Thursday, May 20, 2010

Introducing "BOSTON SELF-DEFENSE"

Hello and Welcome!

Please Note: All of the content on this site, including all past and future blog posts are being moved to a new interactive platform called "Boston Self-Defense."


Boston Self-Defense is a free, interactive social networking site created and supported by Emerald Necklace Martial Arts to encourage dialogue and sharing of resources in everything related to "personal safety and self-defense" in the Greater Boston Area including, but not limited to assault prevention, anti-bullying, women's self-defense, children's safety, assertive communication training, martial arts, and skills for conflict resolution.

Please visit Boston Self-Defense now: Explore the site content and its features (including blogging, videos and links). I encourage you to REGISTER and create your own profile, contribute to a DISCUSSION TOPIC, start a blog, connect with colleagues, and CHAT about self-defense related topics.

Most importantly, INVITE OTHERS to join in on the conversation!

Stay safe,

Sensei Jason Gould
Emerald Necklace Martial Arts




Friday, October 23, 2009

Preventing the Spread of Flu is Self-Defense!

As a martial arts and self-defense instructor dedicated to improving the lives of others and helping to keep people to stay safe, I feel a strong obligation to pass along some basic, common-sense information that will help people during cold and flu season.

Stay safe!

Sensei Jason Gould
Emerald Necklace Martial Arts


Simple Measures That YOU Can Take To Help Prevent the Spread of Colds and Flu:
  1. Wash your hands often with warm water and soap. Use hand sanitizer if soap and water are not available, and carry a small vial of sanitizer with you.

  2. Get a flu shot for seasonal flu and H1N1, if possible.

  3. If you're feeling sick, see a doctor.

  4. Remember to cover your coughs and sneezes. (And throw away those used tissues!)

  5. Stay home if you're sick with a fever: don't go to work and don’t come to class.

  6. Avoid people who are sick, especially those with flu-like symptoms.

  7. Avoid touching your nose, eyes and mouth. This is the easiest way of spreading germs.

  8. Do your part to keep common surfaces (doorknobs, telephones, training equipment, etc.) clean and sanitized.
Enjoy this video!

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Three Safety Tips for a Good Night Out

I live in Boston's Allston neighborhood. It's an area known for its diversity, its large student population, and its concentration of drinking establishments. If you've been keeping up with the Allston-Brighton Tab in recent weeks, like me, you've noticed a disturbing increase in the number of violent incidents occurring outside local bars, particularly between the hours of 1:00 and 2:00 AM. There have been small fights and minor assaults resulting in hospitalization and fines for business owners, but more recently there was a 150-person brawl at the corner of Harvard Terrace and Harvard Ave.

Allston certainly isn't a combat zone — It's a vibrant place to live with a wonderful sense of community — but if you're on the streets after 1:00 AM when the bars let out, you need to be on your guard.

Woody Allen once said that "80 percent of success is just showing up." Well, I say that at least 80% of self-defense is NOT showing up. That is, 80% of self-defense is simply keeping yourself out of the kinds of places that are likely to get you into trouble, and that includes bars full of inebriated twenty-somethings at 1:00 AM. Practicing good self-defense includes increasing your awareness, reducing your vulnerability, and avoiding bad situations altogether.

I love a cold beer and good food as much as the next guy or gal. There's plenty of it to be found in Allston. But from a self-defense standpoint, if you're going to go out for a drink in Allston, here are a few basic safety tips:

1. Drink, but don't get DRUNK. By all means, enjoy your adult beverage. But, consuming alcohol impairs your judgment, awareness, and physical ability. So, if you can't drink your adult beverage like an adult, please consider sticking to ginger ale.

2. Don't drink alone. Use the buddy system and socialize with friends who have your best interests in mind. By "friends," I do not mean your "drinking buddies." (Those are the people who might egg you on when if you get to the point in your drinking that your beer muscles need a-flexin', and they are not really your friends!)

3. Call it a night at least an hour before Last Call. One or two o'clock in the morning is no time to be at a bar. At that time of the night, you're not likely to find the guy or girl of your dreams. You're also not going to solve the world's problems, discover the cure for cancer, or be discovered by a Hollywood producer. Just go home before the trouble starts, and enjoy an extra hour of sleep.