In Bermuda's not-too-distant past violence was something that occurred mainly in domestic settings.

Sadly, the Island today sees it on a more regular basis.

With that in mind, martial artist Bob Smith has organised a 'Surviving Weapon Attacks Seminar' this Sunday at The Academy of Martial Arts.

In his opinion, such skills are now a necessity – everyone should be able to defend themselves in the event of an attack.

"(Violence) has sadly become almost a daily occurrence," he said. "I remember the first time I taught gun disarming at a seminar and a few of the participants asked, 'Why are you teaching us this? There are no guns in Bermuda!' "Needless to say, I don't get those comments anymore."

The violent behaviour and vicious acts we see here are in keeping with occurences around the world, he added.

"Unfortunately violence is a problem that has existed globally since the beginning of time and just as we have learned to protect ourselves from sickness and disease we should also know how to protect ourselves against physical attacks.

"By this I not only mean physical self-defence techniques, but tactics for avoidance, de-escalation, anger management and restraint.

"The Police have a very difficult job in this regard and they can't be everywhere to protect everyone. In fact they are usually called after the fact, hence, in my opinion, learning self-defence has become more than a recreational activity and is now something everyone should have at least some basic knowledge of.

"I believe our current violence issues to be a combination of things – the gang culture that has become increasingly prevalent among the youth, the illegal drug business, lack of education, shortcomings with respect to guidance, support and the mentoring of our young people today."

In addition, he said: "I'm sure there are quite a few attacks that are not reported hence we usually hear about the retaliation, which is often more severe."

Participants will practise with plastic weapons during the seminar. "We never use real weapons when training. Instead we use rubber knives, guns and bats to ensure the safety of all participants though the training is made as realistic as possible. As an example, putting red lipstick on the cutting edge of a rubber knife lets the defender know if he or she would have survived or not."

The seminar can be completed even by those not at the peak of fitness, Mr. Smith continued.

"Being physically fit is not a requirement, but it is something that will be explained to be an important goal that everyone, regardless of his or her current condition, should make a priority.

"Not only is it important for general health reasons but it will also increase your chances of surviving an attack. When you exercise you are putting you body under stress, which in turn helps you to better manage stress.

"If, God forbid, you are ever attacked, you are being placed in a highly stressful situation and how you respond will decide your fate. This is why I include adrenal stress exercises in every class."

Having a background in martial arts is also not essential.

"In fact, having no experience could be an advantage, as you will have an open mind and not have to relearn things," he said.

"It's important to note that I will not be teaching 'martial arts' in this class, but reality-based self-defence.

"The martial arts take years to master, but the techniques I will be teaching can be learned by anyone in a short period of time."

A PowerPoint presentation will outline the objectives, principles of defence and the law as it applies to the use of force.

"Then there will be a brief warm-up followed by gun disarming, knife disarming and defence against impact weapons such as helmets, sticks and baseball bats."

A maximum of 12 students will be accepted into the seminar to ensure quality control. "Hence I encourage anyone interested to register as soon as possible," he said. Asked whether the seminar is part of an ongoing series or a one-off event, Mr. Smith said: "This is a basic introductory class that includes many of the techniques taught in my regular classes, but this seminar was designed for those who don't have the time to commit to ongoing classes, but would like to know what to do if they or their loved ones are attacked."

For more information visit: www.tamadojo.com or telephone 292-5715 or 505-6038.