a
new tactic used. Please be safe.
Get started NOW -- SEND THIS MESSAGE TO ALL YOUR
FRIENDS AND LOVED ONES TO BE CAREFUL AND AWARE OF
EVERYTHING AROUND THEM SO AS NOT TO BECOME A VICTIM."
Good storyline for a cheap horror movie though... :-)
"This has happened on Barrett Road in New Plymouth
Worth Passing On!
This is happening now!
Sad, especially if you are inclined to 'help' people....
While driving on a rural end of the roadway on Thursday
morning, I saw an infant car seat on the side of the
road with a blanket draped over it. For whatever
reason, I did not stop, even though I had all kinds of
thoughts running through my head. But when I got to my
destination, I called the Police and they were going
to check it out. But, this is what the Police advised
even before they went out there to check....
"There are several things to be aware of ... gangs and
thieves are now plotting different ways to get a person
(mostly women)to stop their vehicle and get out of the
car.
"There is a gang initiation reported by the local
Police where gangs are placing a car seat by the
road...with a fake baby in
it...waiting for a woman, of course, to stop and check
on the abandoned baby.
"Note that the location of this car seat is usually
beside a wooded or grassy (field) area and the person
-- woman -- will be dragged into the woods, beaten and
raped, and usually left for dead. If it's a man,
they're usually beaten and robbed and maybe left for
dead, too.
DO NOT STOP FOR ANY REASON!!!
DIAL 1 1 1
AND REPORT WHAT YOU SAW, BUT DON'T EVEN SLOW DOWN.
"IF YOU ARE DRIVING AT NIGHT AND EGGS ARE THROWN AT
YOUR WINDSCREEN, DO NOT STOP TO CHECK THE CAR, DO NOT
OPERATE THE WIPER AND DO NOT SPRAY ANY WATER BECAUSE
EGGS MIXED
WITH WATER BECOME MILKY AND BLOCK YOUR VISION UP TO
92.5%, AND YOU ARE THEN FORCED TO STOP BESIDE THE
ROAD AND BECOME A VICTIM OF THESE CRIMINALS.
THIS IS A NEW TECHNIQUE USED BY GANGS, SO PLEASE
INFORM YOUR FRIENDS AND RELATIVES.
THESE ARE DESPERATE TIMES AND THESE ARE UNSAVOURY
INDIVIDUALS WHO WILL TAKE DESPERATE MEASURES TO GET
WHAT THEY WANT."
Please talk to your loved ones about this. This is a
new tactic used. Please be safe.
Get started NOW -- SEND THIS MESSAGE TO ALL YOUR
FRIENDS AND LOVED ONES TO BE CAREFUL AND AWARE OF
EVERYTHING AROUND THEM SO AS NOT TO BECOME A VICTIM."
Good storyline for a cheap horror movie though... :-)
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
We (Protect Self Defence) and Darcy Mellsop (Protect Wellington Region Instructor) have been presented the rare 'Certificate Of Friendship' from Wellington Rape Crisis for the work we are doing with them. This is very cool! :-)
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Wellington Charity Seminar another success...
The following is a blog from Wellington Regional Instructor Darcy Mellsop. It has to go under my profile for now until we get this blog issue sorted...:-) Phil
Last Thursday (2nd September) Phil and I ran our Women’s personal safety seminar (as designed by Athena) in Wellington, which complemented the same seminar that we ran in Auckland in July. Christchurch – we are too weary to venture down there just yet! In all seriousness, you have our thoughts and support as you rebuild your city and feeling of peace – take care down there our beloved Cantabrians.
The seminar was packed full of strategies that can be used to keep ourselves safer – and Phil and I talked non-stop for 2 hours. The core focus were 7 manipulation strategies that men with sinister intent use. 2 hours of talking, surely that’s information overload? No, the time seemed to fly by and going by the responses the attendees at the event were really positive, and were prepared to really investigate violence to a detailed extent.
We know that coming to an event like this for many means stepping well out of their comfort zone, and of course, when you do this – in the right environment – you are duly rewarded. Perhaps Phil and I can take a little credit for the environment we set, but not the decision made by the participants to come along. Ignorance of violence is not an effective protection strategy, but it isn’t a pretty subject to talk about. But really, that’s a subject for another blog some other time.
As with any course or seminar that Protect runs, we found it hugely rewarding. And more than anything, we are rewarded when we hear what others experience at our seminars. Here are some of the responses from those who attended:
• "Thanks to you and Phil (and Athena) for putting this seminar together. The content was very powerful, and like a great movie (and I’m not talking ‘chick flick’!), it stayed with me for a loooooong while after. I appreciated yours and Phil’s honesty. It’s not always easy to talk about the truth…"
• "I just wanted to thank you very much for the seminar the other evening. There were a few a-ha moments for me during the evening and I thought you and Phil provided very in-depth reasonings behind your findings."
• "Really enjoyed meeting you and Phil the other night and was impressed with the seminar - so not what I expected."
And from Wellington Rape Crisis:
“... want to sincerely thank you and Phil for being so supportive and generous to Wellington Rape Crisis. What you raised from the seminar really is a big deal for us, and we are just so grateful!...I want to acknowledge the careful, thoughtful, sensitive and analytical approach you took to sexual violence and gendered violence...”
How much did we raise for Wellington Rape Crisis? $748.10
Oh, and I final comment from a participant:
"I think you did a fantastic job, not only the standing up and the kangaroo story"
Want to know what the Kangaroo story is about? See you at the next Wellington seminar on Saturday 6th November – bookings can be made now on our events page. Proceeds again to Wellington Rape Crisis.
And if I am to have the final word – it is this, thank you for coming – it was an absolute pleasure. As always, take care.
Darcy
Last Thursday (2nd September) Phil and I ran our Women’s personal safety seminar (as designed by Athena) in Wellington, which complemented the same seminar that we ran in Auckland in July. Christchurch – we are too weary to venture down there just yet! In all seriousness, you have our thoughts and support as you rebuild your city and feeling of peace – take care down there our beloved Cantabrians.
The seminar was packed full of strategies that can be used to keep ourselves safer – and Phil and I talked non-stop for 2 hours. The core focus were 7 manipulation strategies that men with sinister intent use. 2 hours of talking, surely that’s information overload? No, the time seemed to fly by and going by the responses the attendees at the event were really positive, and were prepared to really investigate violence to a detailed extent.
We know that coming to an event like this for many means stepping well out of their comfort zone, and of course, when you do this – in the right environment – you are duly rewarded. Perhaps Phil and I can take a little credit for the environment we set, but not the decision made by the participants to come along. Ignorance of violence is not an effective protection strategy, but it isn’t a pretty subject to talk about. But really, that’s a subject for another blog some other time.
As with any course or seminar that Protect runs, we found it hugely rewarding. And more than anything, we are rewarded when we hear what others experience at our seminars. Here are some of the responses from those who attended:
• "Thanks to you and Phil (and Athena) for putting this seminar together. The content was very powerful, and like a great movie (and I’m not talking ‘chick flick’!), it stayed with me for a loooooong while after. I appreciated yours and Phil’s honesty. It’s not always easy to talk about the truth…"
• "I just wanted to thank you very much for the seminar the other evening. There were a few a-ha moments for me during the evening and I thought you and Phil provided very in-depth reasonings behind your findings."
• "Really enjoyed meeting you and Phil the other night and was impressed with the seminar - so not what I expected."
And from Wellington Rape Crisis:
“... want to sincerely thank you and Phil for being so supportive and generous to Wellington Rape Crisis. What you raised from the seminar really is a big deal for us, and we are just so grateful!...I want to acknowledge the careful, thoughtful, sensitive and analytical approach you took to sexual violence and gendered violence...”
How much did we raise for Wellington Rape Crisis? $748.10
Oh, and I final comment from a participant:
"I think you did a fantastic job, not only the standing up and the kangaroo story"
Want to know what the Kangaroo story is about? See you at the next Wellington seminar on Saturday 6th November – bookings can be made now on our events page. Proceeds again to Wellington Rape Crisis.
And if I am to have the final word – it is this, thank you for coming – it was an absolute pleasure. As always, take care.
Darcy
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Empty the cup a bit? Maybe?
I just had an interesting experience which got me thinking so I thought I’d write it down...
I was having lunch with some old colleagues and a guy I have not met before today who is a friend of theirs. As we were chatting about our respective businesses the “new guy” who has apparently trained in martial arts(“Bill”) said to me, without any pre-framing, “Self Defence aye? So what are YOU going to teach me that I don’t already know?!”
Now given that tonality accounts for a very large portion of verbal communication it would not have mattered what came out of his mouth at that moment, in the tone that he said this to me in it was immediately obvious that ego was in the driving seat.
My reply was, in a friendly and respectful tone “That depends, what do you want to learn?”
His reply “I already know everything I need to know about fighting!”
“Do I even bother?” Was my thought process at this stage. I really just wanted to enjoy lunch...
So my reply was “Cool. Well I’d love to pick your brain sometime about fighting, I love to learn from anyone with experience, because I sure don’t know everything about fighting, and in return maybe I could give you some info on self-defence?” (note the deliberate attempt to infer that they are two TOTALLY different animals)
His (overtly sarcastic) reply was “They’re the same bloody thing mate! What the hell are you talking about? Have you just started or something?”
At this point I decided that I really couldn’t be bothered. I just didn’t feel like getting into it and I have learned that the best way to be invincible is to become defenceless, that is, not attached to any one point of view but to be open to other opinions even if I don’t share them, so I just let it go.
“Fair enough mate. Tell me about your business it sounds really interesting?” That was all I had to do to re-direct the energy as the rest of that conversation was centred around him and his business. It was so apparent though as he talked that he shared the “I know everything and no-body can teach me anything” attitude in his business and other aspects of his life too. Many of which it seems are struggling, a lot.
Fear seemed to be fuelling his ego and ego of course fuels all manner of justifications. I guess this attitude fulfils his need for certainty, but what about the need for growth? That seemed so seriously lacking. Everything in life is either growing or dying, if you stand still too long you get left behind as the world keeps moving forwards. Bruce Lee prophetically stated “The usefulness of the cup is it’s emptiness”. If our ‘cup’ is too full (or in “Bill’s” case overflowing) there is nothing anyone can ever teach us and we miss out on improving and growing and moving forward.
At first I felt sad for him that he was so obviously letting his fear of the unknown and his fear of stepping outside his comfort zone and learning new things hold him back, but then I remembered it is his choice to do so. It just made me think about some areas of my life where I may be slipping into the same belief system and becoming complacent, so Bill did me a favour in that regard as it caused me to take stock of myself.
Maybe it has just been my experience so far but every person I have met who has taught me a lot and who I have found to be knowledgeable and have valuable insight, in any field not solely Self Defence, has generally also freely admitted that they don’t know it all and are still constantly learning.
The Bill’s of this world do not know it all like they claim to. They just know all that they are willing to learn. And if that is bringing them the results that they want and they are happy, great. I just wonder if it really is and how much they will miss out on by having a full cup.
Anyway, it just got me thinking.
I was having lunch with some old colleagues and a guy I have not met before today who is a friend of theirs. As we were chatting about our respective businesses the “new guy” who has apparently trained in martial arts(“Bill”) said to me, without any pre-framing, “Self Defence aye? So what are YOU going to teach me that I don’t already know?!”
Now given that tonality accounts for a very large portion of verbal communication it would not have mattered what came out of his mouth at that moment, in the tone that he said this to me in it was immediately obvious that ego was in the driving seat.
My reply was, in a friendly and respectful tone “That depends, what do you want to learn?”
His reply “I already know everything I need to know about fighting!”
“Do I even bother?” Was my thought process at this stage. I really just wanted to enjoy lunch...
So my reply was “Cool. Well I’d love to pick your brain sometime about fighting, I love to learn from anyone with experience, because I sure don’t know everything about fighting, and in return maybe I could give you some info on self-defence?” (note the deliberate attempt to infer that they are two TOTALLY different animals)
His (overtly sarcastic) reply was “They’re the same bloody thing mate! What the hell are you talking about? Have you just started or something?”
At this point I decided that I really couldn’t be bothered. I just didn’t feel like getting into it and I have learned that the best way to be invincible is to become defenceless, that is, not attached to any one point of view but to be open to other opinions even if I don’t share them, so I just let it go.
“Fair enough mate. Tell me about your business it sounds really interesting?” That was all I had to do to re-direct the energy as the rest of that conversation was centred around him and his business. It was so apparent though as he talked that he shared the “I know everything and no-body can teach me anything” attitude in his business and other aspects of his life too. Many of which it seems are struggling, a lot.
Fear seemed to be fuelling his ego and ego of course fuels all manner of justifications. I guess this attitude fulfils his need for certainty, but what about the need for growth? That seemed so seriously lacking. Everything in life is either growing or dying, if you stand still too long you get left behind as the world keeps moving forwards. Bruce Lee prophetically stated “The usefulness of the cup is it’s emptiness”. If our ‘cup’ is too full (or in “Bill’s” case overflowing) there is nothing anyone can ever teach us and we miss out on improving and growing and moving forward.
At first I felt sad for him that he was so obviously letting his fear of the unknown and his fear of stepping outside his comfort zone and learning new things hold him back, but then I remembered it is his choice to do so. It just made me think about some areas of my life where I may be slipping into the same belief system and becoming complacent, so Bill did me a favour in that regard as it caused me to take stock of myself.
Maybe it has just been my experience so far but every person I have met who has taught me a lot and who I have found to be knowledgeable and have valuable insight, in any field not solely Self Defence, has generally also freely admitted that they don’t know it all and are still constantly learning.
The Bill’s of this world do not know it all like they claim to. They just know all that they are willing to learn. And if that is bringing them the results that they want and they are happy, great. I just wonder if it really is and how much they will miss out on by having a full cup.
Anyway, it just got me thinking.
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