I just finished teaching another seminar for the indigenous community here in Canada, this time on the east coast for the Mi’kmaq . The research for my updated “Speak Up Self Defence Seminar” with a focus on human trafficking was rough but this type of specified training is so God damn necessary. Indigenous people have long been subjected to racism, violence, discrimination and here in Canada are HUGELY over represented when it comes to human trafficking. As a result, proper self-defence training is an absolute necessity for First Nations individuals. This training can help train them to understand the motivations and tactics when it comes to human trafficking and stop it way before it happens. So, lets take a look at the issue.
To begin with, it’s important to understand just how much violence and discrimination First Nations people experience daily. According to stats Canada indigenous women are 3.5 times more likely than non-indigenous women to be victims of violent crime in Canada—and even more alarmingly, 16 times more likely to be murdered or missing. Indigenous men are three times more likely than non-indigenous men to be victims of violent crime in Canada. They are twice as likely to be victims of repeated crimes and lastly while representing only 4% of Canada’s total population they account for 50% of all victims of human trafficking. This data shows that good, specialized self-defence training could potentially help reduce these high rates of violence perpetrated against indigenous people.
Good self-defence training offers many different benefits for indigenous peoples. It can empower individuals by teaching them practical self-protection techniques and giving them the confidence, they need to defend themselves against aggressors. It can also increase awareness about the challenges faced by Indigenous peoples and help foster a sense of unity among members of the community who have experienced similar challenges and traumas related to racism, violence or discrimination. Finally, it can help them identify potential problems and tactics they not be aware of for example the very common “boyfriend Method” of trafficking. The goal of our programs is to teach these communities what to look for to deal with problems way before they happen so we have no more missing and murdered indigenous women.
While self-defence training has become increasingly necessary in today's world due to the alarming statistics surrounding the high rates of violence faced by indigenous peoples all over Canada and around the world. I have seen a lot of half thought out, just check the boxes seminars delivered to the people of Canada and I can’t stand it. These peoples are facing very real threats every day and instructors are selling them cookie cutter courses that have zero effect on the actual problems. With proper instruction on physical protection techniques combined with proactive education that show how these predators actually take advantage of the youth in this modern age. self-defence training can make an actual difference in First Nations individuals who higher levels of violent victimization than any other people here and it all starts with recognizing just how important this type of training is right now.
Don’t settle for another break the board class delivered by a coach who has done zero research on the problems that face your community and invest now in our speak up self defense program. Give your people a program that has taken a hard deep look at the issues by a coach who is invested in solving the problem. Speak up self defence has already been delivered to 10 nations from coast to coast and I firmly believe it is the best most accurate course on the market today. Every single person deserves to be safe, and with the speak up self defence we guarantee that you and your youth will have both a realistic view of the potential threats they face and tools to stop predators in their tracks. Contact us today to book.
Randy King
